Figuring your Florida vacation Hotel Tax Rates is not complicated. Rates can vary by county and consist of the base rate, the discretionary rate and transient rental tax rate.
The Florida Sales Tax Rate starts with a base rate of 6%. Each county can add a discretionary sales tax surcharge. A Transient Rental Tax Rate, again determined by county can then be added to determine the tax on your stay. The Transient Rental Tax Rate is also known as a Hotel Occupancy Tax or County OCC Tax. This tax is added to the county sales tax for the amount of your room. This additional tax is imposed on rentals or leases of accommodations in hotels, motels, apartments, rooming houses, mobile home parks, RV parks, condominiums or timeshare resorts for a term of six months or less.
Do All Counties Charge a Hotel Occupancy Tax?
The majority of Florida counties administer the additional transient rental tax rate themselves. Though a handful are administered by the Florida Department of Revenue. At the 2025 update, there are 5 counties that do not have an additional tax for accommodation rentals. These counties with no additional tax are; Calhoun, Lafayette, Liberty, Sumpter and Union. In addition to county-wide transient rental tax rates shown below, Florida law authorizes certain cities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties to impose a local option municipal resort tax on transient rental transactions and on the sale of food and beverages consumed in restaurants and bars. These additional city transient tax rates are not included in the following tax amounts.
What is the Orlando Hotel Tax Rate?
The Central Florida Counties consist of Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake and Polk Counties. All of these counties have included a discretionary sales tax surcharge. An example of the total tax rate when staying at a Central Florida hotel would include the county tax (general + discretionary) plus the transient rental rate for a total amount.
Orange County 6.5% + 6.0% = 12.5%
Osceola County 7.5% + 6.0% = 13.5%
Seminole County 7.0% + 5.0% = 12%
Lake County 7.0% + 4.0% = 11%
Polk County 7.0% + 5.0% = 12%
This tax can amount to a fairly large increase in your hotel bill for your Florida vacation and is something that you should ask about when reserving your hotel room. An example of the cost for a week stay at a $300 a night Orlando hotel will be $2362.50. This is calculated by using $300 * 7 = 2100. Than adding $262.50 in taxes for the 12.5% rate in Orange County. This is assuming that the hotel is not charging any other fees such as, resort fees, parking charges.
Questions You Should Ask When Reserving a Room
To avoid sticker shock at the end of your vacation, be sure to ask in advance if your hotel charges for the following:
- Parking
- Internet Access
- Bellman
- Gym Fees
- Resort Fees
Florida Transient Tax Amounts
The following list is current as of January 2025. When taxes are collected by County, it is best to verify with that county that the Transient Rental Tax Rate is correct as counties do not always post updates with the Florida Department of Revenue.
