Cincinnati Short-Term Rental Registration: Requirements, 7% Excise Tax and Listing Rules

If you plan to rent a house, condo or apartment in Cincinnati to guests for short stays, the property must be registered with the city before you accept a booking. Most people searching for a Cincinnati short term rental want the same answers: what to file, what it costs, how the 7% excise tax works and what has to appear on the listing. This guide covers each of those in the order you will handle them.

Informational only: This article is not legal or tax advice. City ordinances, fees and tax rules change, so confirm every figure with the agency named here before you rely on it. For help choosing a business structure, reviewing a lease or working through tax treatment, consult a qualified attorney or CPA.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you open the application. A missing document is the most common reason a registration stalls, and it is cheaper to find that out before you build listings.

• The address of every unit you plan to rent, with the parcel details for each one.
• Proof of control over the property, such as a deed or a signed lease, so you can answer ownership questions accurately.
• Your legal name, or the legal name of the LLC or corporation that will hold the registration, along with its Ohio formation documents.
• An Ohio registered agent if you form an LLC, since every Ohio LLC must appoint and continuously maintain one.
• A payment method for the registration fee, which is $250 per unit under the city's short-term rental rules document.
• A list of every platform you will use, such as Airbnb, Vrbo or your own booking page. The platform determines who collects and pays the excise tax.
• The Treasury licensing contact: [email protected] or 513-352-3224. Save both before you start.

Step 1: Decide Who Holds the Registration

The registration is issued to an operator, and the operator's name should match the legal owner of the business. Many hosts use a limited liability company so that rental activity stays separate from personal assets. Whether an LLC fits your situation is a legal and tax decision, so ask an attorney before you choose.

If you do form an LLC, the Ohio Secretary of State charges $99 for articles of organization for a domestic limited liability company (Form 610). File through Ohio Business Central. Regular service takes 3 to 7 business days from receipt, and online filing is the fastest standard route. Ohio LLCs file no annual report, so the $99 is the main state filing cost to plan for.

Your LLC name must contain the words 'limited liability company' or one of the abbreviations L.L.C., LLC, limited, ltd. or ltd. Check availability in the Ohio Business Search database first. If you need to hold a name while you prepare paperwork, the Secretary of State reserves a name for 180 days for $39.

The Secretary of State will not accept articles of organization unless they come with the registered agent's written appointment and the agent's written acceptance on the prescribed form. Line up that agent before you file, not after.

Step 2: Register a Trade Name If You List Under a Brand

If your listing name differs from your legal name, such as 'Riverside Lofts' for an LLC called RSL Holdings, register that name as a trade name or fictitious name. Trade names are registered with the Ohio Secretary of State, not with Cincinnati or Hamilton County. Use Form 534A, which costs $39.00 and can be filed online through Ohio Business Central or by mail.

Two related fees apply later: renewing a trade name costs $25.00 every five years, and changing the registrant name costs $25.00. The forms and filing details are on the Secretary of State business forms page. Do not put the trade name on a listing until the filing is in place.

Step 3: Confirm Your Property Qualifies and Count Units

Before you pay anything, confirm with Treasury how the city defines a short-term rental and whether your property falls under that definition. Ask them how a multi-unit building is counted, because the fee applies per unit. A duplex with two separately rented units, a converted house with several rooms rented to different guests, or a building with a mix of owner-occupied and rented space can each raise a counting question.

Budget for every rentable unit to pay the per-unit fee, then confirm the count in writing with Treasury. Get the answer before you sign a lease or buy furniture for a unit that may not qualify.

Step 4: Submit the Registration and Pay the Fee

Registration is required before you operate, so do not accept bookings for any date until your registration is issued. Treasury handles the registration questions, and you can reach them at [email protected] or 513-352-3224. Ask them to confirm the current application route before you start, because the route can change.

Work through the application in this order:

1. Enter the owner's legal name exactly as it appears on your Secretary of State records.
2. Enter each unit address separately, with the parcel details you gathered.
3. Pay the registration fee for the total unit count. The city's short-term rental rules document sets the fee at $250 per unit, and renewal uses the same amount.
4. Save the confirmation and any reference number the city issues, and keep a copy with your property file.

Check the city's Finance short-term rental page for the current fee before you pay, because a figure in a rules document can be superseded. If the page and the rules document disagree, ask Treasury which one controls before you submit payment.

A registration is valid for three years. Add the expiration date to your calendar the day you receive the registration, and start renewal early, because a lapsed registration means you cannot keep operating.

Step 5: Understand the 7% Short-Term Rental Excise Tax

Chapter 315 of the city code levies a 7% short-term rental excise tax on gross revenue from short-term rentals. Who collects and pays that tax depends on where the booking happens. The table below shows how the split works.

