Vote Yes on the Sumter County tourism tax
A 2% tax on overnight lodging — paid by visitors, not by Sumter County residents in their daily lives. By state law it can only be spent on tourism promotion and tourism-related projects, and it is estimated to raise about $1 million a year for the county.
What you're actually voting on
On November 3, Sumter County voters decide whether to reinstate a tourist development tax the county repealed in 2020.
Who pays it
Anyone paying for lodging of six months or less in Sumter County — hotels, motels, campgrounds, RV parks, condos and short-term rentals. Overwhelmingly that means visitors from outside the county.
To be precise: the tax is on the stay, not the person. A resident who books a local hotel room pays it too. What residents don't pay is any tax on their everyday life here — groceries, gas, shopping and dining are untouched.
How much it raises
A 2% rate on lodging, estimated at roughly $1 million a year. The county's own earlier planning documents put the figure above $700,000 annually, so the real number likely sits in that range.
Sumter currently levies 0% — the only rate in this region without a lodging tax.
Where it can go
Florida Statute 125.0104 limits this revenue to tourism promotion and specific tourism-related purposes — marketing, and publicly or nonprofit-owned facilities such as museums, auditoriums and convention centers.
It cannot be moved into general county spending, road repair, law enforcement or fire services.
Sumter County already has visitors. Right now it funds none of the work of hosting them.
Every neighboring county collects a lodging tax and uses it to market itself to travelers. Sumter collects nothing, which means the county competes for visitors with no budget to do it.
Chase Sanctuary draws guests from across Florida and out of state for day trips and overnight stays. So do the Dade Battlefield, Lake Panasoffkee, the fairgrounds and the county's events calendar. Those visitors already arrive; they already use the roads and fill the restaurants. This measure simply asks them to contribute 2% on a hotel night, and puts that money toward bringing more of them.
Visitors pay, residents don't
The tax applies only to short-term lodging stays. It doesn't touch shopping, dining, fuel or any everyday purchase.
Money follows visitors
Marketing funded by the tax is aimed at drawing people into the county. Once here, they spend at restaurants, shops, gas stations and attractions — none of which sees a cent of the tax itself.
Legally ring-fenced
State law, not a county promise, restricts what this money can be spent on. Unauthorized spending must be reported to the County Commission and the Florida Department of Revenue.
2% would still be the lowest rate in the region
Current local lodging tax rates, from the Florida Department of Revenue's published table.
| County | Lodging tax rate |
|---|---|
| Sumter (proposed) | 2.0% |
| Lake | 4.0% |
| Marion | 4.0% |
| Citrus | 5.0% |
| Hernando | 5.0% |
| Pasco | 5.0% |
| Polk | 5.0% |
| Orange | 6.0% |
| Osceola | 6.0% |
Source: Florida Department of Revenue, Local Option Transient Rental Tax Rates (DR-15TDT). Sumter County is currently listed at 0.0%.
Who decides where it goes
This is the fair question to ask about any new tax. Florida law sets the structure, and it is a matter of public record.
A tourist development plan is written into the ordinance
The plan for spending the money is part of the law itself, not an afterthought. Sumter County commissioners approved the ordinance creating the council and placing the measure on the ballot in May 2026.
A nine-member Tourist Development Council reviews spending
Required by statute. The council continuously reviews expenditures and makes recommendations to the County Commission.
Expenditure reports at least quarterly
The council must receive spending reports on at least a quarterly basis. Tax collection records are open to public inspection.
The County Commission holds final authority
Elected commissioners make the funding decisions, in public meetings, based on the council's recommendations.
Common concerns
Will this raise my taxes?
Not on anything in your everyday life. It applies only to paid lodging stays of six months or less within the county. Your property taxes, sales tax, groceries, fuel and dining are unaffected.
The one honest exception: if you personally book a hotel room or short-term rental inside Sumter County, that stay is taxed like anyone else's.
Won't a lodging tax scare visitors away?
