Taxes

[Kitty134]

a moment ago

Hello - I am new to hosting.  I am in Santa Rosa county, Florida.

My question is in reference to:

Sales and Use Tax (Florida) 

Local Sales and Use Tax (Discretionary Sales Surtax) (Santa Rosa)

I understand Airbnb will collect the taxes and then remit them on behalf of the host.

However, I am unsure of where to go to get my ID numbers. It seems like several websites, point me in several directions.

I am not a business, just a personal home owner.  

I was able to get my Tourist tax Id, from Santa Rosa, but I am unsure about the other two.

Does someone have the websites to share with me?

Thank you,

Kitty

[Bhumika]

Hi @Kitty134 , thanks for asking this here 🌻

I am tagging a few hosts from Florida if they can share advice for this tax question.Hi @Rose422 @Dolly36 @Nicholas439 @Karen1 @Maria22471 @Helen471 , could you share some guidance with host @Kitty134 ? Thank you everyone in advance!

While we wait for hosts to help, I am also sharing this article in case it helps : 👉Occupancy tax collection and remittance by Airbnb in Florida 👈 Please keep me posted if the article helps!

Regards,

[Kitty134]

Thank you!

[Dolly36 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Kitty134 

Welcome to hosting 😊 in Florida! In this state tax registration can feel a bit layered but a key registration and a few phone calls should clear things up. 

First a disclaimer, I’m not in Santa Rosa County, but I did a bit of research to point you in the right direction:

1. For the state level (Florida Sales and Use Tax), you’ll want to register with the Florida Department of Revenue here: https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/eservices/Pages/registration.aspx

2. Once you register, you’ll receive your sales tax certificate, and that also covers the discretionary sales surtax (so no separate registration is needed for that piece).

3. Since you already have your Tourist Development Tax account with Santa Rosa, that’s typically the county-level piece and is always separate. You should be all set there. 

One thing to keep in mind with Airbnb: in many Florida counties, Airbnb collects and remits certain taxes on your behalf, but not always all of them. That’s why you still want to be registered with the state so you’re compliant (and in some cases still filing returns, even if they’re $0).

If you want to double check anything specific to Santa Rosa, you could also reach out directly to their tax office just to confirm if there are any local nuances.

Hope this helps!

Dolly (Ft. Lauderdale ☀️🌴)

[Kitty134]

Thank you @Dolly36 

[Bhumika]

Thank you so much @Dolly36 for these points! 🌻

[Nicholas1119]

Hello @Dolly36 ! I just wanted to drop this tidbit of information in here from the State of Florida's Tax website.

"Effective October 1, 2025, the state sales tax imposed on rent or license fees for the use of real property (commercial rentals) under section 212.031, Florida Statutes (F.S.), is repealed. This means no state sales tax or discretionary sales surtax applies to rent or license fees for rental or occupancy periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025. Examples of commercial rentals subject to the repeal include rentals of commercial office or retail space, warehouses, and self-storage units. For additional information please review Tax Information Publication #25A01-04"

I found this to be true by calling my local CPA.

[Dolly36]

Thanks for mentioning this. My understanding from my CPA is that short-term rentals like Airbnb fall under a different section of Florida law (section 212.03 – transient rentals), and that part was not repealed. Either way, the safest and most accurate next step would be to check with a tax professional or even the Florida Department of Revenue directly so they can look at your specific setup and confirm exactly what applies to you.

[Paula]

Tagging here @Nicholas1119 to make sure he gets a notification and sees your reply, @Dolly36  🙂

[Helen471]

Hello @Kitty134 The most important thing you need to do is obviously comply with the state (@Dolly36 covered those steps for you) and comply with your county.

In my county, Airbnb DOES NOT collect and remit the Tourist Tax and so the most challenging thing for Hosts here is to have to set that up using the Professional Tools in Airbnb. Once that is set that up, Airbnb collects the Tourist Tax the same way they collect the State tax from the Guest; however, hosts here still have to remit the tax to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector's office every month by "filing a monthly return." 

Attached is the link if you end up having to set that up on your own.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2523#section-heading-0

Here in Palm Beach County, so many hosts when they set up their listing and go active do not realize this step and often have to pay significant penalties when they are audited. As Dollly suggested, if you are not sure if your county collects and/or remits the Tourist Tax, I would contact them directly to ask if Airbnb collects and remits to them. You can also join the Airbnb Host Community for your area, and I am sure that hosts in the club, including the Community Leader, will steer you in the right direction. Please reach out if you have any questions. I wish you the best in completing these steps ☺️ 

[Kitty134]

Thank you @Helen471. 

[Kitty134]

Helen,

I found out that airbnb does remit Tourist tax (in Santa Rosa county) if you have it set up.  So I think I am good with my setup.  You may want to see if they will do it in your area as well.

[Kitty134]

ok, let's just say I am very confused.  I talked to Santa Rosa county and they said Airbnb does remit the tax.  However, there is not a person that runs the Airbnb support that understands my question well enough to answer.  I gave screenshots and wrote it as simple as I could.  I finally asked if there was someone in the USA that I could speak to that might understand the tax question.  Horrible customer service...but I think every company is headed in that direction.  i will contact the Santa Rosa again.  ugh..so frustrating.

[Paula]

Sorry to hear about this, @Kitty134. Please let us know if you manage to find any additional information after contacting Santa Rosa.

Also, if you’d like to provide feedback about your customer service experience directly to Airbnb, here is the link where you can do so.

Regards,

[Kitty134]

Thank you,  I will,  THE WORST customer service.   It's like they know words, but they don't understand what they mean.