Broward County Tourist Development Tax Vacation Rental Guide

Broward County's Tourist Development Tax is 6 percent of total rent on living quarters, including condominiums and single family homes, rented for six months or less. This guide follows the county's own Tourist Development Tax page, as of October 2026.

The tax is charged by whoever receives the rent, collected from the guest at the time of payment, and remitted to the Broward County Tourist Development Tax Section, part of the Records, Taxes and Treasury Division.

Step 1: Confirm the tax applies (6 percent of total rent, as of October 2026)

As of October 2026, the Broward County Tourist Development Tax page sets the rate at 6 percent of the total rent charged.

The county applies it to the total rent charged to every person who rents or leases living quarters or accommodations for six months or less, and its list names condominiums and single family homes alongside hotels, apartments and timeshares.

The county page does not itemize which guest fees count toward total rent. If you charge cleaning or other fees, confirm their treatment with the Tourist Development Tax Section at TourisTax@Broward.org before you set your guest pricing.

Step 2: Know the names for the same tax (resort tax, bed tax, local option tourist tax, transient rental tax)

Owners run into conflicting terminology across booking engines, legal documents, and accounting software. Florida lodging taxes go by several informal labels, but they point to the same statutory levy. On guest receipts and in conversation, the Broward County Tourist Development Tax gets called the bed tax, the resort tax, the transient rental tax, or the local option tourist tax.

Whatever a booking engine or receipt calls it, the county page is explicit that in all cases it is still the 6 percent Tourist Development Tax added to short-term rentals.

Step 3: Check the rental length: six months or less is taxable

Duration decides your tax status in Broward County. The Tourist Development Tax applies to living quarters rented, leased, or licensed for six months or less. If a person or group occupies your property for up to six calendar months, the transaction is transient and taxable.

If the rental is for six months or less, the total rent is subject to the tax.

Step 4: Handle stays longer than six months (bona fide written long-term leases and the seventh-month rule)

Accommodations rented for longer than six months may be exempt, but the county says the exemption must be supported by bona fide written long-term leases.

Without a bona fide written long-term lease, a rental longer than six months is taxable for the first six months of continuous occupancy and becomes exempt beginning on the first day of the seventh month.

Step 5: Identify who must charge it and collect it from the guest at time of payment

The county states that the tax is charged by the person receiving the consideration for the rental and collected from the guest at the time of payment. That person receives, accounts for and remits it to the Broward County Tourist Development Tax Section. If you take payment directly from guests, that is you.

The county page does not address booking platforms. If you list on Airbnb, Vrbo or any other channel, confirm with the Tourist Development Tax Section who is responsible for collecting and remitting on those bookings rather than assuming either way.

The county also notes that rental records are subject to audit by the Records, Taxes and Treasury Division, so keep a clear record of what you collected and when.

Step 6: Remit to the Broward County Tourist Development Tax Section on your filing schedule (Florida Statute 212.11, due the first of the month following collection)

Under Florida Statute 212.11, the county says the tax is remitted monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. Payments are due on the first of the month following the months of collection from guests.

A payment is considered delinquent if it is not postmarked by the 20th of that month. Payments can be made through the county's Tourist Development Tax payment site.

The collection allowance

The county allows a collection allowance of 2.5 percent of the tax due, up to a maximum of $30.00, as compensation for collecting the tax. Since July 1, 2012, you only get it if you file and pay electronically and on time. Paper returns, payments by cash, check or money order, and late electronic filings do not qualify.

Penalties for late returns and unpaid tax

Under Florida Statute 212.12, the county lists these consequences for a delinquent return:

• A minimum penalty of $50.00 for filing a late return.

• A penalty of 10 percent of the total tax if not more than 30 days late, plus another 10 percent for each additional 30 days or fraction of that, up to a total of 50 percent of the tax due for each period.

• Interest at a variable rate adjusted semiannually by the State of Florida.

If the tax goes unpaid, the county says it may place a tax warrant lien on the property and issue a tax execution, and may request a writ of garnishment. The owner is also in violation of a County Ordinance punishable by a fine of up to $500.00 or up to 60 days in county jail, per Florida Statute 125.69(1). An owner who fails or refuses to charge and collect the tax is personally liable for it and, under Florida Statute 125.0104(8)(a), guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail.

The county requires a tax return even if no taxes were collected for the month.

Step 7: Check whether you need a Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt, and what to do next

The county page says taxpayers registering for the Tourist Development Tax may be required to obtain a Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt.

For the full registration sequence across state, county and city, see our Fort Lauderdale vacation rental registration guide. For the underlying state rule on transient rentals, the county points to Florida Administrative Code 12A-1.061.

Questions about your own account go to the Tourist Development Tax Section at TourisTax@Broward.org.

Conclusion

Broward's tourist tax comes down to collecting 6 percent from the guest, remitting it on your schedule before the 20th, filing even in empty months, and filing electronically to keep the collection allowance. Atlia is a full-service short-term rental manager with local staffed operations in Fort Lauderdale.