This article is general guidance, not tax advice. Confirm specifics with your CPA.
What makes short-term rentals different
Short-term rentals (STRs) sit in a weird tax and accounting space. They're not quite real estate investments in the traditional sense, and they're not quite hospitality businesses either. Three things separate STR bookkeeping from long-term rental bookkeeping:
- The IRS may treat the activity as a business rather than a passive rental, depending on average rental period and the services you provide. This affects how losses can be used and whether self-employment tax applies.
- Multiple sales-type taxes apply — state sales tax, county discretionary sales surtax, and county tourist development tax all stack on top of each other.
- Revenue is fragmented across platforms (Airbnb, Vrbo, direct bookings), each with their own fee structures, payout timing, and reporting.
The Florida tax stack on short-term rentals
For stays of six months or less, Florida requires hosts to collect and remit:
State sales tax
The state portion is 6%. Applies to the rental amount and any required fees (cleaning fees, pet fees, etc.).
County discretionary sales surtax
Varies by county, typically 0.5%–1.5%. Brings the total state-plus-county sales tax to roughly 6.5%–7.5%.
County tourist development tax (the "bed tax")
Separate from sales tax. Most Florida counties charge 3%–6% on top, dedicated to tourism promotion and beach maintenance. In counties like Miami-Dade and Broward, this tax is administered by the county itself, not the state.
All in, the tax stack on a $200/night booking in many Florida counties is 12%–13.5% of the rental rate. Travelers pay it; you remit it.
Who collects what
Airbnb and Vrbo have agreements with Florida and most counties to collect and remit some of these taxes on your behalf. Specifically:
- Airbnb generally collects state and county sales tax for Florida bookings
- Airbnb collects tourist development tax for many but not all Florida counties — the list changes over time
- Vrbo has similar but separate arrangements that differ by county
- Direct bookings (your own website, repeat guests) — you are responsible for collecting and remitting all of it yourself
The agent or owner is responsible for confirming what each platform is actually collecting for their specific properties. The platforms have automated dashboards showing which taxes were collected, but spot-checking is essential — gaps in platform collection become your liability.
Setting up your books for an STR
For each property, track:
Revenue (separated by platform)
- Gross rental revenue (Airbnb)
- Gross rental revenue (Vrbo)
- Gross rental revenue (direct bookings)
- Cleaning fees collected
- Pet fees, resort fees, extra guest fees
Platform fees (expenses)
- Airbnb host service fee
- Vrbo commission
- Payment processing fees
Taxes (liabilities, not expenses)
- Sales tax collected
- Tourist development tax collected
- Marketplace facilitator collected — what Airbnb/Vrbo handles on your behalf
Property operating expenses
- Cleaning and turnover service
- Property management commission (if you use a manager)
- Utilities (electric, water, internet, cable)
- HOA / condo dues
- Property insurance and STR insurance rider
- Property taxes
- Repairs and maintenance
- Supplies (linens, toiletries, coffee, paper goods)
- Welcome gifts and amenities
- Pest control
- Landscaping and pool service
- Listing photography
- Software (smart locks, noise monitors, channel managers)
- License and permit fees
The Airbnb payout problem
The most common mistake we see in STR bookkeeping: recording the Airbnb payout as revenue. The payout is net of platform fees and may exclude taxes Airbnb collected and remitted on your behalf. Recording $1,840 as revenue when the gross was $2,200 (with $360 in fees and tax handling) understates revenue, hides the fees, and produces incorrect financials.
The right approach: a periodic journal entry (daily, weekly, or monthly depending on volume) that splits the payout into its components:
- Gross booking revenue (debit revenue)
- Cleaning fees (debit revenue or separate fee revenue account)
- Platform service fees (debit fee expense)
- Taxes collected and remitted by platform (debit/credit liability)
- Net payout to bank (debit cash)
Done right, the books reflect what really happened. Done as a single line, they don't.
