AirBnb owners could see Jackson County property taxes drop. Here’s why
As the Kansas City region prepares to welcome – and house – thousands of tourists for the 2026 World Cup, tax guidelines for short-term rental properties across Jackson County are temporarily changing in property owners’ favor.
The Jackson County Legislature passed an ordinance Wednesday blocking the county assessor’s office from reclassifying existing short-term rental properties as commercial buildings during the 2025 assessment cycle.
Under the new ordinance, any property that was classified as residential during the county’s 2023 property assessment cycle cannot be reclassified as commercial in the ongoing 2025 assessment cycle, even if the property’s owners have started renting it out on a short-term basis in the years since.
The rollback is helpful to owners because the county has capped how much it can increase residential property value in its assessment cycle this year, while it has not implemented such a cap on commercial property. The change will in many cases mean that owners will pay less in property taxes on their short-term rental properties than they would have if the properties were designated as commercial.
World Cup housing needs
County leaders estimate that 650,000 people will travel to the Kansas City region during the hotly anticipated global soccer championship, according to the ordinance. However, legislators noted, as of June 2025 there only exist about 65,000 hotel rooms within a hundred-mile radius of the city.
Short-term rentals, predominantly through services like AirBnb and Vrbo, are expected to fill in the gap in available travel housing, providing space for thousands of additional visitors. The city of Kansas City defines a short-term rental as any “dwelling unit or portion thereof” that is rented out in periods shorter than 30 days.
“Jackson County needs to have policies which encourage more housing availability for this important event,” the new county ordinance reads.
Portions of the 2026 World Cup will take place in Kansas City between June 16 and July 11, 2026. As of June 20, AirBnb lists 139 properties that are still available for an eight-night stay spanning those dates, ranging from a $290 room in Raytown to a $25,807 nine-bedroom home in Independence.
Short-term rentals may still be reclassified from residential to commercial property again in the future. However, Wednesday’s ordinance prevents the change from going into full effect until the county can establish a central system for registering and reporting these properties.
Reversing previous valuations
Some owners of former or current short-term rental properties have already received notices in the mail throughout June providing tax estimates for their homes as commercial property. These homeowners will be issued new estimates revaluing their homes as residential property, according to a statement issued this week by County Executive Frank White.
“We ask for (property owners’) patience as this process unfolds and will provide updated records online as they become available,” White wrote. In the meantime, Jackson County residents can check their 2022 and 2025 valuations for both real and personal property on a public portal launched online last week.
White noted that classifying short-term rentals as commercial property has been used at a state level in recent years to fight against predatory rental practices from out-of-state homeowners and, at times, preserve the availability of housing for residents to live in, whether through homeownership or renting long-term.
Residential tax rates are often lower, White wrote, so classifying any kind of rental property as residential instead of commercial can ease the financial burden on whoever owns the building in use — be it a private homeowner or a large corporation.
“Current law draws no distinction between a homeowner who rents their residence for a few days a year and an out-of-state corporation that purchases hundreds, or even thousands, of homes solely to operate them as short-term rentals,” White wrote.
The Jackson County ordinance, which was first introduced on June 9, was sponsored by legislator Sean Smith. Smith represents Jackson County’s sixth district, which includes portions of Kansas City, Raytown, Lee’s Summit, Lone Jack, Lake Lotwana and Pleasant Hill.
Cities limit short-term rentals
The short-term rental market within Kansas City limits took a major hit in June 2023 when the Kansas City Council passed an ordinance requiring owners to register their short-term rental properties directly with the city, imposing an annual rental fee, a new short-term rental tax and a set of operational requirements.
The ordinance also blocks short-term rental properties within Kansas City from operating within a thousand feet of either a similar property or a long-term rental property.
At the time, the city cited concerns about large rowdy gatherings, as well as about increased ownership from out-of-state investors focused on short-term rentals, in effect removing much-needed residential housing from the local market.
Short-term rental properties are also heavily regulated or outright prohibited elsewhere in Jackson County, according to the Mid-America Regional Council. In Independence, all permits for new short-term rentals are reviewed by the city Planning Commission, while short-term rentals require a business license in Buckner and Lee’s Summit.
The city of Belton does not allow short-term rentals at all, according to MARC, and in Lake Tapawingo, short-term rentals are banned in areas zoned for single-family residential living – though the ban is based on a classification of short-term rentals as commercial property.
