Kissimmee Short-Term Rental
Regulations & Permit Rules

• Every Florida vacation rental (a home, condo, or 1 to 4 unit dwelling rented more than three times a year for stays under 30 days, or advertised as regularly rented) must hold a Division of Hotels and Restaurants license from the Florida DBPR before operating.
• Fees: $50 application (new or change of owner), $10 Hospitality Education Program fee, $170 per year for a single unit or $180 for a group of 2 to 25 units.
• Osceola and Polk counties are in DBPR District 4, which renews annually on April 1.
• Florida law (F.S. 509.032) preempts local governments from banning vacation rentals or regulating how often or how long they rent, unless the local rule was adopted on or before June 1, 2011. Registration, inspection, noise, parking, and trash rules remain local.

Source: Florida DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants / F.S. 509.032, 509.242

• Unincorporated Osceola County permits short-term rentals in areas covered by its Short Term Rental overlay, including the STRPD (Short Term Rental Planned Development) district and established resort communities. Standalone homes outside a platted rental subdivision may not qualify, so verify the overlay map for the exact parcel before buying.
• Required: a Florida DBPR vacation rental license, an Osceola County Local Business Tax Receipt ($30 per year, renewed July 1 to September 30), and an Osceola County Tourist Development Tax account ($5 application fee).
• Windsor Hills, Reunion, ChampionsGate, Storey Lake, Solara, and Encore are in unincorporated Osceola County (ZIP 34746 and 34747), not City of Kissimmee limits.

Source: Osceola County STRPD page / Osceola Tax Collector

• The City of Kissimmee covers roughly the older grid around downtown and US-192, not the resort communities.
• A property inside city limits needs a City of Kissimmee Business Tax Receipt, which expires September 30 each year, in addition to the Osceola County Local Business Tax Receipt and state license.

Source: kissimmee.gov Business Tax Receipts

• Parts of the Highway 27 corridor near Davenport, including some homes marketed as Kissimmee or near ChampionsGate, sit across the county line in Polk County.
• Polk County's Tourist Development Tax is 5% plus a 1% county surtax, 12% combined with the 6% state tax, and it is registered and filed with the Polk County Tax Collector, a separate office from Osceola's.
• Confirm the parcel's county before setting up tax accounts so guests are charged the right rate.

Source: FL DOR DR-15TDT and DR-15DSS

• Florida state sales tax on transient rentals: 6%.
• County discretionary sales surtax: 1.5% in Osceola County, 1% in Polk County.
• Tourist Development Tax: 6% in Osceola County, 5% in Polk County, each collected by the county rather than the state.
• Osceola County is not contracted with Airbnb, Vrbo, or any other platform, so owners must register and remit the 6% TDT themselves. New accounts file monthly for the first year, due the 20th of the following month.
• Airbnb collects and remits the 6% state tax and county surtax on Florida bookings.

Source: FL DOR DR-15TDT and DR-15DSS / Osceola County Tax Collector

• Florida's preemption limits cities and counties, not private associations. Many ordinary Kissimmee subdivisions restrict rentals under 30 days or six months.
• Resort communities built for vacation rental (ChampionsGate, Reunion, Windsor Hills, Storey Lake, Solara, Encore) allow it by design but add guest registration at the gatehouse, pool wristbands or key cards, parking limits per bedroom, quiet hours, approved vendor passes, and in some cases an approved list of rental managers.
• Resort homes typically carry HOA dues and CDD assessments that must be underwritten, and breaking resort rules can mean fines or suspended gate access.