Walton County, FL Hotels & Lodging: Transient Occupancy Tax (2026)

Section 19-34 consolidates what had become a patchwork of separate tourist development tax ordinances into one stated rate per district. It confirms the county has two sub-county taxing districts, one south of the Intracoastal Waterway and one north of it, and that "the tourist development tax levied in each respective district" is five percent south of the Intracoastal Waterway and two percent north of it. That combined rate is built from the base two percent levy in Section 19-26 plus the additional one percent beach renourishment tax (Section 19-29), a half-percent low-cost-air-carrier tax that has since run its course, a one-percent high-tourism-impact tax (Section 19-32) in the south district, and a two-percent levy adopted separately for the north district (Section 19-33).

Section 19-34 also states how the money must be spent: in the south district, 50 percent goes to tourism advertising, shoulder-season promotion, and product development, 20 percent to beach management and nourishment, 20 percent to high-impact uses, and 10 percent to administration; in the north district, 40 percent goes to tourism advertising, 10 percent to shoulder-season advertising, 40 percent to product development, and 10 percent to administration. Any amendment to these tourism development plans must go through a board ordinance under Florida law. Every hotel, motel, or short-term rental operator collecting the tax must remit it monthly to the Clerk of the Circuit Court under the procedures set out in Sections 19-26 and 19-29.