Airbnb collects Florida’s 6% state transient rentals tax and the county discretionary surtax on bookings in every Florida county. It does not collect the county Tourist Development Tax (TDT) in most Florida counties, including Palm Beach, Martin, and St Lucie. VRBO collects no Florida taxes at all. The owner remits everything on VRBO bookings.
If you read your Airbnb earnings report and see a “taxes collected” line, that money probably does not cover the county TDT you owe. Here is how to think about what is covered, what you remit, and how to set up collection.
Florida vacation rental taxes: the three layers
Florida short term rental income is subject to three separate taxes that stack on every booking:
- Florida transient rentals tax: 6%. A statewide tax on all transient rentals (stays of less than six months). Florida Department of Revenue collects.
- County discretionary surtax: varies by county (typically 0.5% to 1.5%). Added by counties on top of the state tax. FL DOR collects.
- County tourist development tax (TDT): varies by county (typically 2% to 6%). Set by each county, remitted to the county tax collector directly.
Every short term rental booking in Florida is subject to all three. Whether you owe the tax personally or whether the booking platform handles it for you depends on which platform you list on and which county your property is in.
What Airbnb collects
Airbnb collects and remits Florida’s 6% state transient rentals tax and the county discretionary surtax on bookings in every Florida county. For the county tourist development tax, Airbnb only collects in counties where it has a direct agreement with the county.
As of 2026, that list covers 22 Florida counties plus the municipality of Surfside (per Airbnb Help Article 2301):
Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, Surfside (in Miami-Dade), Taylor, Volusia.
If your county is not on this list, Airbnb does NOT collect TDT and you remit it yourself. That includes Palm Beach, Martin, St Lucie, Manatee, Walton, Bay, and most of the rest of Florida.
For the canonical schedule of county TDT rates in every Florida county, see Florida DOR Form DR-15TDT.
What VRBO collects
VRBO collects no Florida taxes. Not the state transient rentals tax, not the county discretionary surtax, not the county TDT. The owner remits all three on every VRBO booking, in every Florida county, even counties where Airbnb collects the TDT directly.
This is where VRBO surprises hosts. Most owners assume VRBO operates like Airbnb on tax collection. It does not. If you list on both platforms, you have two completely different tax-handling realities on the same property.
Once you register with the Florida Department of Revenue to remit state transient rentals tax on your VRBO bookings, the filing requirement is monthly, even in months when you had zero VRBO bookings. You still have to file a $0 return for that month. Missing a $0 filing accumulates penalties just like missing a real one. Same logic applies to your county TDT account: register once, file every month, even when there is nothing to remit.
Service area breakdown: Palm Beach, Martin, St Lucie
In Palm Beach, Martin, and St Lucie counties, neither Airbnb nor VRBO collects the county tourist development tax. The owner registers with the county tax collector and remits TDT on every booking, including Airbnb bookings. Airbnb does still collect the 6% state transient rentals tax and the county discretionary surtax on its own bookings. VRBO collects nothing.
| County | TDT rate | State TR collected by | Surtax collected by | County TDT collected by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Beach | 6% | Airbnb only | Airbnb only | Neither (owner remits) |
| Martin | 5% | Airbnb only | Airbnb only | Neither (owner remits) |
| St Lucie | 5% | Airbnb only | Airbnb only | Neither (owner remits) |
“Airbnb only” means Airbnb handles the tax on Airbnb bookings and the owner handles it on VRBO bookings.
Real estate agents
Florida short term rental tax compliance is one of the most common buyer due diligence questions, and most agents do not have a clean answer. We provide free Florida revenue estimates and STR tax-setup walkthroughs for your buyer clients. Learn more about our agent program.
How to set up tax collection in your county
If your county is not on Airbnb’s collection list, here is the setup work:
- Register with your county tax collector for a Tourist Development Tax account number. Each county runs its own registration process and sends you an account number with filing instructions.
- Confirm your rate, filing frequency, and deadline. Most counties require monthly filing. A few allow quarterly for small operators.
- Configure your channel manager or PMS to collect TDT on every channel, including Airbnb. If you list on OwnerRez, set the TDT to “All channels” so it gets collected from guests on Airbnb bookings (Airbnb does not collect TDT for you in your county, but you can still bill it to the guest through your PMS).
- Remit on the schedule the county set. Late or missed filings accumulate penalties and interest fast.
Working with LuxeHaus on the tax side
Tax remittance is not part of our standard management fee. Most owners prefer to handle their own filings with their CPA, so we leave that to you. What we do handle at onboarding: making sure tax collection is configured correctly on every booking channel, so the funds are flowing into your account at the right rates from day one.
If you would rather we manage tax filings and remittance on your behalf, we offer that as an add-on. Either way, we set everything up so nothing gets missed. More on our FAQ page.
What happens if you don’t remit
Operating short term rentals without remitting the taxes you owe exposes you to county tax liens, penalties, and accumulated interest. County tax collectors can audit records back several years; the longer a liability sits unpaid, the worse the math gets.
The compliance cost is small. The non-compliance cost is not.
For the licensing side of Florida short term rental compliance, see our guide to the Florida DBPR vacation rental license.
Frequently asked questions
Does Airbnb collect tourist development tax in Florida?
Airbnb collects the county tourist development tax (TDT) only in 22 Florida counties plus the municipality of Surfside, where it has a direct agreement with the county. In every other Florida county, including Palm Beach, Martin, and St Lucie, Airbnb does not collect TDT and the owner remits it directly to the county tax collector. The full list is at Airbnb Help Article 2301.
Does VRBO collect Florida taxes?
No. VRBO does not collect the Florida 6% state transient rentals tax, the county discretionary surtax, or any county tourist development tax. The owner is responsible for collecting these taxes from the guest and remitting them on every VRBO booking, in every Florida county.
What are the tourist development tax rates in Palm Beach, Martin, and St Lucie counties?
The Palm Beach County tourist development tax rate is 6%. Martin County and St Lucie County are each 5%. These rates are as of 2026 and are in addition to Florida's 6% state transient rentals tax and the county discretionary surtax. Airbnb collects the state tax and surtax on bookings in all three counties but does not collect the county TDT; the owner remits TDT directly to each county's tax collector.
How is Florida transient rentals tax different from county TDT?
Florida's transient rentals tax is a statewide 6% tax on all rentals of less than six months, set by the state legislature and remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue. The county tourist development tax is a separate, county-specific tax (typically 2% to 6%) set by each individual county and remitted to that county's tax collector. They are two different taxes with different rates, different collection authorities, and different filing schedules. Both apply to every Florida short term rental booking.
What happens if I don't remit tourist development tax?
Failure to remit TDT in a county where you owe it exposes you to county tax liens, penalties, and compounding interest. County tax collectors can audit records going back several years. The penalties grow quickly and can outpace the original tax owed. Confirm your specific obligations with a CPA familiar with Florida vacation rental tax.
This post is general information, not legal or tax advice. Tax rates, county procedures, and platform agreements change. Confirm with the Florida Department of Revenue, your county tax collector, and your CPA before acting. Last reviewed: May 15, 2026.