Manatee’s Tourist Tax Grows as County Weighs Vacation Rental Rules
By Lisa Neff
Manatee County collected more than $40 million in tourist development taxes in the 2025-26 fiscal year, nearly 25% more than the previous year.
After collection fees, the county netted $38.8 million for tourism-related purposes.
The tourist development tax, also known as the bed tax or resort tax, is a 6% levy on accommodations rented for six months or less, including hotel and motel rooms and short-term rental housing.
The tax rate increased from 5% to 6% in January 2025 following voter approval in a November 2024 referendum. Guests also pay a 7% state sales and use tax.
Tourist tax collections are one measure of a tourism economy. The revenue also supports tourism marketing, programs and projects.
The $40.01 million collected in 2025-26 compares with $32.18 million in 2024-25. But the year-over-year comparison reflects two significant factors: the lingering effects of three hurricanes in 2024 and the increase in the tourist tax rate from 5% to 6% in January 2025.
Collections exceeded the previous year’s totals in all 12 months. In September, the final month of the fiscal year, gross collections increased 43.85% to $2,407,983.
The rising collections provide a backdrop for the county’s ongoing debate over vacation rental regulations. In September, county commissioners held a workshop at the administration building in Bradenton to discuss a possible ordinance governing short-term vacation rentals.
Vacation rentals accounted for nearly 69% of Manatee’s tourist tax collections from October 2025 through May 2026, according to the tax collector’s office.
What rules exist across Manatee for short-term rentals?
State requirements for covered vacation rentals include registration with the Florida Department of Revenue and licensing through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Licensing requirements include a $50 application fee, a license fee based on the number of units and safety inspections.
The county also requires vacation rental operators to register with the tax collector’s office and remit applicable taxes.
Florida law prohibits the county and other local governments from banning short-term vacation rentals or regulating their duration and frequency unless restrictions existed prior to June 2011.
So, the county cannot restrict lengths of stay and the frequency of rentals in unincorporated areas. The county also cannot regulate the use of recreational amenities like pickleball courts or swimming pools or limit the number of vacation rentals, according to Stephanie Charles, the county’s development services deputy director.
At a Sept. 2 workshop, Charles said the county can update and enforce noise, trash, lighting and parking ordinances to address concerns about rentals and their impact in residential communities.
The county also can adopt an ordinance to require mandatory fee-based STR registration and inspection with annual or biennial renewals, limit occupancy based on square footage and establish fines for failure to register properties or adhere to rules.
“What that means is having a staff that is dedicated to short-term rentals,” Charles said. “We would have a mandatory registration, which would mean everybody that wants to operate in unincorporated Manatee County would need to come through development services and register their short-term rental. And we would set an application fee and initial inspection fee.”
An ordinance also could require operators to post information about occupancy limits, parking, trash collection, quiet hours and hurricane evacuation routes.
“Disaster planning is a big thing,” Charles said. “We want to make sure that the renters know what we do here in unincorporated (Manatee), especially during hurricane season, how they are to evacuate, where shelters are, things like that.”
Anna Maria, Bradenton and Holmes Beach have local regulations governing vacation rentals. Fire districts also can enforce applicable safety requirements. Other jurisdictions with vacation rental regulations include the city of Sarasota and Pinellas and Collier counties.
Manatee County commissioners voted 6-1 in January 2025 to direct staff to develop a vacation rental ordinance.
Staff presented a draft ordinance in May 2025, but a motion to direct staff to bring back a final ordinance failed 3-3.
“There really wasn’t a desire or an appetite from the board at that time to create a specific ordinance to short-term rentals,” Nicole Knapp, the county’s development services director, said at the workshop. “They wanted to stay within the confines of the ordinances we already had.”
Commissioners revisited the issue in June, voting 5-0 for staff to bring back an ordinance as soon as practicable.
At the September workshop, commissioners asked about enforcement of existing nuisance ordinances and the potential cost of a dedicated vacation rental program.
Commissioner George Kruse said the county should focus on protecting neighborhoods while allowing responsible vacation rental operators to remain in business.
“I also think it should pay for itself,” he said.
The commission did not take formal action at the workshop, but Chair Tal Siddique told staff, “It sounds like we would like to see an ordinance come back to us.”
He also asked staff to examine whether older zoning regulations already prohibit transient lodging in certain areas, an argument raised by some residents.
By The Numbers
Manatee County Tourist Development Tax, Gross Collections
MONTH 2025-26 2024-25
OCTOBER $1,663,373 $1,348,981
NOVEMBER $1,827,472 $1,336,881
DECEMBER $2,600,725 $1,926,033
JANUARY $3,080,960 $2,528,447
FEBRUARY $3,951,356 $3,536,640
MARCH $6,402,338 $5,396,781
APRIL $3,981,266 $3,286,678
MAY $3,128,374 $2,520,129
JUNE $4,605,833 $3,608,714
JULY $3,809,858 $3,031,466
AUGUST $2,552,117 $1,985,837
SEPTEMBER $2,407,983 $1,673,914
TOTAL $40,011,655 $32,180,502
Manatee’s fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and concludes Sept. 30.
Did You Know?
The Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office is tracking thousands of online vacation rental listings to identify properties that may not be registered.
As of Aug. 10, the most recent date available for data, about 1,300 listings had not been matched to registered properties, although the office cautioned that individual rentals may be advertised on multiple websites.