Where the booking happens	Who handles the 7% excise tax	What you do
Airbnb	Airbnb collects and remits the tax under its agreement with the city	Review your Airbnb reports and confirm the amounts. Do not report or pay the same revenue a second time.
Vrbo, Booking.com or other platforms	You report and pay the tax yourself	Track gross revenue by month and ask Treasury for the filing schedule and method.
Direct bookings (your own website or phone)	You report and pay the tax yourself	Track gross revenue the same way and follow the city's payment schedule.

Gross revenue is the base for the 7% rate, so a month with $10,000 of gross revenue would produce $700 of excise tax. Whether cleaning fees and other guest charges count toward gross revenue is a question to put to Treasury in writing, because the answer changes the number you owe.

Ohio taxes sit alongside the city tax. The following items are not an exhaustive list, and each one should be confirmed with the named agency:

• Commercial Activity Tax (CAT): Ohio's gross receipts tax is 0.26% of Ohio taxable gross receipts above the $6 million exclusion for tax year 2025 and later. Only businesses above that level owe the CAT or must register, so most single-property hosts should fall below it. Confirm your position with the Ohio Department of Taxation at tax.ohio.gov.
• City net profit tax: Cities and villages in Ohio tax business net profit under their own rates. Confirm Cincinnati's current rate and filing requirements with the city before you file.
• Vendor's license: Ohio has no state general business license, and counties do not issue business licenses. If your rental sells a taxable good or service, you may need a sales tax vendor's license. As of April 9, 2025, the application fee is $50, and you obtain the license through the Ohio Business Gateway or the county auditor. Ask the Department of Taxation whether lodging you provide requires one.

Step 6: Follow the Listing and Posting Rules

The city requires two things that every guest and inspector can see:

1. Put the registration ID in every listing. That covers every platform and your direct booking page. The ID must appear on the listing itself.
2. Post the permit and the advisory inside the unit where guests can see them without searching.

Keep dated screenshots of each listing showing the ID. After any listing edit, check that the ID is still there, because a rewritten description is the most common way it disappears.

Step 7: Plan for Workers' Compensation If You Hire Help

If you hire cleaners or maintenance staff as employees, you need workers' compensation coverage. In Ohio, that coverage is bought from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation state fund. Set it up before the first shift, not after an injury. Independent contractors follow different rules, so have a CPA or attorney review how you classify anyone who works for you.

Tips for a Clean Registration

• Match every name exactly to your Ohio Business Search record before you submit.
• Keep one folder per unit with the address, the lease or deed, the registration confirmation and screenshots of each listing showing the ID.
• Ask Treasury in writing how your fee and excise tax treatment will work for a multi-unit building, and save the reply.
• Set a renewal reminder for the month before the three-year expiration, and review the fee at that time.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Opening a listing or accepting bookings before the registration is issued. Registration comes first, so a calendar that fills early can put you in operation without a valid registration.
• Assuming Airbnb handles all the tax. Airbnb's collection covers Airbnb bookings only. Every other platform and direct booking is your responsibility.
• Using a brand name you have not registered. A listing name that differs from your legal name needs a trade name filing with the Secretary of State.
• Leaving the ID off one platform. Check every listing, including old or paused ones that still appear in search.
• Budgeting for one unit when you have several. The fee is per unit, so the total grows with each additional unit.
• Relying on an old fee figure. Confirm the current amount on the Finance page before you pay.
• Forgetting the three-year renewal. A lapsed registration stops your ability to operate, so set the reminder early.
• Treating an LLC as a registration. Forming an LLC does not register the property with the city.
• Skipping the Ohio registered agent. The Secretary of State will not accept articles of organization without the agent's written appointment and acceptance.

What Results to Expect

Following these steps in order will typically leave you with an issued registration, a permit posted in the unit, the registration ID on every listing and a written routine for the excise tax. Those results depend on the city's review and on your own records, so treat the timing below as a planning guide rather than a promise.

• An Ohio LLC filed through Ohio Business Central usually moves through regular service in 3 to 7 business days from receipt.
• A trade name filing or name reservation may move faster if you file online, but confirm the processing time on the Secretary of State forms page.
• The city's processing time for the registration is not covered by the figures verified for this guide. Ask Treasury for it before you set a launch date.

Get Help When You Need It

Treasury can answer questions about the registration, the fee and the excise tax at [email protected] or 513-352-3224. For general Ohio business questions, the Ohio Small Business Development Centers network offers business advising at clients.ohiosbdc.ohio.gov. For ownership structure, lease questions or tax treatment, a qualified attorney or CPA is the right call. Ohio's business filings and forms are also listed on the Ohio Secretary of State website.