Short-Term Rental Laws in Big Sky, Montana

Big Sky is unincorporated land split between Gallatin County and Madison County — there is no Big Sky city government. The Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD) functions as a quasi-governmental special tax district administering the 3% resort tax. STR rules are set by Gallatin County (Meadow Village, Town Center, Mountain Village base) and Madison County (Spanish Peaks, Yellowstone Club edge) separately — confirm which county your parcel lies in before any offer. Both counties currently permit STR broadly with registration + life-safety standards. Master-planned community covenants (Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks Mountain Club, Moonlight Basin) restrict STR independently on top of county rules and are typically the binding gate for member properties.

Gallatin County Planning + Madison County Planning + BSRAD jointly govern. Allowed zones: most Big Sky residential/resort parcels under both counties' frameworks. Master-planned community covenants are the dominant operational constraint — Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks, and Moonlight Basin all restrict or prohibit STR by member rules. Properties in the Meadow Village + Town Center retail/mixed-use cores are the most STR-permissive. Verify the master-plan/covenant layer FIRST before evaluating county-level eligibility.

Operators must hold a short-term rental permit before listing. See the official permit portal.

Gallatin County / Madison County code enforcement handle complaint-driven STR oversight. BSRAD collects the 3% resort tax via monthly returns; Montana DOR collects the 4% Lodging Facility Use Tax + 4% accommodations sales tax. Application requires county business registration, designated local 24/7 contact, life-safety self-certification, and proof of insurance. Master-plan/HOA enforcement is layered on top and typically much more aggressive than county code enforcement.

Combined short-term lodging tax in Big Sky is approximately 11.000% of gross nightly revenue (state sales + state TRT + local TRT + applicable resort/city options).

Montana Lodging Facility Use Tax 4% + Montana sales tax on accommodations 4% + Big Sky Resort Area District tax 3% — combined ~11.0% on transient lodging

Verify the current combined rate via the Utah State Tax Commission before remitting — rates drift quarterly.