Florida Dept. of Revenue - ????Forms and Publications

Hello,

Do we need to pay sales tax on gross rental revenue earned from residential real estate?

We have a French national who owns a residential duplex in Florida, and he collects rent revenue. This is his only business venture in the USA. His entity is a single member L.L.C. and is a disregarded entity, and the property is owned by the entity.

The State of Florida collects sales tax on gross rental revenue, but the instructions are fuzzy to me about
residential rentals. A form DR-1 Florida Business Tax Application is required to be filed, and then a form DR-15 Sales and Use Tax Return is filed monthly or quarterly. However, the instructions mention only "transient rentals."

Here is an excerpt from page five of the Instructions for DR-15 Sales and Use Tax Returns R.01/16:
Line D. Transient Rentals
Transient rentals are leases or rentals of living, sleeping, or housekeeping accommodations, such as hotels, motels,single-family dwellings, multi-unit dwellings, apartments, rooming houses, condominiums, timeshare resorts, vacation houses, beach houses, mobile homes, or any other living, sleeping, or housekeeping accommodations. Transient rental taxes must be collected and paid on all rental charges, including any rental charges that are required to be paid by the guest as a condition of the use of the accommodation, unless the rental charge is specifically exempt. See Rule 12A-1.061, F.A.C., for more information on what constitutes a ?rental charge? and which rental charges are specifically exempt.

Thanks.