Florida Rental Property Taxes: What Landlords Pay and Deduct

How are Florida rental properties taxed?

Florida rental properties are taxed two ways: an annual county property tax on the real estate, and federal income tax on the net rental profit. Florida has no state income tax, so there's no Florida tax bill on the rent itself. Property tax is the cost landlords feel every year, and it's higher on a rental than on an owner-occupied home.

You bought a rental in Orlando or Tampa, and now you're staring at your first tax season. What do you actually owe? What can you write off? Florida's tax picture for landlords is different from most states — and it's mostly good news. The no-state-income-tax part is real. The property tax part is where understanding the rules pays off, especially if you converted a home you used to live in.

What property taxes do Florida landlords pay?

Florida landlords pay county ad valorem property tax on a rental as non-homestead real estate. That means no homestead exemption and no 3% Save Our Homes cap — instead, the annual assessment increase is capped at 10%. On a typical Central Florida rental, the effective rate runs roughly 1.0% to 1.2% of assessed value once you account for the lost homestead break.

Rental properties don't get the homestead exemption (that's for your primary residence), and they don't get the 3% annual assessment cap homestead owners enjoy under Save Our Homes. Instead, a non-homestead property's assessment increase is capped at 10% a year under Florida Statute 193.1554 — and that cap doesn't apply to school district levies, so the school portion can rise faster.

Effective rates by county. Because a rental carries no homestead exemption, its effective tax rate is higher than the homestead-skewed county "median" you'll see quoted online. For Central Florida non-homestead rentals, plan on roughly 1.0% to 1.2% of assessed value. Orange County and Hillsborough County run at the higher end of that range; Osceola, Seminole, and Pinellas counties land a little lower. On a $300,000 rental, that's roughly $3,000 to $3,600 a year. For a deeper local breakdown, our Orlando property tax guide walks through county-specific numbers, and our Florida property tax appeals guide covers what to do if your assessment looks too high.

When the bill is due. County property tax bills go out in November and are due by March 31. Counties offer early-payment discounts — typically 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, and 1% in February. Pay early and you trim the bill. The 10% cap also resets when ownership changes, so when you buy a rental it gets reassessed at just value the following January 1, and the cap kicks in from there.

Do renters pay property tax in Florida?

Renters in Florida don't pay property tax directly — the legal bill goes to the property owner, and the county sends it to the landlord, not the tenant. But renters pay it indirectly: landlords build property tax into the rent they set, so a tenant covers a share of it through their monthly payment. Florida has no separate renter tax credit or renter property tax refund.

This comes up a lot, so let's be clear. You, the landlord, are legally responsible for the property tax. You can't make a tenant pay the county directly, and a standard residential lease shouldn't try to bill property tax as a separate line item. What you can do — and what every landlord does — is price the rent so it covers your carrying costs, property tax included. And no, Florida doesn't offer a "renter tax credit" or a property tax refund to renters; some other states do, but Florida isn't one of them.

Is rental income taxed in Florida?

Rental income is not taxed by the state of Florida — there's no state income tax — but it is taxed at the federal level. You report net rental income (rent minus deductible expenses) on Schedule E, and it's taxed at your federal marginal rate. That holds true for 2026 just as it has for years: Florida has no state income tax on rental income.

So if you searched "Florida state income tax on rental income," the answer is zero — Florida levies none. Your federal return is the one that matters. And because depreciation is a non-cash deduction, many landlords show a paper loss on Schedule E even while collecting rent every month. More on deductions next.

What can you deduct on your federal return?

Florida landlords can deduct, on federal Schedule E, every ordinary expense of running the rental: mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, property management fees, travel, advertising, legal and professional fees, and depreciation. The deductions are where a Florida rental's tax picture is won or lost, since the state itself taxes nothing.

IRS Publication 527 spells out the rules. Here's the short version, and our Florida rental tax deductions checklist goes line by line.

Mortgage interest is usually the biggest deduction. You deduct only the interest portion of the payment — not principal — and your lender sends a Form 1098 with the number. On a $250,000 loan at 7%, that's roughly $17,500 in year-one interest.

Property taxes you pay on the rental are fully deductible, including county and municipal taxes. Rental property taxes go on Schedule E and aren't subject to the $10,000 SALT cap that limits property tax on your personal return.

Insurance for the rental — hazard, liability, and flood coverage if you carry it — is deductible. Landlord policies in Florida often run $1,200 to $2,000 a year, and every dollar counts.

Property management fees are deductible. If you pay 8–10% of rent to a manager, that's a direct expense. Our breakdown of property management costs in Orlando covers typical fee structures.

Repairs and maintenance that restore the property to its prior condition are deductible the year you pay them — fixing a broken AC, repainting between tenants, replacing a damaged screen. Improvements that add value, like a new roof, get depreciated instead.

