A Wellington home leased for the Winter Equestrian Festival falls under two separate sets of rules. Each one measures the stay differently. The Village of Wellington's vacation-rental permit applies to stays of 30 days or less. Palm Beach County's tourist tax applies to stays of six months or less. A season lease is longer than the first and shorter than the second, so it skips the Village permit and still owes the county tax.
That matters more this year because the season is getting bigger. Wellington International announced on October 2, 2026, that WEF 2027 will be the festival's 50th anniversary season. Competition will now run across both its North and South properties. The 2027 Premiere is January 6 to 10, about three months from now. Owners who plan to lease for the season are signing those leases now.
How long a horse-season stay actually lasts
Everything else follows from the length of the stay. The Palm Beach County Sports Commission studied the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival. It found the average equestrian participant stayed 2.4 months, about 67 nights. Participants accounted for 162,648 paid room nights in hotels, motels, and vacation rentals. The same report counts more than 31,000 participants over the 13-week season, from all 50 states and more than 50 nations.
Some stays run longer. In its January 2026 season coverage, the Town-Crier reported that competitors call Wellington home for four or five months of the year. Even the long end of that range is under six months.
The festival also sets a ceiling on stay length. WEF 2027 runs from the Premiere on January 6 through Rolex Finale Week, March 31 to April 4, 2027. A lease that covers only the festival lasts about three months. That puts it well past the Village's 30-day mark and well short of the county's six-month mark.
The two lines, side by side
| Village of Wellington vacation-rental permit | Palm Beach County Tourist Development Tax | |
|---|---|---|
| What triggers it | A unit rented more than three times in a calendar year for periods of 30 days or less | Rental revenue from stays of six months or less |
| Does a 67-night season lease trigger it? | No | Yes |
| What it requires | A special-use permit for each unit, plus a business tax receipt renewed every year | A 6% tourist tax on top of the 6.5% state sales tax, a county TDT account, and monthly returns |
| What's exempt | Stays longer than 30 days | A written agreement for continuous residence longer than six months |
The Village rule comes from Ordinance 2023-13, which took effect March 1, 2024. Wellington's FAQ defines a vacation rental as any dwelling "rented more than (3) times in a calendar year for periods of thirty (30) days or less." Rentals that fall under it carry real obligations. Each unit needs its own permit. The permit doesn't transfer when the home is sold. The business tax receipt has to be renewed every year. The responsible party must run noise and Wi-Fi monitoring and complete human-trafficking-prevention training. In 2024, the Town-Crier reported a $600 one-time permit application fee, which launched in March of that year. Current fees aren't posted on the Village FAQ, so confirm them with the Village. A lease of more than 30 days avoids all of these Village steps.
The county rule is set out on the Palm Beach County Tax Collector's Tourist Development Tax page. It describes the tax as "a 6% charge on the revenue from transient rentals (6 months or less)," charged on top of the 6.5% state sales tax. The tax applies to all rental revenue, including mandatory fees such as cleaning and pet fees. Together that's 12.5% on the full rental amount, and the page doesn't exempt a stay because it runs for months.
The host collects the tax, not the platform
The county page lists several requirements that apply to season leases:
- The host collects the tax. The page says online platforms do not remit the tourist tax to the Tax Collector. The host must collect it and pay it in.
- The owner is liable if it isn't collected. The tax is "to be collected from the guest (if not, you are liable)."
- Returns are filed monthly. Reports are due on the 1st and considered late after the 20th, with interest and penalties after that.
- Registration comes first. Anyone renting short-term must register a TDT account online. Vacation rentals also need a county Short-Term Rental Local Business Tax Receipt for each TDT account, renewed every year by September 30.
- The exemption has to be documented. The relevant exemption covers a "bona fide written agreement for continuous residence longer than 6 months in duration." The page warns that if an audit finds the exemption doesn't apply or the paperwork is inadequate, the owner becomes liable for the tax due.
This affects pricing. A rent figure that doesn't account for 12.5% in tax lands differently with a tenant than one that does. And because the host files monthly, a January-to-March lease means several separate returns, not one.
