Florida hotel & lodging sales laws, in plain English

Renting a room, condo or house for six months or less is a transient rental in Florida, and the rent is subject to state sales tax plus any county discretionary sales surtax.

• The tax is added to the rental charge and collected from the guest by the operator or the platform handling the booking.
• A stay of six months or longer under a written lease is generally treated as a non-transient rental and falls outside this tax — month-to-month stays need care.
• The county surtax follows the county where the property sits, so the same nightly rate can total differently two counties apart.

Most Florida counties levy a tourist development tax on short-term rentals of six months or less, and it is charged in addition to state sales tax.

• Rates are set county by county and are commonly in the 1% to 6% range, so always read the tax line on a quote rather than assuming one statewide number.
• It applies to the same short-term rentals as the state tax, including condos, beach houses and rooms booked through a platform.
• Some counties add separate convention development or resort taxes on top for certain property types.

Resort fees, amenity fees, cleaning fees and other charges the guest cannot decline are rent for tax purposes, so they belong in the taxable total — not in a separate untaxed line.

• Optional charges a guest genuinely chooses, such as an add-on service, are treated differently from fees that apply to every stay.
• Mandatory fees must be disclosed as part of the price you are quoted, not revealed only at the property.
• Charging tax on a fee and then also advertising the room at a rate that excludes it can put the total far above the headline price — check the itemized breakdown.

Florida lodging law lets an establishment require a deposit or guarantee, and requires that the money be applied to the guest’s account and handled under stated terms.

• Ask for the written cancellation and deposit terms before you pay — the terms you agree to are what govern a later dispute.
• A deposit or advance payment held for a stay is credited toward the final bill, not kept as an extra charge.
• Establishments are licensed under Chapter 509, and the license holder is who you deal with when something goes wrong.

Florida has no single statute dictating hotel refund rules, but the terms advertised and agreed to are enforceable, and misleading pricing or a bait-and-switch falls under the state’s deceptive trade practices law.

• Keep the confirmation email showing the quoted rate, taxes and cancellation window — it is your evidence if the charge or the room differs.
• If a property cannot honor a confirmed reservation, the remedy usually comes from the booking terms and the platform’s policy, so read them before check-in.
• Unfair or deceptive practices in trade or commerce can be pursued by the Florida Attorney General or by the guest who was harmed.

Once the Governor declares a state of emergency, lodging may not be rented at an unconscionable price — and charging more than the average nightly rate you charged in the 30 days before the declaration is presumed to be exactly that.

• The benchmark is your own 30-day average rate for the same or a comparable room before the declaration, not a statewide number or a competitor’s rate.
• A higher rate can be justified only by the extra cost of the goods or services actually provided, or by costs you can document that are attributable to the emergency.
• The statute applies to renting or selling essential commodities — shelter, including hotel, motel and short-term rental units — during the emergency period.
• Violations are enforced by the Attorney General and are a criminal offense, on top of refunds and civil penalties.
• The cap lifts when the emergency declaration ends, so the rate you quoted before a storm is the rate you should be able to defend afterward.

Anyone regularly renting accommodations must register as a sales tax dealer, and lodging establishments must hold a state license — with penalties for operating outside either requirement.

• Booking platforms now commonly collect and remit the rental taxes for their hosts; a host who also collects tax on the same stay would be double-charging.
• A property offered for short stays without a lodging license or tax registration is a compliance red flag worth checking before you book.
• Violations can bring administrative fines, license discipline and assessment of unpaid tax plus interest and penalties.