Walton County tourist tax is the Clerk of Court’s Tourist Development Tax. It is not Planning’s short-term rental certificate, and it is not the $500-a-day advertising fine. Those are two desks.
The old guide treated platform remittance, the $300 VRRP fee, and the $500/day STR fine as one tax. That is the repair.
SoWal (sowal.co) is a free local guide. Questions: hello@sowal.co. This is not the Clerk.
Two desks
Tourist Development Tax is this page. Walton County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller, TDT. waltonclerk.com/touristtax. File and pay at waltontdt.munirevs.com (GovOS, live since November 27, 2024). Phone 850-267-2040. Fax 850-267-1335. Email touristdevelopmenttax@waltonclerk.com.
Short-term rental certificate is not this page. That is Planning. apply.mywcfl.rentals. 850-267-1955. planning@mywaltonfl.gov. Advertise or rent without the certificate and Planning’s FAQ prints $500 a day. That is not a TDT penalty. The $300 / $227 annual registration is Planning’s VRRP fee, not the Clerk.
Homestead, owner-occupied, on-premises can sit outside the certificate. If you still take stays of six months or less, TDT can still apply. Ask the Clerk.
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What TDT is
Clerk: rentals of six months or less. Rate is on the rent plus required, non-refundable fees (cleaning, pet, resort). Location of the house, not the owner. Effective March 1, 2021, two districts. Confirm the lot on the Clerk’s TDT District Verification PDF. Zip is a start, not a guarantee.
South of Choctawhatchee Bay is 5 percent. Zips they name: 32550, 32459, 32461. 30A, Santa Rosa Beach, Miramar, Inlet Beach. North of the bay is 3 percent. Zips they name: 32462, 32439, 32578, 32435, 32455, 32433, 32539, 32464, 32567.
Sales tax is separate and goes to Florida DOR: 6 percent state plus 1 percent Walton discretionary, 7 percent total. Clerk PDF: South Walton all-in 12 percent. North Walton all-in 10 percent. Do not send sales tax to the Clerk.
Platforms do not pay this one
Clerk PDF: no rental ad platforms remit any TDT funds to the Walton County TDT Dept. Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway are not contracted. You or your registered manager file in GovOS.
A manager who files under their TDT number can cover the stay. If you still take cleaning fees or other taxable charges under your own name, ask the Clerk whether you need your own account. Do not invent a quote from Walton County Clerk that we cannot open on their page.
Filing
Register in the GovOS portal. How to Register PDF is on the Clerk TDT page. New filers and old accounts both go there. The county has published this for years: return due the 1st of the month after the stay, delinquent after the 20th, next business day if the 20th is a weekend or holiday. Collection allowance only if you file and pay online on time. Late: Florida’s 10 percent of tax due or $50, whichever is greater, plus daily interest. Keep records three years. Zero-stay months: file a zero return if you have an account. Confirm on the portal.
FAQs
Do Airbnb or VRBO send Walton TDT? No. File at waltontdt.munirevs.com.
Is the $500-a-day fine the tourist tax? No. That is Planning’s certificate. TDT late fee is 10 percent or $50 plus interest.
South Walton or North? South of the bay is 5 percent. North is 3 percent. Confirm the lot on the Clerk’s district PDF.
Who is this guide? SoWal (sowal.co). Free local notes. hello@sowal.co.
