Palm Coast, FL Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Palm Coast STR taxation is built on the standard Florida three-layer transient rental tax stack plus a city registration fee structure unique to Palm Coast's 2025-01 ordinance. State layer: FS § 212.03 imposes a 6% sales tax on the total rental charged for living quarters or sleeping accommodations rented for periods of six months or less, including short-term home rentals. The taxable base includes the room rate plus any required cleaning fees, pet fees, resort fees, or similar mandatory charges; refundable security deposits are not taxed. Registration is through the Florida Department of Revenue using Form DR-1, and returns are filed monthly through the DOR taxpayer portal. County discretionary surtax layer: Flagler County imposes a 1.0% discretionary sales surtax administered by the Florida DOR under FS § 212.054, which applies to the first $5,000 of any single sale (including transient rentals); the surtax is collected through the same DR-15 sales tax return as the 6% state tax. Tourist Development Tax layer: Flagler County imposes a 5% Tourist Development Tax under Flagler County Ordinance 2018-10, effective August 1, 2018, administered by the Flagler County Tax Collector at flaglertax.gov/tourist-development-tax. Registration is direct with the Flagler Tax Collector through the Tourist Express portal at flagler.county-taxes.com/tourist; a Florida Department of Revenue Sales Tax Identification Number is required first. Returns are filed monthly through the Tourist Express portal - due on the 1st day of the month following the reporting period and delinquent if not paid by the 20th. Combined effective rate on a Palm Coast STR stay is 12% (6.0% state + 1.0% Flagler surtax on first $5,000 + 5.0% Flagler TDT). The city does NOT add a separate municipal lodging tax. City registration fees: under Palm Coast Ordinance 2025-01 and City Council Resolution 2025-05, every STR must pay a $375 annual registration fee plus a $75 annual inspection fee, totaling $450 per property per year payable to the City of Palm Coast through cdpservices.palmcoast.gov/btr. The city has indicated expected revenue of approximately $120,000 annually from the registration program, implying roughly 270 expected registrants in the first compliance cycle. Platform note: Airbnb has a state-level agreement with the Florida DOR to automatically collect and remit the 6% state sales tax for platform-booked stays statewide; the Flagler County Tax Collector has specifically advised that ONLINE PLATFORMS DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY REMIT THE 5% FLAGLER TDT in all cases - property owners remain responsible for collection and payment regardless of platform. This is a critical compliance distinction from counties (like Broward, Miami-Dade, Lee) that have direct platform-collection agreements; in Flagler the operator must verify what is and is not being collected and back-fill any gap through the Tourist Express monthly return.