Putnam County, FL Short-Term Rentals: Taxes & Fees (2026)

Section 40-166(c) defines "transient accommodation" broadly enough to cover short-term rental hosts directly: it lists "single family dwelling," garage apartment, "beach house or cottage," cooperatively owned apartment, mobile home, "or any other house" alongside hotels and motels, plus any boat permanently moored at a dock or any other vehicle, structure or location held out to the public as short-term lodging. Each room or unit within a larger structure counts as a separate accommodation for tax purposes. If the state definition of "transient accommodation" in F.S. § 125.0104 or Florida Administrative Code section 12A-1.061 changes, the county ordinance automatically updates to match, so a host cannot rely on a stale county definition to avoid the tax as state rental categories shift.

Under section 40-166(e) and (f), the person receiving the rental consideration, meaning the host or their booking platform acting as collection agent, must charge the four percent tax at the time of payment and remit it to the county tax collector using the same recordkeeping and reporting duties F.S. ch. 212 imposes on retail dealers. The tax collector audits accounts and enforces delinquent short-term rental collections directly under section 40-166(g), and keeps up to three percent of collections to cover administration before the balance goes to the county's tourist development trust fund.