The Missouri House of Representatives passed House Bill 1086 , which would require single-family homes used as short-term rentals to be classified solely as residential properties.

Rep. Chris Brown, R-Kansas City, sponsored the bill.

The bill aims to prevent county assessors from classifying short-term rentals as commercial properties. Brown said in a news release Thursday that the bill seeks to provide clarity and fairness in how these properties are taxed.

Brown said the bill addresses a growing issue in Missouri where homeowners who rent out properties on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are facing commercial tax rates, despite their homes remaining residential in nature.

Brown said some county assessors have started changing the classification of these properties from residential to commercial without clear criteria.

This results in nearly a 70% increase in property taxes for those property owners, according to the news release.

“Most short-term rental owners aren’t big corporations buying up dozens of homes,” Brown said in a news release. “These are everyday Missourians — people in their 40s and 50s investing in a second home, maybe in Branson or the Lake of the Ozarks, to help pay for their future retirement."

City of Columbia regulations define a short-term rental as "a residential dwelling unit, portion of a dwelling unit or room within a residential dwelling unit rented by a transient guest."

Short-term rental regulations have been a recent topic of debate in mid-Missouri.

In June 2024, an ordinance went into effect in the city of Columbia that requires short-term rental owners to apply for a business license and certificate of compliance.

All short-term rentals must be in compliance with the ordinance by June 1 of this year.

With a vote of 118-34, HB 1086 now moves to the Missouri Senate, where it must be approved for consideration by the governor.