Puerto Rico

Innkeeper registration

Register as an innkeeper and get an innkeeper ID number from the Tourism Company's Room Tax division.[2] The Act requires each lodging operator to get a tax identification number from the Company.[1] The registration page showed online processing as temporarily unavailable when we checked.[6]

Who counts as the operator

The Act defines an innkeeper as any person who runs a lodging, including the owner, agent, operator, tenant and sub-tenant.[5] That wording fits a tenant who sublets.[5]

Town licenses

Towns can license short-term rentals on top of the Tourism Company registration. Humacao's ordinance, approved Apr 9, 2026, is one example, and San Juan runs an online registry sign-in for its program.[3, 7] Ask the town's permit office what applies before you sign a lease.

Condo and HOA limits

Humacao's ordinance says its license does not authorize a rental that a condo's master deed or bylaws expressly prohibit.[3] It says the same for a residential community whose association rules ban rentals.[3]

Pending island-wide license

Senate Bill 238, filed Jan 13, 2025, would add Article 26-A to Act 272 with uniform municipal licenses.[4] Its text sets $100 a year for a shared unit and $500 a year for a non-shared unit.[4] A news report says the Senate held a public hearing on Apr 9, 2025, and we could not confirm the bill's current status.[8]

Listing numbers

Where a town licenses rentals, put the license number in every platform ad, as Humacao requires.[3]

Events and neighborhood

Humacao bars commercial events or activities on licensed properties, and says you can't change the residential character of the area or the property.[3]

Guest records

Humacao requires hosts to keep a record of the dates the property was occupied and to give it to the town when asked.[3]

Guest fines

In Humacao, fines for noise, cleanliness and safety breaches outside the ordinance go to the guest first.[3] If the guest neither pays nor asks for a hearing within 30 days, the host or operator must pay within the next 15 days.[3]

Pool fences (pending)

A news report says a Senate bill filed on Jul 6, 2026 would require safety fencing at short-term rental pools, with penalties of up to $5,000.[9] It was newly introduced, and we found nothing showing it has passed.

Room tax

Short-term rentals of under 90 days pay a 7% room tax.[1, 2] The Tourism Company says it is 7% of the room rate charged to guests.[2]

Monthly filing

File a monthly tax declaration by the 10th of the following month.[2] Submit it online, at a Scotiabank Puerto Rico branch, at the Tax Division office in Old San Juan or by mail.[2]

Booking platforms

The Act says intermediaries must collect, withhold and remit the tax to the Tourism Office.[1] The Tourism Company page doesn't mention platforms, so ask the Room Tax division whether you still file when a platform collects.[2]

Other tax papers

We did not find a Hacienda page on short-term rentals, so we can't say whether other taxes apply beyond the room tax. Humacao's license asks for a Hacienda merchant registration certificate when applicable and proof of the municipal business tax (patente) when applicable.[3]

Room tax penalties

The Tourism Company lists fines of up to $500 for each day of infraction, up to a maximum of $25,000, plus late fees and interest.[2] It also lists permanent revocation of promotional benefits and economic incentives.[2]

Town fines

Humacao's fines are $500 for a first violation of its rules, $1,000 for a second and $2,500 for a third.[3] The second and third can also bring license revocation, with a ban on applying again for one year and three years.[3]

Registry and oversight

The Act tells the Tourism Company to send towns a copy of its registered-innkeeper list every six months.[1] A Senate resolution dated Oct 7, 2025 orders an investigation into whether it does, and a Jun 11, 2026 resolution extended the deadline.[10, 11] The first resolution says rentals grew from about 1,000 units in 2014 to about 25,000 by 2023.[10]

Unlicensed rentals

In Humacao, running a non-shared unit without the license brings a $500 fine, then $1,000 and a one-year wait to apply.[3] Shared units face $250, then $500 and a one-year wait.[3]