What fees and taxes come with an Orlando vacation rental?

The nightly rate is only where the bill starts. An Orlando area vacation home adds a cleaning fee and lodging tax, and sometimes a security deposit, a resort fee or extras such as pool heat. Some are set by law, others by each management company.

Fee	When it applies	Mandatory?	Typical range
Lodging tax	Every stay of six months or less	Yes, by law	12% to 13.5% of the total, by county
Cleaning fee	Once per stay	At most homes	Median of $129 to $239, by city (AirROI)
Security deposit or damage protection	At booking or before arrival	Depends on the company	Deposits of $200 to $3,500. Vrbo plans of $59 to $119
Resort fee	At some communities	Depends on the community	No reliable public range
Pool heat	When you add it	Optional	$22 to $35 a day
Platform fee	Only on booking platforms	Yes, on that platform	Varies by platform and booking value

Market figures are reference points, not the price of any specific home. Sources for each line are listed at the end of the article.

What is the tax on an Orlando vacation rental?

From 12% to 13.5% of the total charged, depending on the county the home is in: 13.5% in Osceola (Kissimmee), 12.5% in Orange (Orlando) and 12% in Polk (Davenport). That figure combines three separate taxes.

County	Area cities	State tax	County surtax	Tourist Development Tax	Total
Osceola	Kissimmee, Celebration, St. Cloud	6%	1.5%	6%	13.5%
Orange	Orlando, Lake Buena Vista	6%	0.5%	6%	12.5%
Polk	Davenport, Haines City	6%	1%	5%	12%

Sources: Florida Department of Revenue forms DR-15TDT (October 2026 revision) and DR-15DSS for 2026, and the Osceola and Polk County tax collectors.

• 6% state tax, under section 212.03 of the Florida Statutes, on any accommodation rented for six months or less, vacation homes, condos and townhomes included.
• County discretionary surtax, a percentage each county can add to the state tax.
• Tourist Development Tax (TDT), the county tourism tax, charged on top of the other two.

What counts is the county, not the city in the address. Mailing addresses do not follow county lines, and some communities with a Davenport address sit on the Osceola side. If a quote shows a rate other than these three, ask which county the home is in.

Is the cleaning fee taxed?

Yes. The tax applies to every mandatory amount you pay to use the home. The Florida Department of Revenue says a mandatory cleaning fee is part of the rental and is taxable, and Osceola County lists processing fees, cleaning, resort fees and pool heat as examples of taxable charges.

The math works like this: (nights + cleaning + other mandatory fees) × the county rate. For a Kissimmee home with $2,000 in nightly rates and a $250 cleaning fee, the tax is 13.5% of $2,250, or $303.75.

A written lease of more than six months to live in the property is outside the state tax under section 212.03. A vacation stay does not qualify.

Who collects it matters too. Osceola says it has no agreement with Airbnb, Vrbo or other platforms for the TDT, and that collecting and remitting it is the owner’s or manager’s job. A quote from a properly registered home should show the tax as its own line. A quote with no tax at all is a red flag, and our guide to Orlando vacation rental scams covers what else to check.

What is the cleaning fee and how much is it?

A one-time fee per stay for cleaning after you check out. Almost every home in the area charges one, and the median runs from $129 in Orlando to $239 in Davenport.

Market	Listings with a cleaning fee	Median	Average
Kissimmee	95.3%	$224	$259
Davenport	96.2%	$239	$302
Orlando	85.6%	$129	$233

Source: AirROI, active listings from August 2025 to July 2026.

Davenport has the highest fees and also the most big homes: 51.1% of its listings have 5 or more bedrooms, while in Orlando more than half have 1 or 2.

Trip length matters most. The fee is the same for 3 nights or 10, so on a long weekend it can cost more than a full night, while over a week it fades into the total. How much it costs to rent a vacation home in Orlando runs those numbers.

Some companies also charge extra cleaning when a house rule is broken: up to $500 in one national company’s terms, and $35 at a local company for a grill left dirty.

How does the security deposit work?