Every county around Sumter already charges more — 4% in Lake and Marion, 5% in Citrus, Hernando, Pasco and Polk, 6% in Orange and Osceola. A traveler choosing between Sumter and a neighboring county would still be paying the lowest lodging tax in the region here.
The revenue is legally required to fund tourism promotion, which is designed to increase visitor numbers rather than reduce them.
Can the county spend it on something else later?
No. The permitted uses are set by Florida Statute 125.0104, not by the county. Revenue cannot be redirected to general county needs — including roads, police and fire — even though tourism does add wear on those services. Unauthorized expenditures must be reported to both the County Commission and the Florida Department of Revenue.
Won't more tourism mean more traffic?
It's a reasonable thing to weigh. Worth being clear about what this measure does and doesn't change: the visitors Sumter County receives today arrive whether or not this passes. What the measure changes is whether the county has a dedicated, legally restricted fund for tourism promotion and tourism-related facilities, instead of none at all.
Since residents aren't taxed in their day-to-day lives, there's no added household cost to weigh against the inconvenience.
Does Chase Sanctuary get money from this?
We are not promising that, and no one should tell you otherwise. Florida law permits tourist development revenue to fund marketing and certain tourism-related capital projects, including facilities owned and operated by nonprofit organizations and open to the public — and some Florida counties do grant funds to nonprofit attractions under those categories.
Whether Sumter County chooses to do that, and who would qualify, is up to the County Commission and the tourist development plan. What we can say plainly is that funded tourism promotion brings more visitors to attractions across the county, and visitors are what sustain our rescue, conservation and education work.
Who collects the tax?
Property owners and dealers who collect rent are responsible for collecting the tax from guests and remitting it, following the same process as Florida sales tax. If you operate a short-term rental, check with the county and with your booking platform about collection arrangements before the tax takes effect.
Three things that actually move this
A county ballot measure is decided by a small number of votes. Talking to people is worth more here than almost anywhere else.
Volunteer for outreach
This is the single most useful thing you can do. Outreach volunteers talk to neighbors, hand out information at events, help at early voting locations, and answer the questions people actually have about the measure.
No experience needed and no script to memorize — we'll give you the facts sheet and the answers to the common objections. Even a couple of hours during early voting week makes a measurable difference.
The same application covers our ongoing outreach volunteering, if you'd like to keep helping after November 3.
Register by Oct 5
Book closing for this election is October 5, 2026 — the last day to register or update your registration.
Register or check status →Early voting Oct 24–31
10am–6pm, eight days. Use any of the seven locations countywide, whatever your precinct.
See locations →Election Day Nov 3
7am–7pm. On Election Day you must vote at your assigned precinct, not just any location.
Find your precinct →Early voting locations
- Bushnell Community Building — 407 E. Belt Avenue, Bushnell
- Villages Sumter County Service Center — 7375 Powell Road, Room 102, Wildwood
- Laurel Manor Recreation Center — 1985 Laurel Manor Drive, The Villages
- Tierra Del Sol Recreation Center — 808 San Marino Drive, The Villages
- Allamanda Recreation Center — 1515 Saint Charles Place, The Villages
- Rohan Recreation Center — 850 Kristine Way, The Villages
- Everglades Recreation Center — 5497 Marsh Bend Trail, The Villages
Vote-by-mail is also available. Supervisor of Elections: 352-569-1540 · elections.sumtercountyfl.gov
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from a public record. Please verify any of it.
Florida Statute 125.0104 — the tourist development tax: how it is levied, what the revenue may fund, the tourist development council, and reporting requirements.
Florida Department of Revenue, Form DR-15TDT — current local lodging tax rates for every Florida county.
Sumter County Tourist Development Council — the county's own page, including the October 2020 repeal.
Sumter County Supervisor of Elections — registration deadline, early voting dates and Election Day details.
Villages-News, 13 May 2026 — coverage of the commission vote creating the council and placing the measure on the ballot.