Port St. Joe, FL short-term rental registration
Port St. Joe puts vacation rentals through the same door as every other business in town: anyone conducting business inside the city, vacation rentals included, needs a city business licence. What makes the application non-trivial is the order of operations. The city will not issue the licence until you are already registered three times over — with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, with the Gulf County Tax Collector for the 5% tourist development tax, and with the Division of Corporations. Everything then expires together on 30 September.[6]
Every rule below links to the official source it comes from, verified September 20, 2026.
Can you rent short term in Port St. Joe?
Register before you list
What you apply for: City of Port St. Joe business licence
- Seasonal homes
- 323
- Housing units
- 2,186
- Residents
- 3,616
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates
- City ruleRegistration required
- City feeNone published
- Tax on each stay12%
- Seasonal homes148 per 1,000
Port St. Joe vacation rental licence
Port St. Joe requires a city business licence for anyone conducting business within the city limits, and the city states explicitly that this includes vacation rentals. To apply for that licence for a short-term rental you must already be registered with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, with the Gulf County Tax Collector to collect the 5% tourist development tax, and with the Department of State's Division of Corporations. Applications are made online, in person at City Hall on Cecil G. Costin Sr. Boulevard, or by emailing the completed application packet. Business licences expire on 30 September each year; renewal notices are mailed out on 1 August and payment is due by 30 September. The city also publishes a short-term rental fact sheet listing the documents it wants with the application, which is worth asking for before filing rather than after.[6]
What Port St. Joe asks of you
Anyone conducting business in the City of Port St. Joe needs a city-issued business licence, and the city names vacation rentals among them.[6]
Before applying you must be registered with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.[6]
You must also be registered with the Gulf County Tax Collector to collect the county's 5% tourist development tax, and with the Department of State's Division of Corporations.[6]
Applications are made online, in person at City Hall, or by emailing the completed application packet.[6]
Business licences expire on 30 September. Renewal notices are mailed on 1 August and payment is due by 30 September.[6]
What Florida asks wherever you host
These rules apply at this address whatever the city decides.
Florida licenses vacation rentals itself. A house, townhouse or unit in a building of four units or fewer is licensed as a dwelling, a unit in a condominium or cooperative as a condominium, and the licence costs $150 plus $10 per rental unit plus a $10 hospitality education fee.[2]
A city cannot ban vacation rentals, nor regulate how long or how often you rent, unless its ordinance was already on the books on June 1, 2011. Ordinances adopted before that date survive untouched, which is why two neighbouring Florida towns can sit at opposite ends of the scale.[1]
State sales tax is due on every rental of six months or less. A bona fide written lease for more than six months of continuous residence is exempt, and so is the seventh month onward once a guest has stayed and paid for six.[3]
What a guest pays on top of your nightly rate in Port St. Joe
Each layer is set by a different authority, and not all of them are collected by the platform.
| Layer | Rate | Remitted to |
|---|---|---|
| Florida state sales tax[3] | 6% | The state revenue department |
| Gulf County discretionary sales surtax[5] | 1% | The state revenue department |
| Gulf County Tourist Development Tax[4] | 5% | The county |
| Total on a taxable stay | 12% |
Registering with the Gulf County Tax Collector for the 5% tourist development tax is not optional housekeeping here: the city makes it a condition of issuing the business licence.[6]
How short-term rental taxes work for US hostsWhat the census counts
How much of Port St. Joe is already a second home
The Census Bureau counts 323 of Port St. Joe's 2,186 homes as vacant for seasonal, recreational or occasional use — 148 out of every 1,000. That ranks Port St. Joe 31st of the 33 Florida cities on this site for the share of its housing stock kept for part-year use.
- Rank in the state
- 31st of 33
- Share of housing
- 148 per 1,000
- Median home value
- $353,100
U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, tables B25004, B25001, B01003 and B25077.
Nearby and comparable
Where Port St. Joe sits among its neighbors
Pompano Beach, FL
Permit required
8,149 seasonal homes, 133 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Pompano BeachDunedin, FL
Registration required
2,643 seasonal homes, 124 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in DunedinDeerfield Beach, FL
Registration required
7,371 seasonal homes, 158 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Deerfield BeachFlagler Beach, FL
Permit required
629 seasonal homes, 170 per 1,000 housing units.
Rules in Flagler BeachFAQ
Port St. Joe short-term rental questions
What do I need before applying in Port St. Joe?
When does the licence expire?
How much tax does a Port St. Joe stay carry?
Sources
- Florida Statutes § 509.032(7), Duties — preemption of vacation rental regulation, The Florida Legislature, read on September 20, 2026
- Guide to Vacation Rentals and Timeshare Projects, Division of Hotels and Restaurants, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, read on September 20, 2026
- Sales and Use Tax on Rental of Living or Sleeping Accommodations (GT-800034, R. 10/25), Florida Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Local Option Transient Rental Tax Rates (DR-15TDT, R. 03/25), Florida Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026 (DR-15DSS), Florida Department of Revenue, read on September 20, 2026
- Business license, including vacation rentals, City of Port St. Joe, read on September 20, 2026
This page is not legal advice. It summarizes the official sources listed on this page as they read on September 20, 2026. Rules can change after that date, so check with the issuing office before you apply or publish a listing.
Before you list
Free tools for new hosts
Short-term rental agreement generator
Parties, dates, rent, deposit checked against your state's cap, and the house rules clauses you enforce. A signed-ready PDF for direct and Vrbo bookings.
Airbnb house rules
Generate a complete PDF house rules document for your property: rules, schedule, amenities, emergency contacts.
Rental arbitrage calculator
Rent, deposit, furnishing, nightly rate and occupancy. You get monthly cash flow, the occupancy you break even at, and how long the setup takes to pay back.
Check-in instructions
The message a guest reads before getting in: access, keys, WiFi, parking, contact. English or bilingual output.