Florida vacation rental taxes: what Airbnb pays and what you still file

Most Florida owners assume Airbnb handles the taxes. For part of the bill, it does. In a long list of counties, including some of the busiest vacation rental markets in the state, it does not, and the county expects the owner or the manager to register and file every month.

Here is how the pieces fit, who collects each one, and what to do about it. Tax rules and platform agreements change, so confirm your own county with its tax collector.

The three taxes on a Florida vacation rental stay

A typical Florida stay of six months or less carries three taxes:

State sales tax on transient rentals, 6%. Collected statewide.
County discretionary sales surtax, usually 0.5 to 1.5% depending on the county.
Tourist development tax, set by each county, often 5 or 6%. Some counties let the state collect it. Many collect it themselves.

The first two follow the same path everywhere. The third is where owners get caught.

What Airbnb collects for you

According to Airbnb's Florida tax page, Airbnb collects and pays the 6% state tax and the county surtax on every Florida booking made through Airbnb.

It also collects the county tourist tax in a list of counties that have agreements with Airbnb, including Brevard, Broward, Collier, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole and Volusia, plus the small counties where the state collects the tourist tax.

If your home is in one of those counties and every booking comes through Airbnb, most of the tax work is done for you.

Counties where you still file the tourist tax

Several popular counties are not on Airbnb's list. In these, the owner or the manager registers with the county and files the tourist tax, usually every month, even on Airbnb bookings:

Walton County (30A, Santa Rosa Beach, Miramar Beach). The rate depends on where the home is, 5% in the southern beach ZIP codes and 2% elsewhere.
Okaloosa County (Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island). Owners register through the county's tourist tax portal.
Bay County (Panama City Beach).
Osceola County (Kissimmee and the resort communities). The tax collector says plainly that it has no agreement with Airbnb, Vrbo or other platforms, so owners and their agents pay the 6% tourist tax themselves.
Monroe County (the Keys).
Manatee County (Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Beach).
Escambia County (Pensacola Beach).

That list covers much of the Panhandle and the biggest vacation home market around Orlando, so it is worth checking even if you think you are covered.

Vrbo and direct bookings

Vrbo collects the state sales tax and surtax, but a Florida tax practitioner writing in July 2026 reported that Vrbo pays no county tourist tax anywhere in the state. Treat every Vrbo booking as one where you file the tourist tax yourself.

Direct bookings, through your own website or a repeat guest who pays you, carry all three taxes, and all three are yours to collect and file.

What a filing routine looks like

For a home in a self filing county, a clean routine is:

Register with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax, and with the county for the tourist tax.
Each month, total the rent from every booking by site, and separate what Airbnb already paid.
File and pay the county tourist tax on the bookings Airbnb did not cover, and the state tax and surtax on anything the platforms did not cover.
Keep the monthly reports. Counties audit, and late filings carry penalties and interest.

It is not hard work, but it is every month, and it is easy to miss a Vrbo stay or a direct booking.

Do not forget the state vacation rental license

Separate from taxes, Florida requires a vacation rental license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants for any home rented more than three times a year for less than 30 days. An owner can hold a Single license, about $170 a year plus application fees, or a licensed manager can carry the home on a Collective license. Many cities and counties add their own registration on top.

How we handle it

For every Florida home we manage, we set up the state license and the county registrations, and we file the tourist tax each month wherever it is ours to file, including Vrbo and direct bookings. You see every filing on your monthly statement. Full service is 12% of booking revenue, everything included.

See what your Florida home could earn, or read more about where we work in Florida.