County May Let Airbnb Collect Taxes, But Not Tell Anyone Who Paid
A proposed platform agreement could simplify bed tax collection, but officials warned it may also erase the details needed to enforce who actually paid.
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FL — St. Johns County is looking at whether Airbnb should collect tourist development taxes automatically, which sounds convenient until the county asks the obvious follow-up question: “Great, but who paid?”
At an April Tourist Development Council meeting, Tax Collector Jennifer Ravan explained that short-term rental owners currently have to register, file monthly returns, and remit tourist development tax even if platforms like Airbnb collect money from guests. The office also tracks collections by zip code and rental type, contacts delinquent owners, and can turn accounts over for audit when needed.
The county is now exploring alternative methods, including possible agreements with Airbnb, VRBO, and other platforms. Under that type of setup, the platform could automatically collect and send the tax to the county.
That is the shiny part.
The less shiny part is that, according to Ravan, an Airbnb agreement example did not provide identifying taxpayer information or rental transaction records. No itemized list. No clear way to see who collected what. No neat little spreadsheet for the county to lovingly glare at over coffee.
Ravan said that kind of agreement could limit the county’s ability to enforce nonpayment or generate the detailed reports it currently uses, including reports broken down by area, zip code, and rental type.
Council members also raised concerns about hosts being confused by Airbnb and VRBO, with one former host saying the platforms can make it look like taxes are already handled, even though the county still expects the owner to remit the money directly. Ravan said the office has added checklist language to help make that clearer.
So the county is weighing the classic government bargain: easier money collection, but possibly less visibility into the people and stays behind the money.
At publishing time, the bed tax was reportedly asking whether it could please have both convenience and receipts, which experts say remains a radical position in the year of our Lord, 2026.
