Effective November 1, 2019, Pasco County, Florida, will begin administering its local tourist development tax. Taxpayers will be required to report and pay their 4% tourist development taxes from the area directly to the Pasco County Tax Collector. The Florida Department of Revenue has issued Taxpayer Information Publication (TIP) 19A01-10 on September 13, 2019, to notify the public.
Florida taxpayers will continue to report October’s rental revenue on line D of their November DR-15 Sales and Use Tax Returns the 7% sales tax and surtax on transient rentals. Similarly, the DR-15 will still be sent directly to the Florida Department of Revenue. However, beginning November 1, 2019, taxpayers will also need to report October’s 4% tourist development tax directly to the Pasco County Tax Collector. While the procedures have changed, the combined total tax rate for transient rentals in Pasco County will remain at 11%.
The Pasco County Tax Collector has made itself available for taxpayers with questions during this transitional period. Taxpayers can visit www.pascotaxes.com to access the Pasco County Tax Collector’s website. For more direct assistance, taxpayers can either call the Pasco County Tax Collector at 352-518-5097 or email at touristtax@pascotaxes.com
In Florida, most counties choose to have the state administer their local taxes. This unusual step by Pasco County will surely be an inconvenience to taxpayers. Only time will tell if other counties will follow, taking their local taxes into their own hands and causing a headache for local business in the process.
Jeanette Moffa is an attorney who concentrates on state and local taxes at Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, P.A. She is an executive council member of the American Bar Association Tax Section State and Local Tax Committee and the Florida Bar Tax Section. Ms. Moffa is an author of both the CCH’s Expert Treatise Library: Sales and Use Tax as well the ABA’s Sales and Use Tax Deskbook. In addition, her regular columns on state and local tax issues can be found in State Tax Notes and Actionline, a publication from the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section. She also serves as assistant editor to the Sales and Use Tax Deskbook and Actionline. Ms. Moffa is a regular speaker at the American Bar Association Tax Section conferences, the Institute of Professionals in Taxation, the Florida Bar Tax Section, the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section, and the FICPA. In her free time, she teaches as an adjunct professor at Broward College.
At the Law Office of Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, PA, our primary practice area is Florida taxes, with a very heavy emphasis in Florida sales and use tax. We have defended Florida businesses against the Florida Department of Revenue since 1991 and have over 100 years of cumulative sales tax experience within our firm. Our partners are both CPAs/Accountants and Attorneys, so we understand both the accounting side of the situation as well as the legal side. We represent taxpayers and business owners from the entire state of Florida. Call our offices today for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION to confidentially discuss how we can help put this nightmare behind you.
AUTHORITY
TIP 19A01-10 Report Pasco County Tourist Development Tax to the Pasco County Tax Collector Begging November 1, 2019
Pasco County Tax Collector Webpage on Tourist Development Tax – Transient Rentals
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
FL Sales Tax Audit – Hotels and Extended Stay Motels, Published March 12, 2017, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
FL Homestead Exemption Risked Renting on Airbnb, Published March 31, 2017, by Amanda Levine, Esq.
FL Tax – Online Companies Win at Florida Supreme Court, Published June 17, 2015, by Jerry Donnini, Esq.
FL Condo/Transient Rental Industry - Sales and Use Tax Issues and Savings Opportunities, Published April 17, 2012, by Jerry Donnini, Esq.