Last verified: October 25, 2026
Short-term rentals in Pinellas County (stays of six months or less) carry a combined 13% tax on the rent and cleaning fees. Guests pay it. Owners are ultimately responsible for making sure it is collected and remitted.
I'm Troy Nowak, broker with Mangrove Bay Realty and an Airbnb Superhost who manages short-term rentals in Pinellas County. This is the practical breakdown of how the taxes work, who collects them, and when you still have to file yourself.
The 13% stack
| Tax | Rate | Collected by | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida state sales tax (transient rental) | 6% | Platform or host | Florida Department of Revenue |
| Pinellas County discretionary surtax | 1% | Platform or host | Florida Department of Revenue |
| Pinellas County Tourist Development Tax (bed tax / TDT) | 6% | Platform or host | Pinellas County Tax Collector |
| Total | 13% |
Sources: Florida DOR DR-15TDT and DR-15DSS, Pinellas County Tax Collector, Airbnb Help Center (checked October 25, 2026).
The tax applies to living quarters rented for six months or less — houses, condos, apartments, etc. Longer stays are generally not subject to these transient taxes.
Airbnb (including when you use OwnerRez or another PMS)
Airbnb collects and remits the full 13% for bookings made on Airbnb in Pinellas County.
- Florida 6% + 1% surtax
- Pinellas 6% Tourist Development Tax
This is true even if you use a property management system like OwnerRez. The booking and payment run through Airbnb, so Airbnb handles the tax collection and remittance for those reservations. You do not need to include Airbnb bookings on your own tax returns.
Pinellas County lists Airbnb as a registered platform (effective December 1, 2015). Airbnb’s own help article confirms they collect the 6% Pinellas Tourist Development Tax.
VRBO, direct bookings, and everything else
For VRBO (when you are the merchant of record via channel integration), Booking.com, your own website, email/phone bookings, or any other channel that does not collect and remit the taxes, you must collect the 13% from the guest and remit it monthly.
- Register with the Florida Department of Revenue for a sales tax certificate (Form DR-1).
- Register with the Pinellas County Tax Collector for a Tourist Development Tax account (email touristtax@pinellastaxcollector.gov or use their application).
- File and pay by the 20th of the following month (TDT to the county; sales tax + surtax to the state).
- OwnerRez and similar systems can be configured to collect the tax from the guest on those channels so it shows up in the guest total. You still remit it yourself.
The county lists VRBO/HomeAway as registered platforms for TDT since October 2018, but in practice with modern channel integrations the host is usually the merchant of record and handles collection/remittance. Always confirm the current behavior for your specific setup.
Who is ultimately liable
Even when a platform collects and remits, the property owner remains liable if the platform fails to do so. For any bookings outside a platform that fully handles taxes, you are fully responsible.
Practical checklist
- Confirm your Airbnb listings show tax collection is active for Pinellas.
- For every other channel, configure your PMS (OwnerRez, etc.) to add the 13% so guests pay it.
- Keep separate records of Airbnb vs non-Airbnb revenue.
- File monthly returns only for the revenue you collected yourself.
- Register for both the state sales tax account and the county TDT account if you have any non-Airbnb bookings.
Rules and platform agreements can change. Verify with the Pinellas County Tax Collector (taxcollect.com/tourist) and Florida DOR before relying on this for filing.
Related: Pinellas County STR rules by city · Pinellas STR data and tourist tax collections
Educational information only, not tax advice. Confirm current rates, platform collection status, and your specific obligations with the county, the state, and your tax professional.