Sarasota County, FL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)
Key Facts
- Combined TDT rate
- 6% of rental consideration
- Applies to stays of
- 6 months or less
- Collecting agency
- Sarasota County Tax Collector
- Quarterly filing threshold
- Tax due under $25.00/quarter
- Record retention
- 5 years of rental records
- Late penalty
- 10%/30 days, capped at 50%
- Admin cost retained
- Up to 3% of collections
Summary
Sarasota County levies a six percent Tourist Development Tax on hotels, motels, resort motels, apartments, roominghouses, mobile home parks, RV parks and condominiums rented for six months or less. The tax stacks six separate levies adopted between 1988 and 2022 and is collected by the County Tax Collector on top of state sales tax.
(a)Initial Two Percent Levy.(1)Pursuant to the authority of F.S. § 125.0104(3)(c), Sarasota County does levy and impose throughout the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Sarasota County, Florida, a TDT at a rate of two percent of each dollar and major fraction of each dollar of the total consideration charged every person who rents, leases or lets for consideration any living quarters or accommodations in any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, apartment hotel, roominghouse, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, or condominium which renting, leasing, or letting is for a term of six months or less and is not exempt according to the provisions of F.S. ch. 212. ... (f)Third Additional One Percent Levy (Sixth Percent). ... The levy of this Third Additional One Percent Levy of TDT shall commence on October 1, 2022.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 98).
Full Breakdown
Sarasota County Code § 114-61 layers six separate Tourist Development Tax (TDT) levies on any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, roominghouse, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park or condominium rented, leased or let for a term of six months or less. The Initial Two Percent Levy began November 1, 1988, following a September 6, 1988 voter referendum. The Board added a First Additional One Percent Levy (April 1, 1997), a Second Additional One Percent Levy (May 1, 2007), an Additional One-Half Percent Levy (May 1, 2010), a Second Additional One-Half Percent Levy (May 1, 2011), and, after the Florida Department of Revenue certified Sarasota County as a High Tourism Impact County for exceeding $600 million in taxable sales in 2021, a Third Additional One Percent Levy effective October 1, 2022.
ch. 212. Operators collect the tax from the guest at the time rent is paid and remit it to the Sarasota County Tax Collector under Sec. 00 and requires five years of rental and receipt records. Payments are due the first of the following month and delinquent after the 20th, with up to three percent of collections retained for administration. Revenue funds beach maintenance and renourishment, the Ed Smith Stadium/Braves spring-training facility, arts and advertising/promotion, and sports tourism under the county's Tourist Development Plan (Sec. 114-64).
Violations & Fines
Failing or refusing to charge and collect the tax is a first-degree misdemeanor under F.S. §§ 775.082-.084. Late filers owe a 10 percent penalty per 30-day period of delinquency, capped at 50 percent of the unpaid tax (minimum $10.00), plus one percent interest per month starting the 21st of the following month. A false or fraudulent return draws a 100 percent penalty on the tax due, and unpaid tax becomes a recorded lien collectible the same as a judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sarasota County
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