Short-Term Rentals in Gallatin County, Montana

Whether STR rules even apply depends on which of the county's 22 districts you're in

Gallatin County defines a short-term rental as a residential unit rented for 30 days or less, though that threshold shifts to 28 days in some specific zoning districts. Given the county's 22-district zoning patchwork (described in more detail on the county hub), only two districts -- Gallatin Canyon/Big Sky and Hebgen Lake -- currently have zoning language that specifically addresses short-term rental use. That means a property's short-term-rental permissibility and process genuinely depends on exactly which zoning district it falls in, not on a single countywide rule; Gallatin County Planning & Community Development publishes a Short-Term Rental FAQ page as the starting reference, and it should be checked against the specific parcel's district before assuming any figure from a neighboring property applies.

Big Sky adds a real, separate resort tax on top of state lodging tax

A property inside the Big Sky Resort Area District carries tax obligations beyond ordinary Montana lodging tax. On top of the 8% combined state tax (a 4% Lodging Facility Use Tax plus a 4% Lodging Sales Tax that applies to short-term rentals statewide), Big Sky Resort Area District properties collect an additional 4% local resort tax -- a combined 12% total. Owners must register separately for resort-tax collection, and the district conducts its own compliance audits; late resort-tax filings incur fees starting at $30 after five days, increasing by $30 per month up to a $150 cap, plus 12% annual interest on the unpaid amount. If you're underwriting a Big Sky short-term rental's returns, build the full 12% tax obligation and the district's active audit posture into your projections rather than assuming standard statewide lodging tax alone.

The state-level license, and what actually transfers when you buy

Regardless of which zoning district a property sits in, Montana requires a state-level Public Accommodation License for a short-term rental. That license is not tied to the property in a way that transfers with a sale -- it's non-transferable between owners, meaning a new buyer must apply for their own license rather than inheriting the previous owner's. Don't assume a listing advertised as "turnkey STR, currently licensed" comes with an active license you can simply keep operating under; budget time for your own state license application as part of closing.

Separately, if you're buying into a homeowners' association specifically to run a short-term rental, Montana Senate Bill 300 (2019) limits how restrictive an HOA's rental rules can be: an HOA generally cannot impose restrictions on an owner's basic rights -- including the right to rent a property for any length of time -- that are more onerous than what applied when that owner originally purchased. This doesn't override county zoning or Big Sky's resort-tax obligations, but it does limit how far a newly adopted, blanket HOA rental ban can reach against an existing owner.