[GUIDE] Florida Sales Tax Tutorial

[Karen1]

To ALL Florida Hosts,

If anyone in the Tax Collector's Offices says that YOU are responsible for your state tax on Airbnb reservations, they are misinformed and giving you old information. Airbnb entered into an agreement with the State of Florida on December 1, 2015, which states that they will collect and remit Florida Transient Tax on all Florida reservations. This tax will be paid in a lump sum by filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue. Airbnb will not be filing individual forms (such as the DR-1C form) on behalf of hosts. Just know that there are still many people who do not know what Airbnb is, including staff in the local tax offices.  Even after two years, many are not aware of this agreement between the Department of Revenue and Airbnb.

Since there is a lot of confusion over the topic, I wrote a Florida Tax Tutorial.  This is accurate as of September 2017:

Basic Florida Tax Info:

The State of Florida taxes short-term rentals (housing rented for 182 days or less) with a Transient Tax. This amount varies per county and consists of the Florida base Sales Tax of 6% plus the county's Discretionary Surtax. Each county may or may not have a Discretionary Surtax. This tax ranges from .5 to 1.5%. The 2017 Discretionary Surtax by county is found here: 2017-Descretionary-Sales-Surtax-Rates-DR-15DSS.pdf

Additionally, each county may tax short-term rentals with Tourist Development Tax. As of June 2017, the Tourist Development Tax amounts were:

ALACHUA 5.0%, BAKER 3.0%, BAY 5.0%, BRADFORD 4.0%, BREVARD 5.0%, BROWARD 5.0%, CALHOUN none, CHARLOTTE 5.0%, CITRUS 5.0%, CLAY 3.0%, COLLIER 4.0%, COLUMBIA 5.0%, DESOTO 3.0%, DIXIE 2.0%, DUVAL 6.0%, ESCAMBIA 4.0%, FLAGLER 5.0%, FRANKLIN 2.0%, GADSDEN 2.0%, GILCHRIST 2.0%, GLADES 2.0%, GULF 5.0% Rate will return to 4% on 1/01/20, HAMILTON 3.0%, HENDRY 3.0%, HARDEE 2.0%, HERNANDO 5.0%, HIGHLANDS 2.0%, HILLSBOROUGH 5.0%, HOLMES 2.0%, INDIAN RIVER 4.0%, JACKSON 4.0%, JEFFERSON 2.0%, LAFAYETTE none, LAKE 4.0%, LEE 5.0%, LEON 5.0%, LEVY 2.0%, LIBERTY none, MADISON 3.0%, MANATEE 5.0%, MARION 4.0%, MARTIN 5.0%, MIAMI-DADE 6.0%, MONROE 5.0%, NASSAU 4.0%, OKALOOSA 5.0%, OKEECHOBE 3.0%, ORANGE 6.0%, OSCEOLA 6.0%, PALM BEACH 6.0%, PASCO 2.0%, PINELLAS 6.0%, POLK 5.0%, PUTNAM 4.0%, ST JOHNS 4.0%, ST LUCIE 5.0% Rate will return to 3% on 1/01/43, SANTA ROSA 5.0%, SARASOTA 5.0%, SEMINOLE 5.0%, SUMTER 2.0%, SUWANNEE 3.0% Rate will return to 2% on 7/01/21, TAYLOR 5.0%, UNION none, VOLUSIA 6.0%, WAKULLA 4.0%, WALTON 4.0%, WASHINGTON 3.0%

What tax does Airbnb collect and pay?

Tax is based on your nightly rate plus your cleaning fee. Each Airbnb confirmation email you receive will have the amount of tax collected for that reservation. To find a summary of the collected taxes, go to Hosting / Stats/ Earnings/ View Transaction History/ Gross Earnings and choose a date range.

For all Florida properties, Airbnb collects and remits the Transient Tax (the 6% plus your county's Discretionary Surtax).

Additionally, Airbnb collects the Tourist Development Tax in SOME counties because that tax is administered by the state for those counties. Currently the 24 counties are: Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Desoto, Dixie, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Levy, Madison, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Pasco, Sumter, Wakulla, and Washington.

Recently, other counties entered into their own agreements with Airbnb. Tourist Development Tax is now also collected and remited for Brevard, Broward, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Leon, Miami-Dade*, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Taylor, and the city of Surfside.  *Note, there are exceptions to Miami-Dade county. See source below.

