Florida · Kissimmee
Kissimmee
Short-term rentals (dwellings rented for periods under 30 days) are legal in Kissimmee but treated as conditional uses: they are allowed only in certain residential/commercial zoning districts, typically require a Conditional Use Permit with a public hearing, plus a DBPR state vacation-rental license, an Osceola County Local Business Tax Receipt, and a City of Kissimmee Business Tax Receipt (with fire inspection). Guests pay a combined 13.5% lodging tax: 6% FL state sales tax + 1.5% Osceola discretionary surtax + 6% Osceola Tourist Development Tax. The 6% state rate and 1.5% surtax are documented on FL DOR forms (DR-15TDT / DR-15DSS 2026), and the 6% TDT is documented on the Osceola County Tax Collector's TDT page. Osceola County is not contracted with Airbnb/Vrbo, so hosts must self-remit the 6% TDT directly to the county. NOTE: City ordinance specifics could not be verified firsthand because kissimmee.gov and Municode are bot-blocked/ToS-restricted (kissimmee.gov returns HTTP 403 on fetch); treat the city-layer details (CUP, zoning-district list, occupancy, fire inspection, fine amounts) as needs-review.
Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-02 · sources linked below.
Requirements checklist
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state Florida DBPR Vacation Rental License Required
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county Osceola County Short-Term Local Business Tax Receipt (LBTR) Required
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city City of Kissimmee Business Tax Receipt (BTR) for Short-Term Rental Required
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city City of Kissimmee Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Short-Term Rental Required
Taxes
| Tax | Rate | Administered by | Airbnb remits | Vrbo remits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State Sales Tax (Transient Rentals) | 6% | Florida Department of Revenue | Yes | No |
| Osceola County Discretionary Sales Surtax | 1.5% | Florida Department of Revenue | Yes | No |
| Osceola County Tourist Development Tax (TDT) | 6% | Osceola County Tax Collector (self-administered / locally collected) | No | No |
Operating rules
- Primary residence
- —
- Min stay (nights)
- —
- Max nights / year
- —
- Max occupancy
- Reported (unverified) occupancy standard of '3 guests per bedroom + 2 additional'; not confirmed against the official ordinance.
- Zoning-restricted
- Yes
- Cap on licenses
- —
Grandfathering: FL Stat. 509.032(7)(b) grandfathers local vacation-rental ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011: 'This paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011.' Whether Kissimmee's current STR/zoning provisions rely on a grandfathered ordinance was not verified.
Zoning: Short-term rentals (dwellings rented <30 days) are reportedly permitted only in specific zoning districts (snippets cite RB, RB-2, RC-1, RC-2) as a conditional use, not by right in all residential zones. Under FL Stat. 509.032(7)(b) the city may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate rental duration/frequency (except via ordinances grandfathered on/before June 1, 2011), so the restriction operates through zoning/conditional-use and licensing rather than an outright ban. Zoning-district list is snippet-sourced and unverified against the official ordinance.
- Min-stay is effectively defined by the 'short-term' threshold: rentals of less than 30 days are the regulated category; there is no confirmed minimum-nights floor for a single booking.
- Occupancy, zoning-district list, and CUP details are from WebSearch snippets of kissimmee.gov/Municode (bot-blocked / ToS-restricted) and were not confirmed with a verbatim official quote.
- SB 280 (2024) statewide STR registry was vetoed by Gov. DeSantis on 2024-06-27, so no statewide registry preempts local rules as of the verification date.
Enforcement
- Active enforcement
- medium
- Fines
- No specific STR fine dollar amount was verified firsthand. County enforces TDT via audits and estimated assessments (F.S. Ch. 212); City of Kissimmee code enforcement uses a Special Magistrate / Code Enforcement Board that can levy per-day fines for continuing/repeat violations (specific per-day amounts not confirmed from an official source).
- Notes
- City-layer fine amounts and STR-specific citation practice are snippet-sourced (kissimmee.gov returns HTTP 403 / Municode ToS-restricted) and were not confirmed with a verbatim official quote.
Official sources
- program_page Florida DBPR Vacation Rental / Transient Lodging Licensing Guide ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- tax_page Florida Department of Revenue - Local Option Taxes (discretionary sales surtax) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- tax_form Florida DR-15TDT Local Option Transient Rental (Tourist Development) Tax Rates ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- tax_form Florida DR-15DSS (2026) Discretionary Sales Surtax Information - Osceola 1.5% ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- statute Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) - Preemption of local vacation rental regulation ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- tax_page Osceola County Tax Collector - Tourist Development Taxes (6%, self-administered) ↗ checked 2026-07-02 · changed 2004-07-01
- tax_page Osceola County Tax Collector - Tourist Development Tax Compliance / Enforcement ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- program_pdf Osceola County - Instructions & Information for Completing a Short Term Local Business Tax Receipt Application ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- program_page Osceola County Tax Collector - Local Business Tax Receipt ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- program_page City of Kissimmee - Business Tax Receipts (BTR) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- program_page City of Kissimmee - Code Enforcement & Compliance ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- ordinance_reference City of Kissimmee Code of Ordinances (Municode - reference link only, ToS forbids scraping) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
- reference US Census Geocoder - FIPS resolution (state 12 / county 12097 / place 1236950) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.