|
Forms
Calculate My Return
TDT registration form
Escambia County TDT return form and
instructions
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS THE TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAX?
The Tourist Development Tax (TDT) is a tax on the total payment
received for the rental or lease of living quarters and accommodations in a
hotel, motel, rooming house, mobile home park, recreational vehicle park,
condominium, apartment, multiple-unit structure, mobile home, trailer,
single-family home, or any other sleeping accommodations that are rented for a
period of six months or less. The authorization to levy and administer TDT of
up to six percent is stated in Section
§125.0104, Florida Statutes, and in Chapter
§212.03, Florida Statutes. Sales and Use Tax as stated in Florida Admin
codes
§12A-1.061, further clarifies the taxable rental charge to
include any applicable reservation deposit and prepayments. The owner of the
transient accommodation is required to collect and remit the applicable taxes
due to the proper taxing authority on the total room rate or rental charge,
including any amounts separately stated as deposits or prepayments.
HOW MUCH IS THE TDT?
Escambia County levies a TDT of 4% on all short-term rental
income.
Property owners in Escambia County are required to register with the
Escambia County Clerk of Courts Finance Department and must collect and remit
the tax monthly along with a completed TDT return. For
Sales Tax purposes, the State of Florida also requires registration of property
owners engaged in short-term rental activity. You
must contact the Florida
Department of Revenue to acquire the necessary registration forms
for sales tax purposes.
HOW IS THE TDT REVENUE USED?
The TDT is levied by the Escambia County Board of County
Commissioners and is administered by the Escambia County Clerk of Court’s
Finance Office. Under the
guidelines of Florida Statutes Chapter 125.0104(3)(1), expenditures are limited
to the acquisition and operation of convention centers, sports stadiums and
arenas, auditoriums and museums, promotion and/or advertisement of tourism and
funding of tourist and convention bureaus and tourist information centers.
WHO PAYS THIS TAX?
The tax is paid by tenants or guests who rent or lease transient
accommodations subject to the TDT.
WHO COLLECTS THIS TAX?
All owners and/or managers (“Dealers”) of the above-mentioned
facilities have the responsibility to collect the TDT from their tenants or
guests and remit them to the Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court’s
Finance Office.
HOW OFTEN ARE THESE TAXES REMITTED?
These taxes are remitted to the Escambia County Clerk of Court
depending upon the taxpayer’s reporting period. This
period may be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually; consistent with your
filing status with
the Florida Department Of Revenue. These taxes are due on the first of the month following collection from tenants and
guests, and are considered delinquent if not postmarked by the 20th of
the month.
Dealers must file a tax return based on their reporting period, even
if no rental receipts were collected during that period.
Click here for the Escambia County return form and instructions
WHAT DO DEALERS RECEIVE FOR COLLECTING THIS TAX?
If the TDT return is postmarked on or before the 20th
of the month following the collection month, the Dealers receive a collection
allowance as compensation for collecting the tax. The
collection allowance is 2.5% of the first $1,200.00 of taxes collected
up to a maximum of $30.00.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PROPERTY MANAGERS?
If a property manager handles your property, the property
manager may have their own TDT account and will submit the TDT payments for all
their clients in a consolidated return. You
should verify this with your property manager. In
addition to the consolidated return, all property managers are required to
provide an itemized list of all properties and rental amounts collected each
month. However, you should be
aware that as the property owner, you are ultimately responsible for the
payment of the taxes. Any failure
by your property manager to pay the tax may result in penalties being applied
against you, as the property owner. If
a property manager handles your property, but you also directly rent the
property yourself, you are responsible for submitting TDT returns for the taxes
you collect from these rentals. You
will need an individual TDT account on which to report these rentals.
WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE OR LATE SUBMISSIONS?
Penalties are assessed at the rate of 10% of the taxes due for
each 30 days or fraction thereof up to a maximum of 50% of the taxes due or
$50.00 whichever is greater.
Interest is assessed at a variable rate that is updated on
January 1 and July 1 of each year. This rate is calculated on a daily basis.
The collection allowance is not allowed for late submission or noncompliance.
The charge for a dishonored check is based on the current rate
established by Escambia County Ordinance/Resolution and/or Florida Statutes. Also,
the collection allowance will be disallowed and penalties and interest will be
assessed at the stated rates if payment is not received on or before the
delinquent date of the month in which the tax is due. Excessive
returned checks will result in the requirements to submit future tax, penalty
and interest payments in cash or by money order.
Fraud is dealt with very severely, in accordance with the
provisions and to the full extent of Florida Law.
ARE TAX RETURNS SUBJECT TO AN AUDIT AND WHAT RECORDS ARE
REQUIRED?
All TDT records must be retained for five years and made
available for an audit at the place of business, within Escambia County.
Records shall include, but not be limited to, financial statements, guest folios, general ledgers, sales tax payments, federal
income tax returns, and leases, and tax exempt forms.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In order to begin remitting the TDT to the Escambia County Clerk
of Court, it is necessary for you to fill out a registration form, which will
provide us with the required information to set up your account. It
is not necessary for you to have your Federal Employer Identification Number or
sales tax account number at this time, although, you will need to provide this
information as soon as it is available.
For further information or to obtain a TDT registration form, please contact
our office at (850) 595-4829, or write to:
Clerk of the Circuit Court
Attention: Finance
221 Palafox Place
Pensacola, Florida 32502-5845
Click
here for TDT registration form
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. I
own property located in Navarre Beach that I occasionally rent on a short-term
basis. Who do I pay taxes to?
Up until June 1, 2006, Escambia County was paid the tourist development taxes
on property owned on Navarre Beach. After June 1, 2006, all tourist development
taxes on Navarre Beach property is payable to Santa Rosa County.
