Rental Rules by City / Florida / Bradenton

Bradenton short-term rental rules & tax calculator

Manatee County, Florida · Verified against official sources Oct 24, 2026

📋 The Basics

Can I rent my place short-term here?: Yes, with a permit
Do I need a permit?: Yes. Every rental needs its own yearly city Certificate of Registration.
What taxes do I pay?: Total about 13%. Check your Airbnb payout report to see which ones Airbnb collects; you pay the rest yourself.

Your 3 steps to be legal

Get a Florida state rental license (DBPR) and sign up for Florida sales tax.
Open a Manatee County tourist tax account and get a city Business Tax Receipt.
Register with the city and pass the inspection.

⚠️ Biggest risk: Renting before you are registered with the city.

Words confusing? See the glossary. Details and official sources are below.

Tax calculator

Nightly rate ($) Nights Cleaning fee ($)

Rates used: FL state sales tax 6% + Manatee County surtax 1% + Local tourist/transient taxes 6% = 13%. Mandatory cleaning fees are included in the taxable total. Manatee County tourist development tax 6% (FL DOR DR-15TDT); surtax 1% (DR-15DSS).

What Airbnb collects: Airbnb collects Florida sales tax and surtax; confirm whether it collects Manatee County's tourist development tax for your listing.

This is the general rule for Bradenton. Does your address qualify?

The free info covers the city as a whole. Your property can still be different: zoning can change from one street to the next, and an HOA or condo ban can stop rentals even where the city allows them.

Your $49 Compliance Check looks at your exact property:

Whether your exact address and zone allow short-term rentals
A check of HOA / condo rental restrictions to look for
Which permits and tax accounts you personally need
What you're missing right now
A personal report with clear next steps and official sources, by email
A refund if we report a rule in error (refund policy)

🔎 How we check: official city, county and state sources, a last-verified date on every page, and nothing guessed. Learn more

Check my address: $49

🔔 Stay notified: $4.99/month

Rules don't change every week, but they do change, and nobody emails you when they do. We'll alert you when city rules, tourist taxes, HOA-related laws, or Airbnb/Vrbo policies change in Bradenton. Cancel anytime.

Stay notified

Need guest waivers and booking tools too? Click here for more info

Why use this instead of a web search?

Instead of scattered, sometimes outdated pages, you get the city, county and state rules on one page, with official sources linked, a last-checked date, and unconfirmed items marked "verify" instead of guessed. How we verify →

Advanced details (laws, fees, sources)

Rules

State license	Florida DBPR vacation rental / transient public lodging license (homestead room-rental exemptions may apply).
State tax	6% state sales tax plus county discretionary surtax on rentals of 6 months or less; register with Florida DOR unless your platform collects and remits for you.
Cleaning fees	Mandatory cleaning fees charged to guests are taxable as part of the rental (state, surtax and tourist tax). Only an optional, separately itemized fee the guest can decline is excluded (FL Admin. Code 12A-1.061).
State preemption	Florida law (s. 509.032(7)(b), F.S.) bars local rules adopted after June 1, 2011 from prohibiting vacation rentals or regulating duration/frequency; older local rules still apply.
State licenses	Florida DBPR vacation rental license and FL Department of Revenue sales tax registration are required for all Florida vacation rentals.
Certificate of Registration	Every vacation rental in city limits rented 3+ times a year for under 30 days, condos included, needs its own annual city Certificate of Registration (Ordinance 3093, amended by 4001 and 4011).
What to submit	DBPR license, DOR certificate, Manatee County Tax Collector account, city Local Business Tax Receipt, proof of ownership, rental agreement, property sketches and a Designated Responsible Party form; an inspection follows.
Fees	$250 initial, $150 annual renewal.

Items marked "Verify with the city" could not be confirmed from an official source; call the office listed before relying on them.

Sources

Updates & watch list

Fines are set by law and can be changed: Florida caps local code-enforcement fines at $250/day for a first violation ($500 repeat); cities of 50,000+ can adopt up to $1,000/day first and $5,000/day repeat (Fla. Stat. 162.09). Source
Statewide vacation rental bills recur: In 2024 the Legislature passed SB 280, which would have changed local registration of vacation rentals; it was vetoed. Similar bills can return in any session. Source
Track current bills: Search pending Florida bills on vacation rentals and transient rentals. Source

Checked Oct 24, 2026. We list only changes and pending items we can source.

Free tools

Free "Is my rental legal?" checklist · Free tourist tax calculator

Rules can change

Bradenton's rules, its tax rates and platform policies can change through a council vote, a new state law or a court ruling, often with little notice to hosts. We re-check this page monthly; subscribers get notified. Stay Compliant for $4.99/mo.

Want it done for you?

Get a personalized STR Compliance Check ($49) for your exact address in any US city: the permits, registrations and tax accounts you need, with official sources, delivered by email in 48 business hours. Not legal advice.

Pay $49, Get My Compliance Check

By paying, you agree to our Terms and Refund Policy How we verify.

Stay Compliant: $4.99/month

Rules, tax rates and Airbnb/Vrbo policies can change without warning, and hosts who miss a change can be fined. Get alerts when your city, county or state changes, deadline reminders, a pending-bill watch list and a monthly host brief (even in quiet months: "we checked on [date]; no changes"). Compare plans.

Subscribe, $4.99/month

By paying, you agree to our Terms and Refund Policy.

Not legal or tax advice. Last verified Oct 24, 2026. Rules and rates change: confirm with the official sources linked before you rent or file.