Sarasota County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- TDT rate on short-term rentals
- 6% of rent charged
- Covered rental term
- 6 months or less
- Filing frequency
- Monthly (quarterly if under $25/qtr)
- Record retention required
- 5 years
- Late-file penalty
- 10%/30 days, capped at 50%
- Fraud penalty
- 100% of tax due
- Admin fee retained by county
- Up to 3% of collections
Summary
Owners renting a house, condo or room in unincorporated Sarasota County for six months or less must collect and remit a six percent Tourist Development Tax through the Sarasota County Tax Collector, keep five years of rental records, and can lose up to half the tax to penalties for late filing.
(a)The person receiving the consideration from such rental or lease shall receive, account for, and remit the tax to the Sarasota County Tax Collector at the time and in the manner provided for persons who collect and remit taxes under F.S. § 212.03. ... the Sarasota County Tax Collector may authorize a quarterly return and payment when the tax remitted by the person receiving the consideration for such rental or lease for the preceding quarter does not exceed $25.00. All persons who are subject to the provisions of this article shall secure, maintain and keep for a period of five years a complete record of rooms or other lodging, leased or rented by said person, together with gross receipts from such sales... (g)A maximum of three percent of the tax collected herein shall be retained for costs of administration.
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
Every short-term rental, defined as living quarters let for a term of six months or less, is subject to Sarasota County's Tourist Development Tax (TDT) under Sec. 114-61, currently totaling six percent of the rent charged after six separate levies adopted between 1988 and October 1, 2022. Sec. 03, including supplying a federal EIN or Social Security number. 00 may request quarterly filing instead of monthly; everyone else files monthly, with tax due the first of the month following the rental and delinquent on the 21st (postmarked after the 20th counts as late).
Hosts must keep complete rental and receipt records for five years, available for Tax Collector inspection even if stored outside the county. The Tax Collector may audit those records, issue tax warrants that become liens on the host's real or personal property, and pursue writs of garnishment, while up to three percent of everything collected is retained for administrative costs split between the Tax Collector and Clerk of the Circuit Court. Refusing an inspection is itself a first-degree misdemeanor. ch. 212.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 114-65 makes failure to collect the tax a first-degree misdemeanor under F.S. §§ 775.082-.084, and bars any host from advertising that they will absorb or refund the tax. Late payment adds a 10 percent penalty per 30-day period of delinquency, capped at 50 percent of the tax owed (minimum $10.00 per return), plus one percent monthly interest from the 21st of the month following the rental. A false or fraudulent return carries a 100 percent penalty, and unpaid tax becomes a recorded lien on the host's property collectible like a judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do short-term rental hosts in Sarasota County pay the Tourist Development Tax?
How often must a host file the Tourist Development Tax?
What records must a short-term rental host keep?
What is the penalty for paying the tax late?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sarasota County
How Sarasota County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Florida rules heatmap·Compare Sarasota County to another location·View the Florida short-term rentals overview
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