A security deposit is money set aside to cover damage that comes back if nothing happens. The alternative is damage protection, a smaller fee that does not come back. Published examples:

• Flat deposit. One local company asks for $200, refundable, charged up to four weeks before arrival.
• Deposits for large homes. A local luxury home company says it may require $500 to $3,500, depending on the home’s size.
• Limited damage protection. Another local company covers up to $1,000 for condos and townhomes and up to $1,500 for homes. When it also takes a deposit, it refunds it within two weeks of departure.
• On Vrbo. When the owner turns protection on, the guest chooses a nonrefundable plan ($59 for $1,500 of coverage, $89 for $3,000 or $119 for $5,000) or a deposit equal to the coverage. The owner has 14 days after checkout to document damage.
• On Airbnb. Most hosts cannot collect a security deposit. Only some, using management software connected to the platform, can, and the amount has to appear on the reservation.

A deposit is not always a charge. It may only be kept on file, or it may be a hold that ties up part of your available credit. Before you pay, ask:

1. How much it is, and whether it is a refundable deposit or a protection fee.
2. Whether it is charged, held against your limit or just kept on file.
3. How many days after checkout it comes back.
4. What can be deducted, and how you will hear about it before anything is.

What is a resort fee at Orlando vacation home communities?

A fee some vacation home communities charge for clubhouse access, which can include a resort pool, water slides, a lazy river and a gym. Not every community charges one. A UK-based operator that works with homes in the area notes that in some cases the fee applies only if guests use the facilities or bring a car into the community. These are community rules, and they can change.

If a resort fee is mandatory, it belongs in the total price under the FTC rule below, and Osceola counts it in the TDT base. Ask whether clubhouse access is included and, if not, whether the fee is per day, per person or per stay. Our resorts pages show Orlando Best Place homes in each community.

How much does pool heat cost?

Among local companies that publish it, $22 to $35 a day, sometimes plus tax, usually for the whole stay. It pays off from November through March, when an unheated pool runs cold. The full breakdown is in what pool heat costs in Orlando.

Other optional extras appear in company policies: a pet fee ($120, nonrefundable, at one company), early check-in or late checkout ($50 to $250 at another) and a crib or high chair at some homes.

Is the advertised price the final price?

Since May 12, 2025, it should be, at least for mandatory fees. The Federal Trade Commission’s Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, aimed at what the agency calls junk fees, covers live event tickets and short-term lodging, including hotels and vacation rentals. What it requires:

• Total price up front. The most prominent price must be the total with all mandatory fees. A breakdown cannot overshadow it. The FTC’s own examples include a vacation rental cleaning fee and a mandatory daily resort fee.
• Taxes can be separate, with notice. A listing can leave taxes out of the displayed price, as long as it shows them before you enter payment details.
• Optional extras stay out. Add-ons you choose, such as pool heat, do not have to be in the opening total.
• Platforms are covered. The FTC names vacation rentals listed on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo, and platforms have to pass hosts the information needed to calculate the total.

On the platforms themselves: Vrbo charges guests a service fee, a percentage that changes with the booking value, and says the total it shows already includes mandatory fees. Airbnb is moving all hosts to a single fee taken from the host’s payout, and most pay 15.5%. You do not see it, but it shapes the nightly rate.

Paying with a Canadian or UK card? Orlando rates are in US dollars, and your card issuer handles the conversion. If a payment page or terminal offers to bill you in your home currency instead, Visa requires that you get the choice, with the exchange rate and any markup shown.

When you book directly with Orlando Best Place, the final price with cleaning and taxes is shown before payment and there is no platform fee. Payments are processed by Stripe. The vacation home rental guide walks through the booking step by step, and the fees each local company publishes are side by side in our comparison of Orlando vacation rental companies.

In practice: compare homes on the total for the stay, tax included, never on the nightly rate. Ask for a quote for your dates and check that each item has its own line: the nights, the cleaning fee, the tax with the county rate and any deposit or resort fee. If something is missing, ask before you pay.

To see the real total for your dates, search vacation homes.