What tax do you have to collect and submit?

At minimum, nothing (depending on your county) and at maximum, your county's Tourist Development Tax.

If you rent your Florida property by using only Airbnb, you must delete your account with the Florida Department of Revenue. You only need the FL DOR account if you offer your property on other platforms where taxes are not paid for you.  If you keep an account, DOR will expect payment. Do not pay double taxes!

If your county is not listed as one where Airbnb accepts and pays Tourist Development Tax, then you need to visit your county's Tax Collector's Office. They may require you to apply for an Occupational License and they will instruct you on how to pay the Tourist Development Tax.

Also, just recently, Airbnb stopped rounding to the nearest dollar and is not calculating payments, taxes and fees to the dollar and cents.  Please let me know if you find any errors in this information.

Sources: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/653/in-what-areas-is-occupancy-tax-collection-and-remittance-by-...

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/481/how-do-taxes-work-for-hosts

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/654/what-is-occupancy-tax--do-i-need-to-collect-or-pay-it

[Nigel-and-Maria0]

Hi Karen,

Thanks for writing this tutorial I think you have just saved me a ton of money because I was about to pay double taxes!  I need to file the State or Transcient tax on a montly basis and I am behind because these short term taxes are really confusing for the non tax inclined.

We have our place listed on Aibnb and VRBO. As I understand it Airbnb pays our Occupation or Local tax because they have that relationship with Broward. VRBO didnt have this relationship so never collected this Occupation tax until Dec 1st 2017. Now they collect this tax. However, the confusing thing with VRBO is if a guest booked before this date, Dec 1st, the host has to pay this tax or collect it from the guest which I'm sure will not go down too well! 

So that is the local or Occupation tax thing. The Transcient or FL state tax is another "animal"! As I now understand it from your article  Airbnb collect this tax too for their hosts. Do I have this correct? On the other side, VRBO do not collect this tax. So I think I have to file and pay 6% (no surtax in Broward) on all my VRBO rentals. Is this a tax that Airbnb collects from the our guests or do they just pay the tax for their hosts? The reason I ask is I am wondering if this is a charge I should collect for guest who book on VRBO rather that this being my cost? What are your thoughts on this FL state tax?

Many thanks for you knowledge

Nigel

[Karen1]

 @Nigel-and-Maria0, Yes, you got the Airbnb tax information correct. For Broward County, Airbnb collects and remits both the State Transient Sales tax and the county Tourist Development tax. They add this amount onto the guest's fee and the guest pays it. 

I think it is always good to put in your listings, both Airbnb and VRBO, that sales tax and county tax must be collected. On the Airbnb listing, you can say something like "Please understand that Airbnb will charge you an additional 6% for Florida Sales Tax and 5% for Broward County Tourist Tax."  For VRBO, you can decide if you want to collect the state sales tax from the guest or obsorb the cost yourself, but I don't know which is best.

Since you use VRBO and not only Airbnb, you must keep an account with the Florida Dept of Revenue. You must submit your VRBO Florida Sales tax on a monthly basis. If you have not been doing that, you can call the FL DOR, General Tax Division, 850-488-6800, and ask for a waiver of the fine (I think $50). Plead ignorance and tell them you want to pay your back taxes. I did and they waived my fine. I hope this was helpful! - Karen

[Susan789]

I am in Lee County and also have been paying double taxes for two years.  If anyone knows how to get a refund I'd love to learn how. Also, does homeaway operate the same as Air bnb in regard to taxes?   I may have been double paying with them as well.

[Robyn23]

Susan, you can tell which platforms are not remitting your taxes because the pay them to you. Look at your host payment breakdown, it should say there. I'm under the impression that Airbnb is the only platform that remits taxes for us. If I'm wrong, I welcome a correction:)

[Barbara745]

I am totally new to all this, but noticed someone mentioning a busines license?  Do I need a business license if I'm renting through Airbnb in Florida? Pinnellas County? 

[Karen818]

Hi Karen,

I'm hosting in Collier County - the tax rate increased to 5% since you wrote this guide. My question is Collier County is NOT on your list of counties Airbnb pays out directly. Will the tax still be listed on the guest's fees?

