Tampa

city Allowed with registration Verified · last verified 2026-07-02

Short-term rentals are legal in the City of Tampa but there is no dedicated city STR ordinance or STR-specific permit. Operators must layer three registrations: a Florida DBPR vacation-rental license (state), a Hillsborough County Tourist Development Tax account plus county Business Tax Receipt (county), and a City of Tampa Business Tax Receipt (city). Tampa repealed its separate rental-certificate/registration requirement effective May 4, 2023, but the Business Tax is still owed on rental properties. Where a short-term rental may legally operate is governed by Hillsborough County / city zoning (Land Development Code), not by a standalone STR permit. Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) preempts localities from banning vacation rentals or regulating rental duration/frequency, except ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011.

Not legal advice. Last verified 2026-07-02 · sources linked below.

Requirements checklist

state Florida DBPR Vacation Rental License Required

Fee: $170 / year · Renewal: annual · Applies to: Any owner renting an entire dwelling/condominium unit to transient guests (rented more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less, or advertised/held out to the public as regularly rented to guests). · official page ↗
county Hillsborough County Tourist Development Tax Account Required

Fee: — · Renewal: — · Applies to: Owners, property managers, any person who collects consideration, or operators who rent living quarters/accommodations for 6 months or less must register with and remit TDT to the Hillsborough County Tax Collector. · official page ↗
city City of Tampa Business Tax Receipt (rental property) Required

Fee: — · Renewal: annual · Applies to: Property owners and/or agents operating rental property within Tampa city limits for private gain. The separate rental certificate/registration requirement was repealed effective May 4, 2023, but the Business Tax Receipt is still required. · official page ↗

Taxes

Tax	Rate	Administered by	Airbnb remits	Vrbo remits
Florida Transient Rental Sales Tax	6%	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes	—
Hillsborough County Discretionary Sales Surtax	1.5%	Florida Department of Revenue	Yes	—
Hillsborough County Tourist Development Tax	6%	Hillsborough County Tax Collector (self-administered)	Yes	Yes

Operating rules

Primary residence: —
Min stay (nights): —
Max nights / year: —
Max occupancy: —
Zoning-restricted: Yes
Cap on licenses: —

Grandfathering: Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) preempts local regulation of vacation-rental duration/frequency and prohibits local bans, except local ordinances adopted on or before June 1, 2011, which remain enforceable. No pre-2011 Tampa STR-specific ordinance was confirmed firsthand.

Zoning: The City of Tampa has no standalone STR ordinance; whether a short-term rental may legally operate at a given address is determined by the applicable zoning district under the Land Development Code. Operators are directed to verify eligibility with the county/city Land Development office. Exact zoning-district permissions and any minimum-stay/occupancy thresholds live in the Land Development Code (hosted on Municode), which was not quoted here (Municode is ToS-blocked from scraping); treat these as needs_review.

No maximum-nights, minimum-stay, or occupancy cap specific to the City of Tampa was confirmed firsthand from an official city source; the state preemption (509.032(7)(b)) bars localities from regulating rental duration/frequency absent a pre-June-1-2011 grandfathered ordinance.
Fla. Stat. 509.032(7)(b) verbatim (verified 2026-07-02): "A local law, ordinance, or regulation may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate the duration or frequency of rental of vacation rentals. This paragraph does not apply to any local law, ordinance, or regulation adopted on or before June 1, 2011."
SB 280 (2024) statewide vacation-rental registry passed the legislature but was vetoed by Gov. DeSantis on 2024-06-27, so no statewide registry is in effect.

Enforcement

Active enforcement: unknown
Fines: —
Notes: No City-of-Tampa STR-specific fine schedule or enforcement-intensity data was confirmed firsthand from an official city source. Because Tampa has no dedicated STR ordinance, enforcement runs through general Business Tax compliance, county TDT collection/audit by the Hillsborough County Tax Collector, and county/city zoning code enforcement. State preemption (509.032) constrains what the city may penalize regarding vacation rentals.

Official sources

program_page Florida DBPR Vacation Rental / Transient Public Lodging Licensing Guide ↗ checked 2026-07-02
program_page Hillsborough County Tax Collector - Tourist Development Tax General Information ↗ checked 2026-07-02
program_page Hillsborough County Tax Collector - Tourist Development ↗ checked 2026-07-02
program_page City of Tampa - Business Tax: How Do I (rental property BTR) ↗ checked 2026-07-02 · changed 2023-05-04
program_page City of Tampa - Business Tax ↗ checked 2026-07-02
form_pdf Florida DOR Form DR-15DSS - Discretionary Sales Surtax Information (Calendar Year 2026, R. 11/25) ↗ checked 2026-07-02 · changed 2026-01-01
form_pdf Florida DOR Form DR-15TDT - Local Option Transient Rental Tax Rates (R. 03/25) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
program_page Florida DOR - Discretionary Sales Surtax ↗ checked 2026-07-02
statute Fla. Stat. 509.032 - Duties (vacation rental preemption 509.032(7)(b)) ↗ checked 2026-07-02
reference Airbnb Help - Occupancy tax collection and remittance in Florida ↗ checked 2026-07-02
program_page Hillsborough County - Land Development Code (zoning for STR use) ↗ checked 2026-07-02

Informational summary of publicly available sources; not legal advice. Verify against the linked official sources.