Brevard County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)
Key Facts
- Total tax rate
- 5% (2% base + three 1% levies)
- Applies to stays
- six months or less
- Account required
- before renting or advertising
- Penalty
- fine up to $500 per day
- Remittance authority
- Clerk of Circuit Court (since Oct. 2025)
Summary
Brevard County levies a 5% tourist development tax, 2% plus three added 1% increments, on vacation rentals leased for six months or less, collected from the guest and remitted through a required tax account.
The board of county commissioners hereby levies and imposes...a tourist development tax within the county at the rate of two percent for each whole and major fraction of each dollar of the total consideration charged every person who rents, leases, or lets any living quarters or accommodations in any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, apartment motel, roominghouse, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, or condominium for a term of six months or less...
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 135).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 102-117 imposes a base 2% tourist development tax on any living quarters or vacation rental leased for six months or less, plus three additional 1% levies for beach/lagoon renourishment, the county zoo, and general tourism promotion: 5% total. Owners must first obtain a tourist development tax account under Sec. 102-124 before renting; operating or advertising a vacation rental without one violates Sec. 102-125, punishable by a fine up to $500, with each day of noncompliance a separate violation. As of October 1, 2025, remittance shifted from the Tax Collector to the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Violations & Fines
Renting without a tourist development tax account violates § 102-124; § 102-125 sets a fine up to $500, with each day of continued renting a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to collect a tourist tax on my Brevard County vacation rental?
What happens if I rent short-term without a tax account?
Does the tourist tax apply inside cities like Cocoa Beach or Melbourne, or just unincorporated areas?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Brevard County
How Brevard County compares: Cities with the Highest Short-Term Rental Taxes·Florida rules heatmap·Compare Brevard County to another location·View the Florida short-term rentals overview
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