A guide for Bloomington short-term rental owners who want every rule covered before the first guest arrives
Many Bloomington owners know the nightly rate on their home to the dollar. Fewer can say who remits the tax on a direct booking, how many smoke detectors the law requires, or what the state asks of a hot tub at a rental. Those are the items that cost money when they are missed.
This article is the list. It covers the tax stack, what the platforms file and what they do not, the records that support an exemption, the safety rules, and the platform rules on cameras, parties, and service animals. Everything below is a confirmed rule as of September 2026.
Every stay under 30 nights carries 12% in tax, and the platforms remit only their own bookings
A stay under 30 nights in Bloomington or anywhere in Monroe County carries 7% Indiana sales tax plus 5% Monroe County innkeeper’s tax. The total is 12%. That is the same figure inside the city and outside it.
The 12% is charged to the guest on top of the nightly rate. It is the owner’s job, or the platform’s, to see that it reaches the state and the county. The first thing to confirm is who files it for every channel the home books through.
Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit both the 7% sales tax and the 5% innkeeper’s tax on stays booked through them. An owner who books only through those two platforms does not have to register with the state for sales tax.
Direct bookings are different. A stay booked by email or through the home’s own website carries the same 12%, and no platform is filing it. The operator files it.
Here is what that takes. The operator registers for a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate, which costs $25 per location. Sales tax is filed in INTIME, the state’s online system, and remitted monthly. The return is due 30 days after the end of the month if the average monthly tax was $1,000 or less, and 20 days after the end of the month if it was over $1,000. The Monroe County innkeeper’s tax on direct bookings is filed with Monroe County, on its own return.
Indiana sales tax applies to more than the nightly rate. It applies to cleaning fees, pet fees, damage fees, resort fees, parking fees, and cancellation fees. A cleaning fee on a direct booking carries the 7% sales tax the same as the room charge.
Stays of 30 nights or more are exempt, and records prove it
Stays of 30 or more consecutive nights are exempt from both the sales tax and the innkeeper’s tax.
The word that matters is consecutive. The exemption rests on the stay being one unbroken block of 30 or more nights. Keep the booking record, the dates, and the guest agreement for every stay of that length. A stay of 29 nights carries the full 12%.
The smoke detector law is specific Indiana’s smoke detector law requires one detector outside each sleeping area and one on each level of the home, including the basement. A three-level home with two upstairs bedrooms and one downstairs needs a detector outside each sleeping area and one on every level, basement included.
If a detector fails and the owner receives written notice, the owner repairs it within 7 working days.
Pools and hot tubs at a tourist home follow semipublic rules
Indiana treats a pool or hot tub at a “tourist home” as semipublic. A tourist home under state rules is a single-family home rented to tourists more than 3 times or 10 days a year.
The semipublic rules are specific. Chlorine runs 1 to 7 parts per million in a pool and 2 to 7 parts per million in a spa. The spa water maximum is 104°F. pH stays between 7.2 and 7.8. The water is tested at each guest change. A lab sample goes out monthly. A first-aid kit is kept at the home, and printed spa warnings are posted.
In unincorporated Monroe County, a pool or spa at a tourist home also needs an annual county Health Department permit. The permit is due January 31 for a year-round pool or spa and April 30 for a seasonal one.
Service animals come in with no fee and no paperwork
Airbnb and Vrbo both require hosts to accept service animals with no fees and no documentation. A host cannot charge a pet fee for a service animal and cannot ask for papers. Indiana’s service animal law has no small property exemption, so a single rented home follows the same rule as a hotel.
A pet policy for other animals can still set a fee, and that fee carries sales tax on a direct booking.
Cameras and noise monitors have platform rules
Airbnb has banned indoor cameras since April 30, 2024, and the ban covers cameras that are turned off. Outdoor cameras must be disclosed in the listing and cannot point where guests expect privacy. Noise monitors that do not record audio are allowed if they are disclosed, and never in bedrooms or bathrooms.
Vrbo allows no cameras or audio recording inside the home or pointed inside it. Outdoor cameras must be disclosed before booking.
Parties are banned, and a guest who will not leave is covered by state law
Airbnb has had a permanent ban on disruptive gatherings of any size since June 28, 2022, and it bans “party-friendly” listings. Vrbo has zero tolerance for a broken anti-party house rule. The platforms enforce those rules on the host as well as the guest.
We keep a two night minimum on nearly every booking, and always during the school year in Bloomington. A two night minimum is how we protect a home from parties.
Under Indiana law, a guest who refuses to leave after the owner’s agent asks commits criminal trespass, a Class A misdemeanor. A property manager is the owner’s agent. That means the manager can make the request on the owner’s behalf, and the law backs it.
A pre-guest checklist
Here is what to confirm on a Bloomington home before its first guest.
- Which channels the home books through, and who remits the 12% tax on each one.
- If direct bookings are on: the $25 Registered Retail Merchant Certificate, the INTIME account, the Monroe County innkeeper’s tax return, and the monthly due date.
- Tax is calculated on cleaning, pet, damage, parking, and cancellation fees as well as the nightly rate.
- Records for every stay of 30 or more consecutive nights.
- Smoke detectors: one outside each sleeping area, one per level, basement included, all tested.
- Pool or spa: chemistry log, monthly lab sample, first-aid kit, printed spa warnings, and the county permit date if the home is outside city limits.
- Service animal policy written into the listing and house manual.
- No indoor cameras. Outdoor cameras and any noise monitor disclosed in the listing text.
- No-party rule in the listing, the house rules, and the welcome message.
- Checkout time in writing.
The bottom line
Every stay under 30 nights in Bloomington and Monroe County carries 12% in tax, 7% state sales tax plus 5% county innkeeper’s tax, and the platforms remit it only on the stays they book. Direct bookings mean a $25 certificate, INTIME filing, a monthly deadline, and a separate Monroe County return, with sales tax on the cleaning fee and every other fee. Smoke detectors, hot tub chemistry, service animals, cameras, and party rules each carry their own requirement.
Have any questions, or want a personal property analysis on a specific property? Call or text Joseph at 812-778-2235, email [email protected], or visit hearthandhavenhosting.com.
Safe travels,
Joseph and Laura
Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoosiers!