Short Term Rentals - FAQs

Why is the personal property in my short term rental assessable for property taxation?

Under the California State Constitution, all property is subject to taxation unless otherwise exempted.   Generally, personal property and personal effects like furniture, appliances, cookware, bedding, and televisions are exempt from taxation; however, per Revenue and Taxation Code 224 and Property Tax Rule 134, the exemption does not apply to personal property used in connection with a trade, profession, business, or for the production of income.  A short term rental is an income producing business, therefore, the personal property contributing to the income production does not receive the exemption.

I received a Notice to File letter along with a BOE-571-STR (Short Term Rental) Property Statement and Supplemental Schedule, what is it?

The BOE-571-STR is a Business Property Statement form required to be submitted by short term rental businesses.  You are receiving the form because you own real property identified as a short-term rental.  Rental of all or a portion of your property, including a residential unit or a bedroom, means that you are subject to business property taxation assessment on personal property including furniture, appliances, equipment, and supplies used in the rental activity.  The California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 441(a) requires business owners with personal property of less than $100,000 in value to file a property statement upon the request of the Assessor. Note: business owners with personal property greater than $100,000 or more are required to file a Business Property Statement even if the Assessor does not request that you file one.

How do I submit my BOE-571-STR?

Board of Equalization (BOE) Form 571-STR (Short Term Rental) along with a Supplemental Schedule will be mailed out in January and will be due April 1^st. Please complete the front of the form and the Supplemental Schedule and be sure to sign the form and return to us by April 1st. The original copy of the form can be returned by mail or brought to our office, but do not submit by email. If you have any questions or need clarification on the process, please call the Business Property Division at (530) 265-1259 or send an email to business.property@nevadacountyca.gov.

I only rent out the property on a part time basis, or sometimes only one room of my residence. Do I still need to file the statement? 

Yes.  You must file if your property was engaged in any short term rental activity even if only for a few days per year.  Report any property made available to the renter.

When is the statement due?

The statement is due April 1^st. To avoid a 10% penalty, the form must be submitted to the Assessor by May 7^th each year unless the 7^th falls on a weekend in which case it is due the following business day.

What do I report on the BOE 571-STR statement (supplemental schedule)?

Report the cost and year of acquisition of all the physical personal property assets used in the rental activity.  This includes but is not limited to furniture, equipment, beds, bedding, tables, chairs, kitchen utensils and cookware, computers, appliances, clothes washer and dryer, towels, artwork, sports equipment, and any other property that is provided to the renter as part of the rental activity.

There are three columns on the Supplemental Schedule for Furniture, Equipment and Other Equipment with three tables listing Year Acquired, Original Cost and Description. If you have the original costs you can report them using the tables. 

If you don’t have original costs you may estimate the value for each category based on what you could sell the furnishings, equipment and recreation equipment on the open market such as Facebook marketplace; please write an estimate of value next to each category and also please write that it’s your opinion of value as of 1/1/2026. 

I did not buy new items for my rental, they were used items I already owned and moved into the rental. Or the items are older or were included in the real property when it was purchased.   

You are required to report the original acquisition cost and acquisition year of the assets even if they are old.  If you do not know the acquisition cost and year, use your best knowledge to estimate the year and your cost including sales tax, freight, and installation.  If they were included in the purchase of the real property estimate a market resale value (Facebook Marketplace, Craigs List, consignment store, etc.) at the time of sale and report the year purchased. You can write your estimate of value on the Supplemental Schedule next to each category, Furniture, Equipment and Other Equipment. 

How is the Assessed Value of a Short Term Rental Determined?

The Assessor is required to annually assess most taxable personal property at 100% of its fair market value as of the lien date. There are several ways to determine the value of Business Property. 

The annual Short Term Rental Statement Board of Equalization 571-STR is used for reporting all Furniture, Equipment and Other Equipment for each Short Term Rental business location along with other important information. The information provided on the statement is used to assess and tax property in accordance with California State Law. 

The Assessor often trends forward actual owner-reported costs to a present replacement cost estimate using trending tables provided by the State Board of equalization (or developed in-house). We then reduce the trended costs to reflect normal or actual depreciation to determine a market value estimate.

I discontinued my rental business prior to January 1, 2026 of this year. Do I need to file a statement?  

Yes, if you rented out during the calendar year 2025, you are required to respond to the request for information by filing the statement.  If you were actively listing the property for rent, were registered with your local jurisdiction as a short term rental as of January 1 or rented your property at any point during the 12 months prior to January 1, you are still required to submit a BOE 571-STR with supplemental schedule to our office.

I am planning to discontinue renting out Short Term Rental after January 1, 2026

To close out the assessment for future years, please complete the Business Sold or Closed form on the back side of Notice to File letter and indicate the date of closure and sign the form and return to us. Note: that if you keep a Short Term Rental permit with a local jurisdiction active we may keep your assessment open and send subsequent Notice to File letters. 

I have never operated a Short Term Rental 

Please let us know that by completing the Business Closed or Sold form located on the back of the Notice to File letter and return to us via email or regular mail.

What is the tax rate?

California's property tax rate is 1% of assessed value (also applies to real property) plus any bonded indebtedness voted in by the taxpayers. 

Please provide an example of amount owed with this assessment 

The amount of taxes you will owe will depend on the amount of the assessment and the specific tax rate in your area. For example, if your personal property is assessed for $10,000, your personal property tax bill should be roughly $110.00 to $120.00.

How often must the tax be paid?

This is an annual tax, due on August 31^st of each year.
 [Revenue and Taxation Code Section 441]

Describe Lien Date

The lien date is January 1 every year and is also the date property taxes for any fiscal year become a lien against a business property owner.  Short term rental assessments in Nevada County are set up as an “unsecured assessment” rather than a “secured assessment”.  Tax bills for unsecured assessments are generated by the Tax Collector at the end of July and are due August 31^st.

How are the taxes used?

Approximately 56% of the property tax dollars are used to support junior colleges and Kindergarten through 12^th Grade schools, 30% is allocated to city government and other special districts, while 14% is allocated to support county government. You can learn more about how personal property taxes are used by going to the Nevada County Auditor-Controller's Property Tax page. 

2026 Notice to File letter & BOE 571-STR with Supplemental