Taxes...

[SunBurns2]

I'm new at the rental business and would love any and all help/suggestions. I have my own website www.rentalhomeindestin.com , on vrbo, vacationrentals, homeaway, and a canadian website that I can't remember right now. I referred alot of renters that didn't work for me to neighbors, so building that pool up as well.

I'm well organized and set up a merchant acct to accept credit cards. BUT, I have no CLUE how to go about collecting taxes. Do I or don't I? I only have one unit and not expecting a ton of $$ rolling in (but would like it!)

So my questions here are many...

What else do I need on my website? or changes?
Are there other websites I'm missing?
How can I find nice/non-damaging snowbirds? I've turned down 2 so far!
And would love other people to refer too (need someone who has gulf front/view but will add anyone who is self-renting)
And of course..the dreaded tax thing...

Thanks everyone in advance for your help!!! I really, really appreciate it!

 

[Smiling JOe]

I went to the site on your link and see just a general page, and nothing about your house. Taxes will depend on the location. Your site suggests that it may be in Destin, and that is Okaloosa Cnty. Walton County is not the same. I suggest you check with the Clerk of Courts in your county to learn about Bed Taxes. I believe they are to be paid monthly, and they do a good job of checking online to see who is dodging the collection.

 

[Smiling JOe]

oh, now I see the house. Just took a long time to load. Being that it is in Walton County, call the Walton County Clerk of Courts for the bed-tax info. If you are renting it as a vacation rental, six months or less, you will need to pony up the dough.

 

[SunBurns2]

Thank you for your help. I was on my website uploading bedroom pics when you tried to open. Not sure if that has anything to do with slow loading or not....

 

[NewUrbanGirl]

Hi SunBurns2. Although this in no way constitutes legal or financial advice , here's what we do, also renting in Walton County.
We applied for and received a resort dwelling license from the State, got inspected by the State prior to our first rental (at our request) and signed up to pay 4% to Walton County and 7% to the great State of Florida on all of our rentals. Walton collects quarterly and the State once per month (by the 10th I believe). Each year, we renew our license with the State DBPR. Both Walton County and the State are now online for tax payments, it's pretty easy to do, IMO.

Here are some useful links to get you started:
http://www.myfloridalicense.com
http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/eservices/apps/filepay/
http://www.touristtax.com/walton

Your website is very nice, best of luck to you on your rentals!

 

[dunefrog]

If your not inclined to put all the pieces together yourself and want to insure compliance for a small fee, check out HotSpot Tax Services.

http://www.hotspottax.com/

They are recommended on the VRBO website for this purpose. Hope this helps. Good luck with your rentals!

 

[Smiling JOe]

Direct from the Walton County Clerk of Court's website:

http://clerkofcourts.co.walton.fl.us/default.aspx?id=40

 

[Kurt]

I suggest professional photos.

 

[oberger]

We use HotSpot. It is easy and not very expensive.