Tax On Rental Homes.....
 

Have you rented your home? What do you know about the tax required by the state of Florida? I've seen it advertised as 6% and as 9%. Which is it and when is it due?

Thanks!

Depends on what county the property is in. The tax is sales tax on rentals of less than six months and one day.

Sumter is 9%

You will receive a coupon book and file the first of every month. If you have no rentals in a month, you are still required to mail in the coupon. It's a very simply system and covers all the tax for the property being rented short term.

How do they know if you are renting or not so they can send you the book?

I'm going to assume your question means you want to contact the correct place to get a coupon book if you rent your property to others.

You can go online and register easily the Florida Department of Revenue, but I know the link will be removed. You can also contact them at the following:
Florida Department of Revenue
5050 W Tennessee St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0120

If the intent of the question is to avoid paying tax if you rent your property, it's tax evasion. Much of the money goes to those that live in the surrounding area of The Villages.

Personally, I hope there is a way for the government to know who rents their property short term and don't pay the correct tax. We have no great love sending a monthly check, but it's the law and the right thing to do.

I've seen conservative estimates of the "underground economy" of 2 trillion dollars a year. If all taxes were collected and used to bring down the debt......... We could reduce all taxes significantly-----but dont hold your breath. How much money goes uncollected in Florida for the rental tax is anybody's guess. I know some believe it's an "unfair" tax and would like to see it eliminated or at least reduced. 9% is a hearty amount and few states have such a tax.

Dare County, NC is 12.75%. It is high. As a result of the higher taxes, South Nags Head was able to do beach nourishment without a penny of federal funding. This saved houses and jobs. It is a barrier island that probably should never have built to the extent it did. In order to avoid any more houses falling into the ocean, the county has taken it upon itself to handle the situation. Yes, it cost owners and visitors money, that is the cost of making poor decisions in the past. The alternative would be devastating to the year round residents that depend on the hospitality industry to make a living.

We pay 9% for the rentals we have in the villa we own in The Villages until we can retire. It is not an unfair tax. We are benefiting from the rental income. Why shouldn't we pay our fair share?

Lake County is 11% rental tax (8% goes to the State and 4% goes to Lake County). If your house is in Lake County, you need to register with Lake County, in addition to the State.

Also, very important, in addition, you also need a business license from Lake County and the State in order to rent your property. And, you need to retrofit your house according to their regulations...such as emergency lighting, etc.

And, "landlord's" insurance (you are not covered by the standard home owner's policy or need a special ryder), income taxes if you actually make money, and recapture on depreciation if you take depreciation and eventually sell at a gain, security and cleaning deposits in a separate bank account, etc. etc. Rental becomes a mountain of rules, regulations and procedures and a whole set of potential risk and liability exposures. It is good you are trying to be aware of them beforehand.

We had vacation homes in Kissimmee. Osceola County is 13%. That included both county and state taxes.