Renting Out Your Home near Stratton: Winhall STR License, Vermont Rooms Tax and the Rest (2026)

To rent a home in Winhall, Vermont (including Bondville) for more than 14 days a year, you need a Town of Winhall short-term rental license ($500 per bedroom, $1,000 minimum, $4,000 maximum), a completed Vermont fire-safety form and fire report, and a plan to collect 13% tax on rent: 9% Vermont rooms tax, a 3% short-term rental surcharge and Winhall’s 1% local option tax. Airbnb and Vrbo collect the tax on their bookings; you collect it on direct bookings.

Updated October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; check the town and the Vermont Department of Taxes before you rely on anything here.

The short version

Town license (Winhall)	$500/bedroom new ($1,000 min, $4,000 max); $250/bedroom renewal ($500 min, $2,000 max)
License year	Renew by October 31; expires November 1. The town says no grace period for 2026.
Tax on rent (Winhall)	9% rooms + 3% STR surcharge + 1% local option = 13%
Who collects tax	Airbnb/Vrbo on their bookings; you on direct bookings
Fire safety	State Safety, Health & Financial Obligation form plus a current Vermont fire and safety report
Occupancy	Set by your septic/water permit; roughly 2 per bedroom for the first 3, then 1 per extra bedroom
Parking	1 off-street space per 2 guests; no road or shoulder parking
Fines	$500/day for most violations; $800/day for false advertising

1. Get a Winhall short-term rental license

Winhall’s ordinance covers any furnished home rented to guests for fewer than 30 consecutive days and more than 14 days a year. The Selectboard adopted the current version on April 15, 2026; it replaced the December 2024 ordinance. You need the license before you advertise or take a booking.

• One STR per property. Condo and planned-development units can each be licensed if the association allows rentals.
• Licenses don’t transfer. A sale revokes the license, so a buyer applies fresh and pays the new-license fee.
• Apply online through the town’s licensing portal (linked from winhall.org). Questions go to the STR administrator at STR@winhall.org.

A complete application includes:

1. Owner contact details (and the controlling member’s, if an LLC or partnership owns it), plus your agent’s if someone else manages it.
2. The fee, based on documented bedrooms.
3. Evidence of occupancy capacity: your wastewater or water permit, health permit or gallonage certificate.
4. The Vermont Short-Term Rental Safety, Health and Financial Obligation form.
5. A current Vermont fire and safety report confirming occupancy and compliance with the 2015 fire and building code.
6. A to-scale site plan showing parking.

2. Know your occupancy limit

Winhall ties occupancy to what your septic system was permitted for, plus two. If your permit doesn’t state a number, the town’s default is two people per bedroom for the first three bedrooms and one per bedroom after that. A gallonage certificate converts at 70 gallons per person. Your listing can’t advertise more guests than your license allows; that counts as false advertising, which carries the heaviest fines.

3. Parking, noise, trash and a local contact

• Parking: one off-street space for every two guests, all on the property. No parking on town roads, development roads or shoulders.
• Quiet hours: nothing audible at the property line from 10 pm to 8 am. Gatherings can’t exceed licensed occupancy.
• Trash: sort recycling and store trash where animals can’t get at it.
• Local contact: if you can’t respond in person within two hours, name an agent who can, reachable 24/7 during stays. The town expects a call back within 24 hours.
• Post inside the house: the town’s Good Neighbor Policy, your license, the state safety form, fire-extinguisher locations and trash instructions.

4. Meet Vermont’s fire and health checklist

Every Vermont short-term rental must meet the state’s self-certification checklist (you keep the signed form at the house). The big items:

• Photoelectric smoke alarms near sleeping rooms; CO alarms outside each sleeping area and in any bedroom with a fuel-burning appliance.
• Two ways out of every bedroom.
• GFCI outlets in bathrooms, kitchens, laundry, outdoors and unfinished basements.
• Furnace, boiler or wood stove inspected at least every two years by a certified technician or chimney sweep.
• Rails on decks over 30 inches and graspable handrails on stairs.
• Working septic, hot and cold water, and a sanitary, maintained hot tub or pool.
• A posted phone number for whoever is responsible for the house, plus contacts for the Health Department and the Division of Fire Safety.

5. Collect and pay meals and rooms tax

Vermont taxes short-term rent at 9%, plus a 3% short-term rental surcharge that started August 1, 2024. Winhall, Stratton and Jamaica all add a 1% local option rooms tax, for 13% in total.

• Airbnb and Vrbo only: the platforms register with Vermont and collect and remit all three taxes on their bookings. You don’t need your own rooms-tax account.
• Any direct bookings: register for a meals and rooms account (free) in myVTax, charge the tax, and file Form MRT-441 electronically.
• Either way, rental income goes on your Vermont income tax return.

6. Fines if you skip it

Winhall started enforcing in late 2025 and tracks around 200 listings. Civil penalties are $500 a day for most violations and $800 a day for false advertising, each day a separate violation. The town offers lower waiver fees for first offenses ($175/day, or $350/day for advertising). Four violations in 12 months can cost you the license for a year.

7. Other things owners ask about

• Insurance: standard homeowner policies often exclude short-term rental use. Ask for a policy written for it.
• HOA rules: many Stratton-area associations restrict or ban short-term rentals. Check before you buy or list.
• Property tax: Vermont has created a separate “second home” property class (Act 73 of 2025 and Act 170 of 2026), but no rate is set and it can’t take effect before July 1, 2029.
• Federal income tax: rent a home 14 days or fewer a year and the IRS generally doesn’t tax that rent. Average stays of 7 days or less change how losses are treated. Ask your own tax adviser.
• Nearby towns: Londonderry, Dover and Manchester Village run their own registration rules. We didn’t find a separate short-term rental ordinance in Stratton or Jamaica as of October 2026; confirm with the town clerk.

Questions

How much is the Winhall short-term rental license?

$500 per bedroom for a new license, with a $1,000 minimum and $4,000 maximum. Renewals are $250 per bedroom, $500 minimum and $2,000 maximum. Card payments carry a processing fee.

When is the Winhall STR license renewal due?

October 31 each year; licenses expire November 1. A license not renewed within 14 days of expiring lapses for good and you have to apply as new.

What is the tax on a short-term rental in Winhall, Vermont?

13% of rent: 9% Vermont rooms tax, 3% short-term rental surcharge and 1% Winhall local option tax.

Do Airbnb and Vrbo collect Vermont rooms tax?

Yes. Platforms registered with Vermont collect and remit the rooms tax, local option tax and surcharge on bookings they process. You owe it yourself only on bookings you take directly.

How many guests can my Winhall rental sleep?

Whatever your septic or water permit allows, plus two. Without a permit number, the default is two per bedroom for the first three bedrooms and one per additional bedroom.

If I buy a licensed rental, does the license come with it?

No. Winhall licenses don’t transfer; a sale revokes it and the new owner applies and pays the new-license fee.

Sources: Town of Winhall short-term rentals; Winhall STR Ordinance adopted April 15, 2026; Winhall licensing FAQ; Vermont Department of Taxes, short-term rentals; Vermont local option tax list; Vermont Division of Fire Safety STR form.