Vacation Rental Management in Melbourne, FL

Rules & taxes

Melbourne & Brevard County Vacation Rental Rules & Taxes

A Melbourne vacation rental answers to the State of Florida, to Brevard County for its tourist tax, and possibly to the city where it sits. Here is what we could confirm from official sources.

• A Florida vacation rental license (DBPR)

  A home rented as a whole unit more than three times in a calendar year for stays shorter than 30 days or one calendar month, whichever is less, or advertised as regularly rented to guests, needs a vacation rental license from the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants (Vacation Rental – Dwelling for a house, Vacation Rental – Condominium for a condo unit). DBPR lists a $50 application fee and a $170 annual fee for a single-unit license, plus a $10 HEP fee.

  Source: Florida DBPR: vacation rental licensing

• Brevard County tourist development tax: 5%

  Brevard County charges a 5% tourist development tax on the total rent for stays of six months (181 days) or less, vacation rentals included. You set up a tourist tax account and file monthly, with returns and payment due by the 20th of the following month. Since October 1, 2025 the tax is filed with the Brevard County Clerk of Court, not the Tax Collector.

  Source: Brevard County Clerk of Court: tourist taxSource: Brevard County Tax Collector: tourist tax noticeSource: Florida DOR: county tourist tax rates (DR-15TDT)

• Florida sales tax and Brevard surtax

  Florida's 6% state sales tax plus the county discretionary surtax also applies to rentals of six months or less, reported to the Florida Department of Revenue. Brevard's surtax is 1% on the Department's surtax chart, made up of two 0.5% surtaxes both scheduled to expire on December 31, 2026, so check the current rate when you file.

  Source: Florida Department of Revenue: transient rentals (GT-800034)Source: Florida DOR: county surtax rates (DR-15DSS)

• What Florida lets cities do

  State law (§ 509.032(7)(b), Florida Statutes) says a local law may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented, unless that local rule was adopted on or before June 1, 2011.

  Source: § 509.032, Florida Statutes

• City rules: check with the city

  We could not confirm a City of Melbourne vacation rental registration requirement from an official city source, so check with the City of Melbourne before you list. Homes in West Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Palm Bay or unincorporated Brevard answer to that town or the county instead.

Checked against the official State of Florida, county and city sources linked above in October 2026. Fees, tax rates and rules change, so confirm with the state, county and city before you list. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.