Travel to manage the rental is deductible. The IRS standard mileage rate is 70 cents per mile for 2025, covering trips to collect rent, meet contractors, show the property, or handle maintenance. Keep a log: date, miles, purpose. If you're an out-of-state landlord, those Florida trips add up.

Depreciation is the big one. You deduct the cost of the building — not the land — over 27.5 years for residential rental property. It's a paper expense; no cash leaves your pocket, but it often turns taxable rental income into a paper loss.

Advertising for tenants — listing fees, photography, yard signs — is deductible. Legal and professional fees for evictions, lease review, or tax prep count too. Commissions paid to brokers for finding tenants are deductible the year you pay them. Keep every receipt. A $50 receipt doesn't feel like much, but over a decade it adds up — and the IRS expects documentation if they ask.

Does the 20% pass-through deduction apply to rentals?

The Section 199A qualified business income deduction can apply to a Florida rental — letting you deduct up to 20% of net rental income — but only if the rental rises to the level of a trade or business. Active involvement gets you there; pure passive ownership usually doesn't.

The IRS explains the 199A rules: you need "regular, continuous, and considerable" involvement. Collecting rent, handling maintenance, screening tenants, and managing the property yourself usually qualifies. An investor who hands everything to a manager may not. If you do qualify, $50,000 of net rental income could mean a $10,000 deduction — worth a conversation with your CPA.

How do you file rental taxes? Schedule E and beyond

You file Florida rental income on federal Schedule E with your Form 1040. List each property, report the income, subtract the expenses, and put depreciation on its own line. There's no Florida state return for the rental income itself, because Florida has no state income tax.

If you're organized — receipts, mileage log, Form 1098s — filing is straightforward. The key is contemporaneous records: the IRS wants to see expenses documented when they happened, not reconstructed at tax time.

What counts as rental income? Rent payments, advance rent (first and last month if collected upfront), lease cancellation fees, and any expense the tenant pays that's normally yours. Security deposits aren't income until you keep them for unpaid rent or damages — then they become income that year.

Cash vs. accrual. Most individual landlords use cash-basis accounting: income when received, expenses when paid. It's simpler and standard for small landlords. Your lease agreement terms don't change the accounting method, but they do affect when rent counts as "received."

How are short-term rentals taxed in Florida?

Short-term rentals in Florida — stays under six months — owe Florida's 6% state sales tax plus any local tourist development tax, collected from guests and remitted to the state and county. Long-term rentals of six months or more owe no sales tax. Either way, the income is still free of Florida state income tax.

Most Orlando and Tampa landlords with standard 12-month leases never touch this — it matters mainly for vacation rentals and Airbnb-style setups. If that's your situation, register with the Florida Department of Revenue and your county before you take a booking.

What tax mistakes do Florida landlords make?

The most common Florida landlord tax mistakes are mixing personal and rental expenses, skipping depreciation, failing to keep a mileage log, treating security deposits as income too early, and deducting an improvement as a repair. Each one either overstates a deduction the IRS can disallow or understates one you were entitled to.

Mixing personal and rental expenses. That Home Depot run where you bought supplies for the rental and your own house? Split it. Only the rental portion is deductible.

Forgetting about depreciation. Even if you don't claim it, the IRS still reduces your basis when you sell, so you pay depreciation recapture either way. You might as well take the deduction while you own the property.

Skipping the mileage log. "I drove to the property a few times" won't hold up. Date, miles, purpose — every trip.

Treating security deposits as income. They're not income until you keep them for unpaid rent or damages. Then they become income that year.

Deducting improvements as repairs. Replacing a few broken tiles is a repair. Replacing the whole floor is an improvement — it gets depreciated, not written off in year one. When in doubt, ask your CPA; the line matters in an audit.

What if you're renting a former primary residence?

If you converted your homestead into a rental, you lose the 3% Save Our Homes cap. The property gets reassessed at just value the year after it becomes non-homestead, the 10% non-homestead cap applies from there, and your property tax bill can jump sharply. Plan for the increase before the first rental tax bill arrives.

This is the exact situation a lot of Florida landlords land in — relocated for work, inherited a house, or couldn't sell, and now renting a home they used to live in. The Save Our Homes portability benefit only moves with you from one homestead to another; it doesn't follow you to a rental. If you're weighing whether to rent out your home, factor the property tax increase into the numbers before you decide. Our guide on what it takes to become an accidental landlord in Florida walks through the rest of that decision.

The bottom line

Florida's lack of a state income tax is a real advantage for rental owners — you owe the state nothing on the rent. Your federal bill comes down to how well you track and claim deductions, and property tax is the one ongoing cost you can't avoid. Understand non-homestead versus homestead, know what's deductible federally, and you're already ahead of most accidental landlords.

If you own one rental and the tax tracking, the receipts, and the county deadlines feel like more than you signed up for, you don't have to carry it alone. We manage single properties, not just portfolios, and we keep the records that make tax season simple. Get a free rental analysis and we'll break down the numbers for your specific property.