Orlando per diem rates FY2027

Orlando lodging cap by month

For Orlando hotels: the cap against your ADR

Hotel tax, season and changes in Orlando

Hotel tax for federal travellers in Orlando

In Orlando, a hotel room carries the state sales tax, a county surtax and a county tourist tax. The Florida Department of Revenue says local transient rental taxes come on top of the 6% state sales tax and any discretionary sales surtax^[6], and its surtax table lists Orange County at 0.5% through 2035^[7]. Orange County's FAQ for its 2023 tourist development tax task force puts the tax at 6% of every lodging bill^[8], so check the current rate with the county before relying on it. GSA's per diem lodging cap includes none of these^[3].

Florida is generous to federal travellers on the state tax. GSA's SmartPay page for Florida says both individually and centrally billed accounts are exempt from the state sales tax, and that according to the state a certificate of exemption is not required for federal government employees^[9]. The Department of Revenue adds that the rule taxing purchases paid from a representative's own funds does not apply to authorized employees of a federal agency^[10]. GSA adds that a hotel may still ask for a certificate for its own records, citing the state's administrative rule 12A-1.038^[9]. We found no official page on whether the county's tourist development tax follows the same rule, and the county comptroller's pages could not be opened when this section was checked, so a traveller should ask the hotel how it handles that part of the bill.

When Orlando's cap peaks

GSA sets one cap for most of the year in Orlando and a higher one from January to March. Visit Orlando, the official tourism body, wrote in its forecast for spring 2024 that hotels around the Orange County Convention Center drove a slight January rise in room demand, on the back of large events there^[11]. The same forecast calls Orlando the top domestic spring break destination and says March and April typically account for nearly 20% of domestic leisure visitation^[11].

What changed from FY2026

By hotels.tools' calculation from GSA rates, Orlando's lodging cap rose in 12 months from FY2026 to FY2027, by between +$5 and +$9 a night. Averaged over Orlando's 12 months, by hotels.tools' calculation from GSA rates, the cap went from $147.25 to $153.25 a night (+$6). GSA kept Orlando's M&IE rate at $80 a day in both years. That moved Orlando more than GSA's standard lodging rate, by hotels.tools' calculation from GSA rates.

Meals and incidentals in Orlando

Where the Orlando rate applies

GSA's Orlando locality covers Orange, listed under FL.

IRS high-low status in Orlando

Long stays in Orlando: 13-week totals

Frequently asked questions