None of this is tax advice. The Tax Collector's office and a tax professional are the right people to confirm how these rules apply to a specific lease.
Why 2027 puts more homes in this position
These rules have been on the books for a while. What's new is a larger season and no new local hotel rooms to absorb it.
On the competition side, Wellington International says WEF 2027 will spread across about 200 acres on its North and South properties. Rings A through D at Wellington International South will be used to ease scheduling density at the North site. The South property also has a new Derby Field with a golf cart tailgating area. Week 8 will host North America's inaugural CHIO. It's scheduled for March 3 to 7, 2027, and includes a $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO4* Grand Prix. The 2027 dates are subject to USEF and FEI approval.
The South property is still coming online. In July 2026, the Palm Beach Post described the 98-acre expansion as nearing its debut, planned to replace Equestrian Village and allow a longer competition season. For now, the official listings place the October 2026 shows at Equestrian Village.
On the lodging side, Wellington Lifestyle Partners' Marketplace project includes an 80-room boutique hotel, along with 89 multifamily residences, shops, restaurants, and Class-A offices. The Village Council approved it on August 12, 2025. WLP's update page doesn't show a construction start or opening date for the hotel. When the Marketplace was under review in 2025, supporters argued that Wellington was losing winter-show lodging because many visitors stayed outside the Village. Until that hotel opens, extra demand from a bigger season mostly lands in private homes. Most of those stays will be long enough to skip the Village permit and short enough to owe the county tax.
Two room-night counts, two scopes
Owners and buyers will come across two different room-night figures. They measure different things, so don't treat them as the same.
The Sports Commission counts 162,648 paid room nights by equestrian participants in 2025. Wellington International's August 2025 impact release reports 210,911 WEF paid room nights, 30% more than in 2024.
The Sports Commission figure covers participants only. Wellington International's figure comes from a release that also reports $536.2 million in county economic impact, including $109 million from participant and spectator tourism spending. Neither source explains the gap between the two numbers, so a pitch or projection built on one shouldn't borrow from the other. Neither source publishes season rent levels for Wellington homes either. Rent has to be priced from current local comparables, not from tourism totals.
Before you sign a season lease
- Count the days. If the lease is longer than 30 days and shorter than six months, the Village permit likely doesn't apply, and the county tax likely does.
- Register before the first check arrives. Set up the TDT account and the county short-term-rental business tax receipt. The receipt renews by September 30 each year.
- Price the rent with the tax in mind. The 6% tourist tax and 6.5% sales tax apply to rent and mandatory fees. Decide whether the quoted rent includes them or adds them, and put that in writing.
- Write the length of stay clearly. The six-month exemption depends on a written agreement for continuous residence, and the county can audit the paperwork behind it.
- Read your community's leasing rules. Many Wellington communities have HOA rules on leasing. Get the current rules for your specific address before you advertise.
- Plan around the CHIO week. March 3 to 7, 2027 is the inaugural CHIO, so check whether a tenant's dates cover it before agreeing to a shorter lease.
Quick answers
Does a January-through-March lease need a Wellington vacation-rental permit? Based on the Village's definition, a single stay longer than 30 days doesn't meet it. Breaking the season into several stays of 30 days or less, more than three times a year, would.
Will Airbnb or another booking platform handle the county tax? The Tax Collector says online platforms don't remit the tourist tax to the county. The host is responsible for collecting and paying it.
What lease length avoids the county tourist tax? A bona fide written agreement for continuous residence longer than six months, if the county's conditions are met and documented.
Is Wellington International South open? It was described as nearing its debut in July 2026, and its rings A through D are scheduled for use during WEF 2027. The October 2026 shows are listed at Equestrian Village.
If you're deciding whether to lease your home for the 50th season, or to buy one with season income in mind, AJ Bergman and the Bergman Realty Group team can help you price the lease with the tax included and check your community's leasing rules. Start with a free home valuation so your season rent and your sale price are based on the same numbers.
