Who Has to Collect Monroe County Tourist Development Tax?
If you rent living quarters or accommodation in Monroe County for a period of six months or less, you have to collect a 5 percent tourist development tax and remit it to the Monroe County Tax Collector. State sales tax applies on top of that, separately.
This is the tax that catches people. Not the big hotels, which have handled it for decades, but the owner with one unit, the person who inherited a place and started renting it, and the small operator who assumed the booking platform was taking care of everything.
What triggers it?
The test is the length of stay, not the type of property and not whether you consider yourself a business. Six months or less makes it a transient rental. That covers houses, condos, apartments, rooms, and most other accommodation arrangements.
It also does not matter whether you rent for two weeks a year or year round. One qualifying rental creates the obligation.
What am I actually collecting?
| Tax | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Tourist development tax | 5 percent | Monroe County Tax Collector |
| State sales and use tax, plus discretionary surtax | Confirm current rate | Florida Department of Revenue |
Two different taxes, two different agencies, two different filings. Registering with one does not register you with the other, and that is the single most common gap I see.
Doesn’t the booking platform handle this?
Sometimes, partially. Some platforms have agreements to collect and remit certain taxes in certain counties. That is not the same as all platforms handling all taxes everywhere, and it is definitely not the same as you being off the hook.
Two things to check. First, which specific taxes your platform remits for Monroe County, in writing, from the platform. Second, what happens to bookings that come to you directly, by phone, by email, or from a repeat guest. Those are almost always yours to handle, and they are the ones that get missed.
The liability stays with the owner. If a platform under-collects, the county comes to you.
What if I have not been collecting it?
Deal with it deliberately rather than hoping. Because this is trust money, meaning tax you were supposed to collect from a guest, the treatment is less forgiving than a shortfall on your own income tax, and interest and penalties accrue.
The practical problem is that you usually cannot go back and bill guests from two years ago, so unremitted tax comes out of your own pocket. The exposure grows every month you wait. Come in and we will scope it before it gets worse.
Frequently asked questions
What is the tourist development tax rate in Monroe County?
Five percent on rentals of six months or less, collected by the Monroe County Tax Collector.
Do I owe it if I only rent my place a few weeks a year?
Yes. The obligation is triggered by qualifying rentals, not by volume.
Is tourist development tax the same as sales tax?
No. They are separate taxes, remitted to separate agencies, and you generally owe both on a transient rental.
If my rental is longer than six months, do I still owe it?
Generally no. Stays longer than six months fall outside the transient rental definition, though documentation of the arrangement matters.
Let’s sit down and talk
If you rent property in the Keys and you are not certain you are registered and remitting correctly, that is worth checking before it compounds. Call 305-363-5429 or contact Robert.
Related: the full Key West business owner tax guide, what happened to the commercial rent tax, and our Florida sales tax guide.
General information current as of July 2026, not tax advice for your situation. Confirm current rates with the Monroe County Tax Collector and the Florida Department of Revenue.