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Alaska2026Passed Legislature

SB138

Alaska Vehicle Rental Tax and Subpoena Changes

Last scannedSep 22, 2026, 12:32 AM

In one sentence

This law lowers the tax rate on passenger vehicle rentals, requires large online rental platforms to collect taxes if they have over 200 transactions a year, and updates rules for enforcing subpoenas.

What it does

  • Lowers the state tax rate on renting passenger vehicles from 10 percent to 9 percent.
  • Requires vehicle rental platforms with more than 200 transactions in Alaska last year to collect and pay taxes directly to the Department of Revenue.
  • Allows these large platforms to avoid paying back taxes if they tried reasonably hard but could not get correct information from a car owner.
  • Changes court rules so that only superior courts can force people to obey tax subpoenas, removing references to other jurisdictions' courts.
  • Stops the Department of Revenue from collecting past-due rental platform taxes for transactions before this law takes effect.

Who it affects

  • Companies that run websites or apps used to arrange vehicle rentals between owners and renters.
  • Individuals who rent out their passenger vehicles through these platforms.
  • The Alaska Department of Revenue, which collects taxes and issues subpoenas.
  • Superior courts in Alaska regarding enforcement of tax record requests.

Limits and unknowns

  • The law does not specify an exact calendar date for when it becomes effective, only that it takes effect immediately upon passage.
  • It is unclear how the Department of Revenue will define 'reasonable effort' if a platform claims they could not get correct information from a car owner.

Plain language

Terms to know

Vehicle rental platform
An app, website, or booking service that helps arrange rentals between car owners and renters who do not own the same company.
Subpoena
A legal order requiring a person to provide tax records or appear in court.

Official record

Sources

Source checked
Official bill pageIntroduced textCurrent bill text
Read the official summary

TAXATION: VEHICLE RENTALS, SUBPOENAS An Act relating to vehicle rental taxes; relating to the issuance of subpoenas related to tax records; and providing for an effective date.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. (S) Minutes (SFIN)Min
  2. (S) Heard & HeldText
  3. (S) FINANCE at 09:00 AM SENATE FINANCE 532Text
  4. (S) REFERRED TO FINANCE781
  5. (S) FN1: INDETERMINATE(REV)781
  6. (S) NR: BJORKMAN, SHOWER, TOBIN, STEDMAN781
  7. (S) TRA RPT CS 4NR SAME TITLE781
  8. (S) Minutes (STRA)Min
  9. (S) Moved CSSB 138(TRA) Out of CommitteeText
  10. (S) TRANSPORTATION at 01:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  11. (S) Minutes (STRA)Min
  12. (S) Heard & HeldText
  13. (S) TRANSPORTATION at 01:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  14. (S) TRA, FIN564
  15. (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS564