Bulletin - Collier County, FL News Today
The permanent sixth cent applies to every stay of six months or less with Airbnb and Vrbo collecting the new rate on their bookings and direct-booking hosts responsible for remitting it themselves
Collier County Voters Approve 6% Tourist Development Tax on Short-Term Rentals Starting January 2027
The permanent sixth cent applies to every stay of six months or less with Airbnb and Vrbo collecting the new rate on their bookings and direct-booking hosts responsible for remitting it themselves
Photo from https://www.collieredo.org/
Collier County voters on November 3 approved raising the county’s tourist development tax from 5% to 6% with 70.2% of ballots cast on the question which means vacation rental guests will pay the higher rate on stays of six months or less beginning January 1, 2027. The increase covers hotels, resorts, condos, single-family homes and mobile homes alike, and it lifts the combined tax on a short-term stay from 11% to 12% once state sales tax is included.
How the Sixth Cent Works
Collier qualified for the extra cent after the Florida Department of Revenue certified it as a high tourism impact county which state law requires before a county can ask voters for a sixth cent. Commissioners then took Ordinance No. 2025-33 to a public hearing in August 2025 and that ordinance is what appeared on the ballot.
The county expects the extra cent to raise about $10 million a year on top of the $48 million to $50 million the current tax generates and most of that new money is set aside to finish the Paradise Coast Sports Complex where the county has already spent $114 million and needs at least $40 million more. The Tourist Development Council reviews proposed spending while the Board of County Commissioners has final approval.
What Changes for Hosts
Every short-term rental owner along with any manager or agent who collects rent on an owner’s behalf must hold a tourist development tax account with the Collier County Tax Collector.
Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit the county tax on bookings made through their platforms under agreements with the Tax Collector while hosts who take direct bookings or list on any other site must charge and remit the extra cent themselves. Under state law a host who fails to collect the tax is personally liable for it and commits a first-degree misdemeanor, and hosts may not advertise that they will absorb the tax on a guest’s behalf.
Opposition and the Missing Sunset
The Naples Area Board of Realtors opposed the increase over its cost to short-term rental owners and its vice president of public policy said members who work in the vacation rental market were worried about affordability and competitiveness.
The Naples Today team
The group also objected that the tax has no end date and the county’s communications director confirmed it will remain in place unless commissioners or voters repeal it. With the vote, Collier joins 12 other Florida counties already charging the full 6% including Sarasota, Pinellas, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.
Collier County's official fact sheet outlines the tourist tax increase from 5% to 6%, projected revenue, and how the additional funds may be used. | Source: https://colliertdt.com/
⦾ Effective date: January 1, 2027
⦾ New tourist development tax rate: 6% (up from 5%)
⦾ Applies to: Stays of six months or less including vacation rentals, condos, single-family homes and mobile homes
⦾ Combined lodging tax: 12% including state sales tax (up from 11%)
⦾ Registration: Owners and agents need a tourist development tax account with the Collier County Tax Collector; Collier also requires a short-term vacation rental registration under Ordinance No. 2021-45
⦾ Platform responsibility: Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit on their bookings; hosts remit for direct and other-platform bookings
⦾ Penalty for non-compliance: Personal liability for the tax plus a first-degree misdemeanor under state law
⦾ Sunset: None; repeal requires commission action or a voter referendum
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