[Karen1]

@Karen818,  No, local fees will not be displayed on your guest receipt. You will need to calculate the amount and either ask for payment upon arrival, or send an "altered reservation" to include the local tax. (You could obsorb the tax in your nightly rate, but this means you're paying state tax on local tax, and a higher Airbnb fee amount.)

I recently stayed at an Airbnb in Lee County where both state and local taxes are collected by Airbnb. The taxes were displayed as a lump sum on my receipt (not listed separately). I cannot say for sure, but I do not think the local tax is ever display on a guest receipt. 

Thank you for the updated info on Collier county tax. - Karen

[Vicki117]

So, do I understand that I need do NOTHING regarding taxes (Lee Co.)? I don't have to register in any way - either with the tax bureau, or with Airbnb? It's just going to happen automatically? Should I mention the tax charge in my listing? Or does Airbnb communicate this when collecting the rent payment? I read that taxes can be added within Special Offer. Is this the appropriate thing to do? Thank you very much for all the excellent info. Vicki

[Karen1]

@Vicki117,  You are one of the lucky hosts in Florida! In Lee County, there is no Discrectionary Tax, so the state sells tax is "only" 6%.  The local Tourist Develoment Tax is 5%.  Airbnb collects both of those taxes for you, a total of 11% on your nightly rate, cleaning fee plus extra fees, if any. I stayed in an Airbnb in Lee County recently, and I verified on my receipt that Airbnb did indeed collected both the state and the local taxes. 

If you do not rent short-term on any other platform (only on Airbnb), then you do not need an account with the Florida Department of Revenue.  But, I do not know if you need a licence or other sort of account with your county.  Call the Lee County Tax Collector and ask.  Be confident that Airbnb pays all your taxes, but you may want to ask if you need to do anything else to be legal in the county. 

Yes, you should mention on your hosting page that Airbnb will collect these taxes so that the guest is not shocked by an additional 11% added to their bill.  - Karen

[Patrick698]

Thank you for this very valuable and helpful information!  Hi Everyone! This is Jil and I am just getting started... Would anyone be able to put me in contact with Hosts here in Gainesville, FL?

[Karen1]

You can search for one on the Community Center's home page by clicking "Connect Locally".  If you don't find one, maybe you could start a group.

Are you on Facebook? There are several Airbnb groups, but I am not sure about one specifically for your area.  The Hosting Journey is a closed FB group for vacation rental hosts. This is a good group to learn about best practices in vacation rentals. 

[Sylvia216]

I just booked for the first time. I am in Lee County, FL. I followed your directions to view taxes collected by Airbnb. Hosting/stats/earnings/view/transaction history. However, nothing is posted yet because the booking isn’t until a couple weeks from now.  Can I truly count on the applicable state and county taxes being billed and filed?

[Karen1]

Sylvia, You have until the 20th of the following month to submit your taxes.  Normally you will get paid the day after the guest has arrived, but since this is your first booking, it can take up to 30 days.  Once you get paid, check your transaction history.  For sure the Florida state sales tax will be paid.  Things change all the time and I am not in your county. From a recent stay as a guest in Lee County, Airbnb did collect from me both state and county tax. 

If in doubt, call  your Lee County Tax Collector and ask if the county tourist tax is being paid by Airbnb.

[Sherry130]

This link is a local news station that provides information about taxes. https://www.google.com/amp/www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20170627/local-counties-enjoy-tax-benefits-of-a...

[Christine1183]

Hi Everyone!

I am new to AirBNB as of April 2018 and recently received a letter from my county, Nassau County, Florida, that says I must remit a Tourist Development Tax otherwise known as a Bed Tax. I have been reading through your posts and I want to make sure I have this correct in my mind.

But first, a question: Is the Occupancy Tax the same as this Tourist Development/Bed Tax?

Please correct me if I am wrong but I am understanding this as AirBNB collects all taxes and remits them to the state of Florida on behalf of the hosts as one lump sum. The Tourist Development Tax/Bed Tax is only taken care of in some counties, but not in Nassau County, as I do not see it on the list. So, I am assuming that it is my responsibility to collect this tax and remit it to my county myself. Correct?

Does anyone collect this tax on your own and how do you go about doing it?

Thank you for your help!

Christine