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

Section 13-61 levies a six percent tourist development tax on the total rental charge for any hotel, apartment hotel, motel, resort motel, apartment, apartment motel, rooming-house, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park or condominium rented for a term of six months or less, which sweeps in the county's short-term vacation-rental market. 0104(3)(d), (m), (l) and (n). If the rent is paid in something other than money, the tax is calculated on the fair market value of that consideration. Subsection (c) puts the collection duty on the person receiving the rental payment, whether that's an owner, a property manager or a booking platform's local agent, and the tax has to be collected from the guest at the time payment is made.

Subsection (e) exempts anyone with a bona fide written lease longer than six months for continuous residence, judged by factors including whether the rent is comparable to market rates and whether the tenant actually occupied the unit for the full lease term. The tax becomes county money the moment it's collected, under subsection (d), and revenue funds the Tourist Development Council's programs under §§ 13-65 through 13-67. Collection, audit and enforcement run through the county's tax collector and finance department under § 13-68.