How to Start an Airbnb in Florida: DBPR License, Taxes and Local Rules

Starting a short-term rental in Florida is mostly paperwork, and it comes in three layers: a vacation rental license from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), state and county taxes on each booking, and whatever your city or county requires on top. Florida has no general statewide business license, so the order you do things in matters. If you publish a listing before the license and tax registration are in place, you will end up redoing work. The steps below follow the order that avoids that.

What You Need Before You Start

• The property address and proof that you can rent it: a deed, or a lease that permits short-term use or subletting.
• Written permission from your HOA or condo association if the property is in one. Association covenants are separate from state and local law, and they can restrict rentals even when state and local rules do not.
• A unit count and ownership map: one house, several units in one building under one owner, or several units managed by one agent.
• Identification for the owner or agent, plus a Florida street address for a registered agent if you form an LLC.
• A separate bank account for rental income and tax collections.
• A budget for the fees in the table at the end of this guide.
• Links to your city and county websites, where local registration and tax rules are usually posted.

Step 1: Choose the Right DBPR License Type

DBPR issues vacation rental licenses by property arrangement. Choose the type that matches how the units are owned and managed, because the fee and the paperwork both depend on it.

• Single: one house, or units in one building, all with the same owner. The fee is $170 a year, or $90 for a half-year license.
• Group: an agent managing units within one complex. Fees rise by tier, up to $350 for the largest group tier. Confirm which tier matches your unit count on the DBPR fee schedule, since intermediate tier amounts are not listed here.
• Collective: an agent managing up to 75 units within one district. The fee is $150, plus $10 per unit, plus an additional $10. The schedule wording is easy to misread, so confirm the exact calculation with DBPR before you budget for it.

A $50 application fee also appears in the fee schedule. Confirm with DBPR whether it applies to every license type and whether it is charged once or with each renewal.

Step 2: Check Local Rules Before You Apply

Florida Airbnb laws limit what cities and counties can do, but they do not remove local rules. Under s. 509.032(7), a local government cannot adopt bans on short-term rentals or limits on how long or how often they occur, except for rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011. An ordinance adopted after that date that bans rentals or limits their duration or frequency conflicts with the statute, so check the adoption date of any restriction.

The 2024 bill SB 280 was vetoed, so local registration programs stand. That means many cities and counties can still require a short-term rental registration, permit, inspection or local tax receipt. Check the planning, zoning and tax offices that cover your address, and ask three questions:

1. Does this jurisdiction require a short-term rental registration or permit, and what does it cost?
2. Does it levy a local Business Tax Receipt for my address?
3. Does any rule adopted on or before June 1, 2011 limit rental duration or frequency at my address?

The third question is the one worth paying a local attorney to answer. A rule posted on a city website is not automatically enforceable, so get the adoption history in writing before you rely on it.

Step 3: Decide Your Business Structure and Name

You can hold a Florida short-term rental in your own name, but many owners use an LLC to separate the property from personal assets. Whether that makes sense depends on your liability exposure, financing and tax situation, so treat it as a question for a Florida attorney and a CPA.

If you form a Florida LLC through Sunbiz eFile with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, budget for the following:

• Articles of Organization: $125 total, which includes the $25 registered agent designation below.
• Registered agent designation: $25. The agent needs a physical Florida street address (no P.O. Box), must sign to accept the appointment, and cannot be the entity itself. An individual owner can serve.
• Name reservation, if you need time: $25, held for 120 days.
• Annual Report: $138.75, filed each year between January 1 and May 1. A $400 late fee applies after May 1, for a total of $538.75. Failing to file by the third Friday in September leads to administrative dissolution.

Florida has no state franchise tax and no personal income tax, but federal tax classification of your LLC still affects what you owe, so confirm it with a CPA.

Your listing name is often a brand rather than your legal name. If you advertise under any name other than the one on your formation documents, you need a Fictitious Name Registration. It costs $50 to register and $50 to renew, lasts 5 years and expires on December 31 of the fifth year, and renewal is filed between July 1 and December 31 of the expiration year. The name must be advertised at least once in a newspaper in the county of your principal place of business, though no proof of advertisement is filed. Do not assume a name is available until you receive a filing acknowledgment.

Step 4: Apply for the DBPR Vacation Rental License

Apply through DBPR, which licenses vacation rentals in Florida. Have the property address, unit count, license type, and owner and agent details ready. Pay the fee for your license type, and confirm on the DBPR site which documents and any inspections apply to your arrangement. This guide does not state DBPR processing times, so ask before you set a launch date.

The standard license is an annual license. A single-unit half-year license costs $90 and may suit a seasonal property, but check that it fits your booking calendar and your renewal schedule before you choose it. Do not accept bookings until the license is issued and you have the license number to display on your listing, if DBPR requires it for your type.

