What Is the Palm Beach County Short-Term Rental Tax?

The Palm Beach County short-term rental tax is a 6% Tourist Development Tax that hosts must collect from every guest staying six months or less and remit directly to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector each month. It sits on top of Florida’s 6% state transient rental tax and a 0.5% county discretionary surtax, so a guest’s bill carries roughly 12.5% in combined lodging taxes. The piece that catches hosts off guard: no booking platform remits the county Tourist Development Tax for you.¹

The Three Taxes Stacked on Every Booking

Three separate taxes apply to a short-term rental transaction in Palm Beach County, and each goes to a different place.

Florida state transient rental tax (6%). Florida Statute 212.03 taxes every rental of living quarters or sleeping accommodations for six months or less at 6% of the total rental charge. It is remitted to the Florida Department of Revenue.²
Discretionary county surtax (0.5%). Starting January 1, 2026, Palm Beach County voters approved a 0.5% school capital outlay surtax that also goes to the Florida Department of Revenue.³
Tourist Development Tax (6%). Palm Beach County’s Chapter 17, Article III imposes a separate 6% tax on short-term rentals, paid to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector rather than the state.⁴

The county ordinance states the Tourist Development Tax is “in addition to any other tax imposed pursuant to Florida Statutes, Chapter 212,” so there is no credit or overlap between layers.⁴ A $200 nightly booking costs the guest $225 once all three taxes are added.

Why Airbnb and Vrbo Don’t Cover You

This is where most hosts get burned. The Palm Beach County Tax Collector states flatly that “Online platforms do not remit TDT to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector.”¹ You are personally on the hook for collecting the 6% county tax from every guest and sending it in each month, regardless of where the booking came from.

Vrbo has collected and remitted Florida’s 6% state transient rental tax and the 0.5% discretionary county surtax on all Florida reservations since December 2018.⁵ Airbnb handles the state-level piece similarly. Neither touches the county Tourist Development Tax. A host who assumes the platform has it covered will be 6% short every month, and the shortfall becomes a personal debt owed to the county.

Registering Before Your First Guest

You need three things in place before you accept a booking: a state tax account, a county Tourist Development Tax account, and a local Business Tax Receipt for each unit. Missing any one of them creates a gap that an audit will find.

State Account With the Florida Department of Revenue

Register using the Florida Business Tax Application, available online or on paper as Form DR-1. The online wizard determines which taxes you need to collect based on your business type. If you already hold an active certificate of registration, add a new rental property using Form DR-1A instead of starting over.⁶

County Tourist Development Tax Account

The Palm Beach County Tax Collector runs a dedicated TDT Portal. Register in the portal and create a login tied to your email, then create a separate TDT account for each rental property. Each account needs a Short-Term Rental Local Business Tax Receipt attached to it before you can begin filing monthly returns.¹

If a property manager handles your filings, the manager registers in the portal as an Agent and verifies status with a valid local Business Tax Receipt registered as a property manager or broker. You then assign your TDT account to that agent and they file for you.¹

The Business Tax Receipt

Section 17-117 of the county ordinance requires anyone offering short-term accommodations to hold a valid local Business Tax Receipt. Apply online, by mail, or at the Tax Collector’s administrative office. Branch service centers do not process these applications. Each rental unit needs its own receipt, so two listings mean two Business Tax Receipts and two TDT accounts.⁷

Monthly Filing Deadlines

Tourist Development Tax returns are due on the 1st of each month for the prior month’s activity and become delinquent after the 20th. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. You must file every single month, even when you had no bookings. A $0 return is required when there is no activity; skipping the month triggers penalties.¹

The TDT Portal lets you enter gross rental income, calculates the 6% tax, and processes payment electronically. Credit card payments typically carry a processor convenience fee. Save the confirmation receipt with your booking records; the county ordinance requires dealers to keep books and records subject to examination by the Tax Collector.⁸

State transient rental tax and the discretionary surtax are filed separately with the Florida Department of Revenue on a schedule the department assigns based on your volume, which may be monthly, quarterly, or semiannually. Keep the two obligations straight. State returns go to Tallahassee. Tourist Development Tax returns go to the Palm Beach County Tax Collector.

When a Stay Is Exempt

Not every rental triggers the tax. The main exemption is the long lease. Under Florida Statute 212.03, a person who “exclusively enters into a bona fide written agreement for continuous residence for longer than 6 months in duration” is not exercising a taxable privilege.² The county Tourist Development Tax follows the same Chapter 212 exemptions.⁹

Two details decide whether this exemption actually applies. The lease must be written, not verbal, and it must be for continuous residence exceeding six months from the start. A guest who books month-to-month and happens to stay seven months does not qualify retroactively. If a guest pays the tax monthly and then crosses six continuous months, the tax drops off going forward, but the tax already paid is not refunded.²

Florida law also exempts full-time students enrolled in postsecondary education and active-duty military personnel residing in taxable accommodations. Stays where no monetary consideration is paid are likewise nontaxable. Keep copies of all exemption documentation. Without the paperwork, the Tax Collector can hold you liable for uncollected tax plus interest.

What Happens If You File Late or Don’t Collect

The county ordinance makes any host who fails to collect the tax “personally liable for the payment of the tax.”⁸ The county comes after you for the amount the guest should have paid, even though the guest left months ago.

On the state side, the Florida Department of Revenue applies a floating interest rate to late payments. For January 1 through June 30, 2026, that rate is 11%, accruing daily from the day after the return was due until the day you pay.¹⁰ Late-filing penalties are calculated separately on top of interest. The county TDT Portal likewise assesses penalties and interest on returns filed after the 20th.¹

The county can examine your books at any time. Refusing an audit is treated as a separate violation subject to penalties under Florida Statute 125.69.⁸

Federal Income Tax Is Separate

The Tourist Development Tax, state transient rental tax, and county surtax are lodging taxes you collect from guests. They are not the same as federal income tax on your rental profit, which you still owe. Most hosts report short-term rental income on Schedule E, which keeps it out of self-employment tax. The IRS has taken the position that providing substantial services, such as daily housekeeping, individual toiletries, dedicated Wi-Fi, recreational equipment, and prepaid ride-share vouchers, can reclassify the activity as a trade or business and push the income onto Schedule C with 15.3% self-employment tax attached. If your operation goes beyond providing linens and a stocked kitchen, that reclassification is worth working through with a tax preparer before filing.

1
Constitutional Tax Collector. Tourist Development Tax (TDT)
2
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.03 – Transient Rentals Tax; Rate, Procedure, Enforcement, Exemptions
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Palm Beach County Surtax Rate Update
4
Palm Beach County. County Ordinances – Section: Sec. 17-113. Levy of Tourist Development Tax
5
Vrbo. US (F-M): Where Vrbo Collects and Remits Taxes and Lodging Taxes
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Account Management and Registration
7
Constitutional Tax Collector. Short Term Rental Business Tax Receipt
8
Palm Beach County. County Ordinances – Section: Sec. 17-114. Collection of Tourist Development Tax
9
Florida Senate. Florida Code 125.0104 – Tourist Development Tax
10
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Tax and Interest Rates