Tracking each property separately
If you own more than one STR, every property should be tracked as its own profit center. In QuickBooks Online, use the Class or Location field to tag every transaction with the property address. Then run a Profit & Loss by Class to see:
- Which properties are profitable and which aren't
- Which markets are working
- Which properties have unusually high expenses
- Per-property net cash flow
The owners who treat their STR portfolio as one mass usually can't tell which property is dragging them down. The ones who track property-by-property can make real decisions about which to keep and which to sell.
The "7-day rule" and tax classification
This is where STR tax gets interesting. The IRS classifies rental activity differently depending on the average length of stay:
- Average stay of 7 days or less — generally treated as a business or transient lodging activity, not a passive rental. Losses can offset other income more freely (under certain participation rules), and the activity may be subject to self-employment tax if "substantial services" are provided.
- Average stay of 8–30 days, with substantial services — also potentially treated as a business.
- Longer average stays or limited services — generally treated as passive rental income (Schedule E).
"Substantial services" means things like daily cleaning during a stay, on-site concierge, meals — the things a hotel does. Most Airbnbs provide only "ordinary" services (turnover cleaning between guests, basic supplies) and aren't subject to self-employment tax even if the average stay is short.
This classification has major tax implications and should be a conversation with your CPA, not a default assumption.
Personal use complications
If you also use the property personally (vacation stays, friends and family stays), the rules get more complicated:
- Less than 15 days of personal use AND rented at fair price — typically treated as a rental property; full deductions available subject to general rules
- 14+ days of personal use OR 10%+ of rental days — treated as a personal residence with rental use; deductions limited
- Rented less than 15 days total — income isn't reported; expenses aren't deductible (the "Augusta rule")
Tracking personal-use nights matters. A spreadsheet or calendar dedicated to this is worth keeping.
Florida licensing and registration
Florida short-term rentals require:
- Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) license as a vacation rental
- Florida Department of Revenue registration to collect sales tax
- County registration for tourist development tax (if not collected by platform)
- City or county short-term rental permit (rules vary widely; some cities have moratoriums or strict caps)
- HOA / condo approval where applicable
Track all licensing fees as a separate expense — they're real business costs and they accumulate.
Common mistakes
Recording net Airbnb payouts as revenue
Already covered above — biggest single mistake. Always split the gross booking, fees, and taxes.
Letting taxes sit in revenue
Sales tax and tourist development tax collected aren't your money. They should be tracked as liabilities until remitted. Books that record them as revenue overstate income.
Mixing personal and business spending
If you buy paper towels at Costco for your STR and groceries for home in the same transaction, you've made bookkeeping harder than it needs to be. Use a dedicated business card for the rental, even for tiny purchases.
Not depreciating the property
The building portion of an STR you own gets depreciated, typically over 39 years for short-term rental use (vs. 27.5 years for traditional rental). Skipping depreciation means missing a major deduction. Your CPA handles this on the tax return; the bookkeeping just needs to provide accurate cost basis and improvement records.
Forgetting cost segregation potential
For higher-value STRs ($500K+), a cost segregation study can accelerate depreciation by reclassifying components (appliances, furniture, certain finishes) into shorter recovery periods. This is a CPA-level conversation but worth raising.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for hosts who exceed certain thresholds. Airbnb issues a 1099-K for payment volume above the IRS threshold (which has been changing in recent years). You owe tax on rental income whether you receive a 1099 or not, so don't rely on the 1099 to tell you what to report — your own records should.
Yes. Furniture, appliances, decor, and similar items used in an STR are deductible. Items under the de minimis safe harbor ($2,500 per item for most taxpayers) can be expensed; larger items are typically depreciated.
Some Florida cities have restricted or banned STRs in certain zones. You should know your local rules before buying or listing. Operating in violation of local rules creates real risk — fines, forced removal of listings, and tax liability without the ability to easily comply.
Most owners hold STRs in an LLC for liability protection. The LLC also makes property-by-property bookkeeping cleaner — separate entity, separate bank account, separate everything. Talk to an attorney about whether series LLCs or separate LLCs per property make sense for your portfolio.
How we help
SoFlo360 supports Florida short-term rental owners with property-level bookkeeping, platform reconciliation, tax tracking, and clean handoffs to your CPA. Spanish-friendly support available.