Broward County’s lodging tax rate rises

Broward County’s lodging tax rate has increased one cent to 6 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2018. That means short-term rental operators should now collect a total tax of 12 percent from their guests, including the state’s 6 percent sales tax.

The increase could bring the county up to $12 million a year in tax revenues, which commissioners would like to see fund an expansion of the county convention center.

Airbnb collects both state and county sales and lodging taxes on behalf of its hosts in Broward County. However, other vacation-rental platforms, such as VRBO and HomeAway, do not take care of these taxes, and operators using those platforms are responsible for collecting and remitting taxes themselves. Furthermore, operators need to be aware of the new rate and change the amount they’re collecting in order to comply with the current law and avoid potential penalties and interest on top of back taxes.

Short-term rental operators in Florida should also keep an eye out for possible statewide changes to short-term rental regulation. The issue is on the agenda for the current session of the Florida Legislature. Lawmakers are exploring whether statewide legislation could be a viable solution to the patchwork of local vacation rental laws that currently exist across the state.

The number of vacation rental units in Florida has increased from 117,000 in 2012 to 131,000 in 2016. However, only 18,000 licenses are attached to those rentals.