Step 5: Register for the 6% State Transient Rental Tax

Short-term rental stays are subject to the 6% state transient rental tax, which is the same 6% state sales tax rate that applies to taxable transactions in Florida. The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) administers it. Businesses selling taxable goods or services must register as sales and use tax dealers before they begin business, so register before your first booking.

Register through DOR's eServices registration page, and use the main Florida Department of Revenue site for filing schedules and forms. Ask DOR two questions before you price your listing: whether cleaning fees and other add-on charges are taxable, and how often you must file returns and remit the tax you collected. Keep a ledger that matches every booking to the tax charged.

Step 6: Plan for County Surtax and Tourist Development Tax

A Florida short-term rental can carry three layers of tax: the 6% state transient rental tax, any county surtax, and the county tourist development tax. The tourist development tax is set at the county level and is often collected by the county itself, so you may need to register with the county as well as the state. Some counties add a discretionary surtax on top of the state rate, which means the total on a guest's bill depends on where the property sits.

Confirm three things with your county tax collector or tourism office before you publish: the current rate, the registration process, and the filing schedule. Booking platforms may collect some of these taxes for you, but do not assume that covers every county. Ask the platform exactly which taxes it collects and which ones remain your responsibility.

Step 7: Get a Local Business Tax Receipt Where Required

Florida issues no general statewide business license. Many cities and counties do levy a local Business Tax Receipt for the address where you operate, but not every county or city does. This receipt is a local tax under Chapter 205, not a test of your competence, and it is separate from the DBPR license. Ask your local tax collector whether your address requires one and what it costs. The fee is not listed in this guide, so confirm it on the local office site before budgeting.

Step 8: Handle the Operating Basics

• Insurance: Standard homeowner policies may exclude paid short-term rental activity. Ask your insurer for a short-term rental policy or endorsement, and get the answer in writing.
• Association rules: Read your HOA or condo covenants for rental restrictions, minimum stays, and guest registration requirements.
• Lease terms: If you rent the property from a landlord, get written permission to operate a short-term rental.
• Records: Keep booking records, tax collected, filing confirmations, and every renewal notice in one place. Local auditors and DOR may ask for them.

Expected Results

Once these steps are complete, you may be able to list the property and accept bookings in compliance with state and local requirements. Your timeline depends on how quickly your city, county and DBPR respond, and on whether your local rules add steps this guide does not cover. Expect the first season to involve the most setup work. Renewals and recurring tax filings are usually simpler once they are on a calendar. These are general expectations, not guarantees of approval or of any income.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Taking bookings before the DBPR license is issued.
• Assuming the state license covers local registration, permits or tax receipts.
• Assuming there is no local tax receipt because Florida has no statewide business license.
• Collecting tax from guests without a DOR registration, or without a plan to file and remit it.
• Picking the wrong DBPR tier, especially on group and collective licenses where the unit count drives the fee.
• Advertising under a brand name you never registered as a fictitious name.
• Missing the LLC Annual Report window, which opens January 1 and closes May 1.
• Assuming an HOA or condo association allows rentals because the state does.
• Mixing personal and rental income in one bank account, which makes tax reporting harder.

Tips for a Smoother Setup

• Call the local planning or zoning office before you buy or furnish the property. A short phone call can reveal registration requirements that change your budget.
• Ask DBPR, DOR and your county tax office for their current forms and fee schedules, then check the numbers against your notes before paying.
• Build a calendar with the LLC Annual Report window, the fictitious name renewal window, the license renewal date, and your tax filing dates.
• Keep a short written list of every question you asked each agency and the answer you received, with the date.

Fee Summary

Item	Cost	Notes
DBPR single license	$170 a year, or $90 half-year	One house or units in one building, same owner
DBPR group license	Up to $350	Tier depends on unit count; confirm the tier
DBPR collective license	$150, plus $10 per unit, plus $10	Confirm the exact calculation with DBPR
DBPR application fee	$50	Confirm whether it applies to your license type
Florida LLC Articles of Organization	$125	Filed through Sunbiz eFile
Registered agent designation (LLC)	$25	Included in the $125 LLC total; Florida street address required
Name reservation	$25	Held for 120 days
LLC Annual Report	$138.75, or $538.75 after May 1	Filed January 1 to May 1
Fictitious Name Registration	$50 to register, $50 to renew	Valid 5 years; newspaper advertisement required
State transient rental tax	6% of taxable rent	Collected from guests and remitted to DOR
County surtax and tourist development tax	Varies by county	Confirm the rate and registration with the county
Local Business Tax Receipt	Varies or not levied	Confirm with the local tax collector

This article is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Florida short-term rental rules, DBPR licensing requirements, tax rates and fees change, and local ordinances vary by address. Talk with a qualified Florida attorney about your ownership structure and local rules, and with a CPA about your tax treatment, before you accept your first booking.