Short-term rental tax profile
Davenport, Florida
6% state + ~?% county surtax + 5% tourist development
Parts of this profile are unconfirmed. Treat it as a starting point and verify with the authority before charging a guest.
Is it allowed here
Short-term rentals are permitted within Davenport, but subject to registration, minimum-stay rules, and subdivision approval in Polk County.
What counts as a short-term rental here
A stay past this length is generally not taxed as a short-term rental.
- 6 months or lessFlorida state sales tax
- 6 months or lessPolk County discretionary sales surtax
- 6 months or lessPolk County Tourist Development Tax
What the guest is charged
| Tax | Rate | Applies to | Counts as short-term | Confidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida state sales taxFlorida Department of Revenue | 6% | inclusive of mandatory cleaning fees as part of rental charge | 6 months or less | Medium | Secondary source |
| Polk County discretionary sales surtaxFlorida Department of Revenue (discretionary surtax) | Confirm with the authority | same as state, includes mandatory cleaning fees | 6 months or less | Low | Secondary source |
| Polk County Tourist Development TaxPolk County Tax Collector | 5% | total rental consideration including cleaning/maid, amenities, etc. | 6 months or less | Medium | Secondary source |
Who actually remits it
Whoever runs the guest's card owes the tax. That is the whole rule, and it is why the same booking can be taxed differently on two platforms.
| Platform | Merchant of record | Collects | You charge | You remit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | Platform | Fully | Not stated | Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax |
| Vrbo | Partner | None | Not stated | Florida state sales tax, Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax |
| Booking.com | Partner | None | Not stated | Florida state sales tax, Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax |
| Expedia | Partner | None | Not stated | Florida state sales tax, Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax |
| Partner | None | Not stated | Florida state sales tax, Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax | |
| Whimstay | Partner | None | Not stated | Florida state sales tax, Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax |
| Direct | Partner | None | Not stated | Florida state sales tax, Polk County discretionary sales surtax, Polk County Tourist Development Tax |
On a real booking
$200 a night, 3 nights, $50 cleaning
On a 3-night stay at $200/night plus a $50 mandatory cleaning fee, the taxable base is $250 (cleaning fee is taxable). Guests owe 6% state sales tax, Polk County discretionary surtax (rate TBD), and 5% tourist development tax on $250. Exact tax amount depends on county surtax rate.
What you have to hold
-
Florida DBPR vacation-rental license
Any transient rental accommodations
- Issued by
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Cost
- unknown
- Renewal
- unknown
- Lead time
- unknown
-
Davenport Vacation Rental Certificate
Any short-term rental within city limits
- Issued by
- City of Davenport
- Cost
- initial ~US$136.17, annual renewal ~US$36.70
- Renewal
- annual
- Lead time
- unknown
-
Polk County Class B Local Business Tax Receipt
Each rental location used for short-term rentals (≤6 months)
- Issued by
- Polk County Tax Collector
- Cost
- unknown
- Renewal
- annual
- Lead time
- unknown
What you file, and when
| Obligation | Frequency | Due | File with no bookings? | If you are late | To |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida state sales tax return | monthly | due on date per state rules | Not confirmed | Not stated | Florida Department of Revenue |
| Polk County Tourist Development Tax return | monthly | due by the 20th of the month following collection | Not confirmed | Not stated | Polk County Tax Collector |
| Polk County Class B Business Tax Receipt renewal | annual | annual per tax collector | Not confirmed | Not stated | Polk County Tax Collector |
| City of Davenport Vacation Rental Certificate renewal | annual | renew annually (city-specified date) | Not confirmed | Not stated | City of Davenport |
Still to confirm
These are the figures we could not confirm from a primary source. Confirm them before you charge a guest.
What is the current Polk County discretionary sales surtax rate applicable to STRs?
Needed to calculate full tax rate and guest total.
Ask: Florida Department of Revenue or Polk County tax authority.
What is the cost and renewal cycle of the Florida DBPR vacation-rental license?
Owners must budget for licensing and ensure timely renewals.
Ask: Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
What this page cannot see
Your HOA, condo board or neighborhood covenant
This page covers public law: what the state, county and city require. It cannot see the private rules attached to your specific property. An HOA, a condo association, a co-op board or a recorded neighborhood covenant can cap nights, require its own registration and fees, demand approval of every guest, or prohibit short-term renting outright, no matter what Davenport, Florida allows. Those documents are not published anywhere public, so read your CC&Rs, bylaws and any lease before you take a booking. They routinely override everything above.
Sub-city districts you may sit inside
Tax can also attach below the city line. Tourism improvement and business improvement districts, resort area districts, convention and stadium districts, transit districts and community development districts are all drawn on a map, and whether you owe them depends on which side of a street you are on. They are usually a small percentage or a flat nightly amount, they are charged to the guest like any other lodging tax, and they are the layer most often missed because nobody expects a district smaller than a city to levy one.
If your address sits inside one, your county or city finance office can confirm it. Ask specifically whether any special district assessment applies to transient lodging at your parcel.
Primary sources
Take the PDF with you
Everything above as a designed profile you can file, print, or hand to a bookkeeper. Reading it here stays free; the document goes to an inbox.
Corzly does not file this for you
You register, you collect, you remit, you hold the licenses. What we do is run the property so those numbers are right in the first place, on every channel, without you chasing them.
We manage short-term rentals remotely, 300+ properties across 50+ cities and 7 countries, so where the property sits makes no difference to whether we can take it on.
Talk to us about your portfolioHow to use this page. Corzly does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and we are not licensed tax professionals. This profile is automated research compiled from published government sources. Each figure carries a link to the source we read, so you can verify it yourself rather than take our word for it.
Tax rates, license requirements and filing rules change, and any source can be superseded without notice. Anything we could not confirm is marked Low confidence or listed under "Still to confirm" rather than guessed at. Before charging a guest, registering, or filing a return, confirm every figure directly with the taxing authority.
Registering, collecting, filing and remitting remain your responsibility. If the amounts matter to your business, and they do, take this research to a licensed tax professional or the authority itself before acting on it.
If you would rather hand the whole thing off, a service like Avalara MyLodgeTax can register, file and remit on your behalf.