La Junta council adopts short-term-rental tax ordinance

The La Junta City Council voted 5-0 on Aug. 3 to pass Ordinance No. 1702 on second reading, requiring short-term-rental hosts and booking or payment platforms to register with the city. The ordinance also requires platforms to collect and remit lodging taxes on stays shorter than 30 consecutive days, according to the [council meeting minutes](https://lajuntaco.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetAttachmentFile(fileId=2131). Council Members Damon Ramirez and Chandra Ochoa were absent.

The ordinance specifies Aug. 3, 2026, as its effective date following final passage and publication as required by law. The available records do not establish whether or when it was published. The ordinance does not set a separate tax-collection start date; platforms must collect the tax when the guest books or pays, whichever comes first.

The council’s first-reading vote was 7-0 on July 20. City Attorney Clay Buchner said platform collection was necessary to collect the tax. Tourism Director Denahy said the Tourism Board proposed the amendment after an earlier registration-and-licensing measure failed.

Host registration will be free. Hosts must provide contact information and remain responsible for other local requirements. Platforms also must register and provide contact information.

Platforms must file returns and provide the city summary data on nights rented, guest payments, and taxes collected and remitted. The ordinance refers to the city’s existing tax-remittance schedule and procedures under Chapter 3.15 of the municipal code but does not specify a registration deadline, return frequency, filing deadline or return format. It also does not identify the city office that will administer the program.

A platform with a voluntary collection agreement with the Colorado Department of Revenue could be treated as compliant if La Junta participates in the state program and the taxes are sent to the state for the city. Platforms would be designated taxpayers and jointly and severally liable with hosts for failures to collect or remit the tax. Noncompliance could lead to registration revocation, fines of up to $1,000 per violation and other legal enforcement. The ordinance does not specify an audit or notice process.

The city’s available records do not establish how many hosts or platforms would be affected. A January City Council packet reported 24 short-term rentals, up from two in 2016, and cited estimated revenue of $17,000. The packet does not define whether the 24 refers to hosts, properties or active listings, or explain whether the revenue figure represents lodging-tax revenue or how it was calculated.

The ordinance names Airbnb and VRBO as examples of platforms but does not provide a count or public roster of affected platforms, hosts, properties or listings. The measure expands the city’s framework for collecting lodging taxes from short-term rentals, while publication, registration administration and the program’s scope remain unresolved.