Nightly/Short-Term Rentals

On May 1, 2025 adopted Ordinance No. 2024-0065 will go into effect. To view the changes, please click here.

OVERVIEW


The City of Branson welcomes Nightly Rental businesses. In 2023 the City had 10 million visitors and Nightly Rentals are a great option for them to stay and play. Each rental business has certain qualifications that must be met prior to opening its doors to transient guests.

“Nightly Rental” and “Short-Term Rental” are synonyms. Starting May 1, 2025, the City of Branson will be solely using the term Short-Term Rental.

 

  IS MY PROPERTY CONSIDERED A NIGHTLY RENTAL?


Nightly Rental means any dwelling unit (guest room/rooms provided) advertised, offered, or operated for lodging accommodations for a period of not less than one night and not more than 30 consecutive days, but does not include rentals that operate within a primary residence or lodging establishments. 


IS MY PROPERTY IN THE CITY LIMITS OF BRANSON? 


Great question! Some addresses that have Branson as the city are not in city limits. Please use our Mapping system to check your address. (Map)

 

 

WHAT DO I NEED TO OPERATE A NIGHTLY RENTAL BUSINESS? 


In order to operate a Nightly Rental in the City of Branson, you’ll need the following: 

  • A Nightly Rental business license. 
  • Approvals from all of the City departments. (Don’t worry, you won’t have any extra steps. We’ll take care of this on our end for you.) 
  • A Tourism Tax bond collected during the application process. 
  • A valid, government issued identification for the person signing the application as the responsible party. 
  • The DBA Name (Doing Business As name) to be registered as a fictitious name with the MO Secretary of State. 
  • Legal name registered with the MO. Secretary of State* 
  •  A MO sales tax license** 

*If the Legal name or “Owner” name on the application is not an LLC or Corporation, this step will not apply. 

**If your Nightly Rental business will ONLY be using Air Bnb as the advertising platform, you will not need a MO Sales Tax license.


 NIGHTLY RENTAL BUSINESS LICENSE


Sec. 22-30. A separate license shall be obtained for each address at which a person conducts, operates, maintains, processes, manufactures and carries on business activities or provides services

Sec. 22-452. In addition to all requirements of chapter 22, Nightly Rental owners shall comply with the requirements of this article to obtain a business license for a Nightly Rental. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or advertise a Nightly Rental without obtaining a business license as provided in this chapter. . 

To obtain a business license, you’ll need to fill out and submit a completed application. NIGHTLY RENTAL BUSINESS LICENSE APPLICATION. There is not a set fee. The fee scale is based on the number of employees your business has. 

You may fill out an application online, in person, or you may print off an application and mail it to:

ATTENTION: BUSINESS LICENSE

110 W MADDUX ST. STE 200

BRANSON, MO 65616

NOTE: Generally, the application process may take 7 to 10 business days, but the process depends on the business activity. The prospective application WILL NOT leave with a business license on the same day when submitting the application. 

 

TOURISM TAX BOND


          Sec. 82-99. All new business applicants for a city business license that will be required to pay city tourism taxes and any existing tourism taxpaying business who has their business license revoked are required to post and maintain a one-month tourism tax deposit with the city’s finance department before a business license may be issued or before a revoked business license may be reinstate. For a revoked business, the deposit shall be the average monthly tourism tax liability of the previous 12 months in which the business was open and in which tourism tax was reported. 

Nightly Rental businesses will require the remittance of tourism tax and will require a tourism tax bond. The bond will be collected during payment of the business license application.

A tourism bond of $100 will be collected for each Nightly Rental business. Tourism Bond/Deposits will be refunded after 3 consecutive years of timely tourism tax payments.  


TOURISM TAX


         Sec. 82-93. Amount of tax for hotels, motels, condominium units, timeshare interest in condominiums, campgrounds and tourist courts. Every person engaged in the business of renting, leasing or letting living quarters, sleeping accommodations, rooms or a part thereof in connection with any hotel, motel, condominium unit, timeshare interest in condominiums, campground or tourist court shall collect at the time of sale or consumption and pay to the city a tourism tax equal to four percent of the price paid or charged by transient guests.

Nightly Rental businesses will be required to remit a 4% tourism tax in addition to any sales tax collected. Tourism tax payments are to be paid directly to the City of Branson finance department before the 20th of the following month. (Link to Tourism Tax Form)

Tourism tax returns may be filed in person, online at businesslicense@bransonmo.gov or through the mail to:

Attention: Business License TT

100 W Maddux St. Ste. 200

Branson MO 65616

Note: There is NO platform that remits tourism tax on your behalf to the City of Branson. This includes Air Bnb and VRBO.

 

REGISTRATION OF BUSINESS NAME


              Sec. 22-23. In the absence of a provision to the contrary, applications for business licenses shall be made to the finance department on forms supplied by the finance department. All individuals signing the application as the responsible party shall provide a copy of their driver's license or other city-acceptable government-issued identification. No license shall be issued until all appropriate fees and obligations due to the city, as required by ordinance, have been paid. No license shall be issued unless all state licensing requirements have been met as demonstrated by a copy of a state sales tax license for the city address for which sales tax returns need to be filed or a copy of the state secretary of state name registration for the business name as used in signage, advertising and the activities of the business. If all required information is supplied, the requested fees have been paid, and it does not appear that any applicable state law or city ordinance will be violated by the operation of the business, the license shall be issued.

All Nightly Rental businesses must have all state licensing requirements met.

 Each Nightly Rental business must have a copy of their Missouri State sales tax license (MSRL) for the city address for which sales tax returns need to be filed (MO DOR Link) and a copy of the Missouri secretary of state name registration for the business name as used in signage, advertising and the activities of the business. (Secretary of State Link)

If the only platform that you will be advertising on is AirBnb, you will not need a personal Missouri State sales tax license, but your business name must still be registered. Please remember that Air Bnb will not remit tourism tax on your behalf.