Rental Tax Collection and Remittance in the State of Florida
Florida is a state with a vibrant, large tourism economy. Unlike most other states, Florida heavily relies on tourist dollars to pay its bills. Before the advent of short term rental marketplaces, Florida had already required all landlords to charge and collect short term rental taxes. Also, a short term rental in Florida is 182 days or less, which is significantly longer than a typical state.
Transient taxes are assessed at the state and county level. The sales and discretionary sales taxes are collected by the state. Some counties assess separate transient taxes, such as the tourist development tax, convention development tax, tourist impact tax, or municipal resort tax. These separate taxes may need to be filed to the county directly. This information is detailed in the following sections.
Florida has a complicated patchwork of rental taxes, some which are collected directly by the county as well as the state. If the county does in fact charge its own sales tax, it will be collected on the state return. You may need to file (2) separate tax returns. If you are unsure about your situation, seek advice from the county or tax professional.
Do I Need To Pay?
If you rent your vacation property short term in the state of Florida, then the taxes will be payable. However, some third party payers already will collect these taxes on your behalf.
If you use any online service that charges payments on your behalf you should be good in most cases. As documented later, Airbnb/VRBO/others do not collect taxes for some counties. The online marketplace service that markets your vacation property typically collects guest payments on your behalf. If they do not collect guest payments and merely provide a guest referral, then you would likely be responsible for the taxes. Check with the company if you are not sure.
If you use a third party broker or management company, they may be able to collect the taxes on your behalf.
Exempt Rental Activity – Do not submit taxes
AirbnbBooking.comManagement CompanyOther booking sites that charge guest on your behalf
What if you obtain rentals on your own and you charge the guest directly? Then you would need to charge the guest the taxes. Also, you would need to register and submit the payments to the state/county. These are the situations where this might occur:
- The guest is a friend.
- A guest rented your property from an ad.
- Some guests rented your property from an online marketplace referral site that charges only subscription fees for your listing.
- Guest rented the property from your own website.
State Registration
The state of Florida requires that all vacation rentals in the state be licensed through the DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation). Use the following links for an application. A license would only be required if you need to collect and remit taxes on your own for your guests. Also, you need the state license in order to pay county taxes, if they apply.
- Vacation Rental – Dwelling Application
- Vacation Rental – Condo Application
Register for a sales/use tax certificate at the DOR Site. File your tax return using the state website: Department of Revenue Online. The online site provides many different payment options including ACH and credit card.
Statewide Tax Rate
Rental Sales Tax Rate: 6%
Counties That Require Registration/Payment
Some of the counties in Florida self administer their own taxes, while other counties the taxes are collected by the state on their behalf. The following document details which counties are in which category as well as the current tax rates.
Master County List
The document below has the complete details at a summary level for each county. For the most up to date version of this document check the Florida Dept of Revenue site.
Also, read the fine print. In some counties, taxes only apply to certain cities.
Many counties offer a 2.5% tax discount if you pay online. In the following section, the link to the online payment county sites are listed (if available).
Self Administered Counties
The following table lists out the counties that self-administer their own taxes. This would apply only to specific rental/tourist taxes applied at the county level. If there were specific taxes at the city level (as specified in the previous section), these taxes would also be collected at the county level.
| County | Rate | Register | Pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alachua | 5% | Register | Pay | Marketplace rental sites (Airbnb) do not collect on your behalf! |
| Baker | 3% | N/A | N/A | Contact County |
| Bay | 5% | N/A | N/A | Contact County |
| Brevard | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Broward | 6% | Register | Pay | |
| Calhoun | 0% | |||
| Charlotte | 5% | Register | Pay | County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Clay | 5% | For applications and further information, contact the Clay County Tax Collector Tourist Tax Department, 904-284-6329, PO Box 218, Green Cove Springs, FL 32043 | ||
| Collier | 5% | Register | Pay | Marketplace rental sites (Airbnb) do not collect on your behalf! |
| Duval | 6% | Register | Duval County Tax Collector Attn: Tourist Development 231 E. Forsyth St., Room 212 Jacksonville, FL 32202 | Marketplace rental sites (Airbnb) do not collect on your behalf! |
| Escambia | 4% | Contact County | ||
| Flagler | 5% | Register | Pay | Marketplace rental sites (Airbnb) do not collect on your behalf! |
| Gulf | 5% | Contact county for forms, Email: Sjjgulfcotxcoll@gulfcounty-fl.gov or tmonette@gulfcounty-fl.gov Phone: 850-229-6116 | ||
| Hernando | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Hillsborough | 6% | Register | Pay | |
| Indian River | 4% | Register | Pay | |
| Lafayette | 0% | |||
| Lake | 4% | Register | Pay | County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Lee | 5% | Register | Pay | County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Leon | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Liberty | 0% | |||
| Manatee | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Marion | 4% | Register | Pay | County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Martin | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Miami-Dade | 6% | For property application email: CTHelp@miamidade.gov Certificate of Use Register | Pay | Property Application and Certificate of Use forms required. |
| Monroe | 5% | Register | Pay | County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Nassau | 5% | Register | Pay | Applies only to Amelia Island (ZIP code 32034). County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Orange | 6% | Register | Pay | |
| Osceola | 6% | Register | Pay | |
| Palm Beach | 6% | Register | Pay | Airbnb does not collect on your behalf! VRBO does collect the tax, but sends it back to hosts to remit to the county. |
| Pasco | 4% | Register | Pay | |
| Pinellas | 6% | Register | Pay | |
| Polk | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Putnam | 4% | Register | Pay | |
| St. Johns | 4% | Register | Pay | |
| St. Lucie | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Santa Rosa | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Sarasota | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Seminole | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Suwannee | 3% | Register | Pay | Applies only to Amelia Island (ZIP code 32034). County offers 2.5% discount for filling taxes online. |
| Taylor | 5% | Register | Pay | |
| Union | 0% | |||
| Volusia | 6% | Contact County Phone: 386-736-5938 Email: taxcollector@vctaxcollector.org |
||
| Walton | 5% | Register | Pay | Marketplace rental sites (Airbnb) do not collect on your behalf! |
State Administered Counties
For the following counties, the state collects the county level taxes on your behalf. There is no need to register/file with the county. The application you file with the state is sufficient.
County List
- Bradford
- Citrus
- Columbia
- Desoto
- Dixie
- Franklin
- Gadsden
- Gilchrist
- Glades
- Hamilton
- Hardee
- Hendry
- Highlands
- Holmes
- Jackson
- Jefferson
- Levy
- Madison
- Okaloosa
- Okeechobee
- Sumter
- Wakulla
- Washington
How Do I Pay?
The Florida Department of Revenue collects state using the following website:
File your tax return using the state website: Department of Revenue Online. The online site provides many different payment options including ACH and credit card.
If you need to pay taxes at the county level (see above sections), you will first need to register with the state. Then fill out and file any county payments (as detailed previously) using your state account number.
