Boone County, KY Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

03, no one may advertise, offer to rent, lease, sublease, license or sublicense a residential property in unincorporated Boone County as a short-term rental (STR) without first obtaining a permit from the Occupational License Office. Applications require the owner's contact information, proof of ownership, a local emergency contact, the requested maximum occupant count, a sketch floor plan, a self-safety inspection form, a parking site plan, and proof of general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. Applicants must also hold a valid Boone County occupational license before the STR permit issues and at every renewal.

The permit runs on the calendar year: the initial fee, due at application, is $300, prorated by month from January 1 to the month the application is filed; each subsequent annual renewal costs $200, due by January 1. Renewal applications may be filed up to 60 days before the current permit expires. Where zoning classifies an STR as a conditional use, the operator must also secure a conditional use permit from the Board of Adjustment and Zoning Appeals within 90 days of applying, or the application is invalidated.

17 layers on a 1% special transient room tax, on rent charged by any STR, hotel, motel or campground, or by any platform that brokers the rental, operating in Boone, Campbell and Kenton Counties. 18. This framework governs the unincorporated county; Florence, Union and Walton set their own STR rules.