Short-term rentals in Spring Hill (unincorporated Hernando County) collect a combined 11.5% in state and county taxes on stays of 6 months or less: 6.0% Florida state transient rental sales tax (FS § 212.03), 0.5% Hernando County discretionary sales surtax (effective Jan 1, 2016, scheduled to expire Dec 31, 2035), and 5.0% Hernando County Tourist Development Tax (Hernando County Ordinance 2014-17, administered by the Hernando County Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller). There is no Spring Hill municipal lodging tax because Spring Hill has no city government. The TDT taxable base includes the room rate plus all non-refundable charges (cleaning fees, pet fees, additional guest fees). Returns are filed monthly with the Hernando Clerk - due the 1st of the following month, delinquent after the 20th. Operators on time get a 2.5% collection allowance up to $30 per filing. Airbnb/VRBO platform collection of the Hernando TDT is NOT automatic in all cases - operators must verify and back-fill any gap.
Spring Hill STR taxation is built entirely on Hernando County and Florida state authority because Spring Hill has no city government and imposes no municipal lodging tax. State layer: FS § 212.03 imposes a 6.0% 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 booked through Airbnb, VRBO, or directly. 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 at floridarevenue.com. County discretionary surtax layer: Hernando County imposes a 0.5% discretionary sales surtax administered by the Florida DOR under FS § 212.054, effective January 1, 2016 and scheduled to expire December 31, 2035. The surtax applies to the first $5,000 of any single sale (including transient rentals) and is collected through the same DR-15 sales tax return as the 6.0% state tax. Tourist Development Tax layer: Hernando County imposes a 5.0% Tourist Development Tax under Hernando County Ordinance 2014-17, administered NOT by the Florida DOR but by the Hernando County Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller (hernandoclerk.com/county-services/tourist-development-tax). Registration is direct with the Clerk's office. The TDT applies to 'living quarters and accommodations including but not limited to hotel, motel, resort, apartment complex, rooming house, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park, dry camping, single family dwelling, mobile homes, beach house, cottage, condominium, bed & breakfast, or any other sleeping accommodations that are rented for a period of six months or less' - the broad definition explicitly covers single-family vacation rentals like a typical Spring Hill Airbnb. The TDT taxable base mirrors the state framework: rental charges include the daily rate and any non-refundable charges (cleaning fee, pet fee, additional guest fee). Filing: monthly reporting required by the 1st day of the following month; delinquent if not received by the 20th of that month. Operators must report even if no tax is due in a given month. Collection allowance: owners and rental management companies who file on time receive a 2.5% allowance on the first $1,200 collected per filing (maximum $30) - forfeited if filed late. Combined effective rate on a Spring Hill STR stay is 11.5% (6.0% state + 0.5% Hernando surtax on first $5,000 + 5.0% Hernando TDT). There is NO Spring Hill municipal lodging tax. Permit fees: Hernando County's current Vacation Rental Permit fee structure is set by Planning Department schedule (verify current amounts directly with Planning at (352) 754-4050); the pending 2026 Certificate of Use ordinance may add additional inspection or certificate fees. Platform note: Airbnb has a state-level agreement with the Florida DOR to automatically collect and remit the 6.0% state sales tax and the 0.5% Hernando discretionary surtax for platform-booked stays. The 5.0% Hernando County TDT is administered separately by the County Clerk and is NOT automatically remitted by Airbnb/VRBO for all Hernando County properties - this is a critical compliance distinction. Operators must verify what is and is not being collected and back-fill any gap through monthly TDT filings with the Hernando County Clerk.
Failure to register with the Florida Department of Revenue for the 6.0% state sales tax and 0.5% Hernando discretionary surtax is a violation enforceable by DOR under FS § 212.18 with interest, late penalties, and audit assessment. Failure to register with the Hernando County Clerk for the 5.0% Tourist Development Tax is enforceable by the county Clerk under Hernando County Ordinance 2014-17 with similar back-tax, interest, and penalty exposure. Late TDT returns (filed after the 20th of the month following the reporting period) trigger automatic penalties, interest, and forfeit the 2.5% collection allowance. Misreporting cleaning or management fees as 'non-taxable' is a common audit finding - if the fee is required to rent the accommodation, it is part of the taxable base under both FS § 212.03 and Hernando Ordinance 2014-17. Failing to file a monthly TDT return even when no tax is due is itself a violation - the county requires zero-return filings during slow months. Operating an STR without the underlying Hernando County Planning Department Vacation Rental Permit subjects the operator to both the permit-violation framework AND continued tax obligations on every booking. Because Airbnb/VRBO does not automatically remit the Hernando TDT in all cases, the audit risk is concentrated on operators who assumed platform collection and never registered with the Hernando Clerk - this is the single most common compliance failure mode for STRs in unincorporated Hernando County. Repeated non-compliance with the tax stack can support criminal tax evasion charges under FS § 212.18(3) in extreme cases. Failure to pay required Hernando County Vacation Rental Permit fees is grounds for non-issuance or non-renewal of the permit.
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