2. When
is my TDT return due? The
TDT return is due on the 1st of the following calendar month and
must be postmarked on or before the 20th of the following calendar
month for which the liability applies (June rental is due July 1—must be
postmarked by July 20th).
3. Am
I required to remit returns even though I may not rent my beach house for the
winter months? Per
Florida Statutes, you must file a return even though no monies were collected
(a zero return).
4. I
sometimes rent my condo for a couple of weeks out of the year.
Because it is a condo and not a house I do not have to collect and remit taxes do I?
According to Florida Statute 212 transient accommodations means any living quarters or sleeping accommodations in any hotel,
motel, condo, apartment, campground, trailer park, rooming house, etc. For
a more definitive listing please review the statute.
5. If
I rent a motel room to my customer for longer than three months I no longer am
required to remit this tax right? Transient
rentals (short-term rentals) apply to rentals, leases, etc. of a period of time
up to six (6) months.
These short-term rental owners must collect and remit taxes. Any person who
exclusively enters into a bona-fide written lease for a period of six months or
longer does not have to remit these taxes and does not need to register with
the Finance Department.
6. What
can I claim as an exemption on my TDT return? If
a tax exemption certificate were presented at the time of rental, the
individual or company, etc. would be exempt.
It is important that the owner make a copy of this exemption to keep for their records.
If a person continuously resides at one location for a period longer than six months, that person is exempt. Other
examples include full-time students enrolled in an institution offering
post-secondary education with proof of status from institution, military
personnel on active duty providing written orders, rentals by governmental
entities (i.e., city, county, municipality, etc.), governmental employees and
representatives of exempt organizations that provide proper exemption
certification and do not use the transient accommodations for personal use, and
charitable organizations’ representatives with proper exemption certification
and are subject to the “method of payment” restrictions or have the charges
directly billed to the charitable organization. Please
refer to Florida Statute 212 for a more detailed explanation of exemptions.
7. How
much can I claim on the collection allowance? The
collection allowance lets the taxpayer keep a portion of the money that must be
remitted for submitting the return in a timely manner. The
collection allowance is 2.5% of total tax due up to $30.00, if the return is
postmarked by the 20th of the month following collection.
8. If
I have an agent handling my short-term rentals do both the agent and I have to
remit returns? Your
agent may collect taxes and remit returns on your behalf.
Even though there is a written agreement between the property owner and the agent, the property owner still remains responsible
for the tax obligation if the agent fails to collect and remit these taxes.
9.
I previuosly owned a bed and breakfast in another county, but I was able to
remit all taxes directly to the State.
Why do I have to remit some taxes to Escambia County?
Escambia County, per Florida Statutes 125 and 212 and Escambia County Ordinance 98-39, is a self-administering County
of the tourist development plan and fund. This
means that instead of the taxpayer remitting all taxes directly to the Florida
Department of Revenue (FDOR) which in turn remits monies back to the County,
that portion should be remitted directly to the County.
10. What
are the tax funds used for? Per
Florida Statutes 125 and 212, Escambia County may use these tax monies to
acquire, construct, improve, etc. publicly owned and operated convention
centers, sports stadiums or arenas.
Monies are used to promote and advertise tourism.
Monies may be used to fund convention bureaus, tourist information centers, etc. Monies
also may be used in beach improvement, maintenance, restoration, etc. For
more information please review the statutes.
11. How
much do I need to collect in taxes for both the Sales Tax and the TDT? If
your short-term rental property is located in Escambia County, you must collect
11.5%--7.5% is for the State Sales Tax and 4% is for Escambia County’s TDT.
12. Why
does Escambia County require that I give them my bank name and account
information? Per
Florida Statutes 125 and 212 and Escambia County Ordinance 89-7, the County is
responsible for collection and administration of the tax and allows Escambia
County to collect information it deems reasonable and neccessary. Part
of the information required by Escambia County, is information on the
individual’s or company’s bank account
(please review registration form).
13. Are
cleaning fees taxable? If
cleaning fees, processing fees, amenities fees or other fees appear on the
guest’s bill and are a required fee for the use of the accommodation, then
“yes”, those fees should be considered taxable for both State and County tax
rates.
14. Are
my tax records confidential? Per
Florida Statute Section
§213.053, the details of taxpayer information is exempt from public
records requests.
However, the County is allowed to exchange information regarding taxpayers and businesses with the State of Florida Department of
Revenue.
15. How
does Escambia County make sure that the TDT is collected and remitted? The
Escambia County Clerk of the Circuit Court Finance Department staff is
currently involved in several areas of enforcement and auditing. The
staff is currently involved in locating owners who have not registered with
either/or Escambia County or the State.
When it is determined that a property owner is not registered or remitting taxes, the owner is contacted and requested to complete
and return a registration form to the Finance Department.
The owner may be assessed the taxes due plus penalties and interest at the
time the registration information is sent. The
local FDOR office is also contacted and given the research information on this
property. It is important that the
property owner be aware that FDOR and Escambia County may impose costly back
taxes, interest, and penalties on property owners who do not comply with the
laws and ordinances of the State and County.
Another enforcement tactic that staff is involved with is the auditing of
current taxpayers in Escambia County.
Per Florida Statues 125 and 212 and Escambia County Ordinance 897, the
Clerk's office can and does request taxpayers to provide records to verify that
revenue claimed is recorded correctly.
During an audit, if it is determined that records are inaccurate, the company/individual may be assessed these back taxes plus
penalty and interest fees. With
this effort, administering the local TDT will be more streamlined and
efficient and also be of benefit to the local tourism market.
The following links may be used for further information:
Florida
Department of Revenue
Florida
Statutes
Escambia County Ordinances
|