DSCR Loans in Boca Raton: Long-Term Rent Math, Rental Rules and Taxes

Short answer

Yes, investors may qualify for a DSCR loan on a Boca Raton rental using the property's rent instead of personal income, but at the Q3 2026 median house price of $1,410,000, property taxes alone run about $1,987 a month, so HUD's $3,388 benchmark rent for a 4-bedroom leaves little room (example only). Boca Raton has no city vacation rental license, and the city has treated nightly rentals in single-family neighborhoods as a motel use, so plan the loan on long-term rent. DSCR loans are business-purpose loans for non-owner-occupied property, subject to credit approval and property eligibility.

DSCR in one line, and the Boca Raton market

The full requirements (ratio, down payment, credit, reserves, prepayment terms) are in our Florida DSCR requirements guide. In short, DSCR = monthly rent ÷ monthly PITIA (principal, interest, taxes, insurance and association dues). Many lenders look for 1.0 or higher, and a higher ratio can improve pricing.

DSCR is a business-purpose loan. You sign a business-purpose and occupancy statement, and you cannot live in the property. Buying a home or a second home you will use yourself? Start with our Boca Raton mortgage broker page or jumbo loans in Boca Raton.

Florida Realtors data published by MIAMI REALTORS for the City of Boca Raton, third quarter of 2026, as of November 2026:

• Houses: 244 sales at a median of $1,410,000 (up 24.8% from a year earlier), a median of 26 days to contract and 3.4 months of supply. 147 sales were cash.
• Townhouses and condos: 171 sales at a median of $569,000 (up 45.9%), 79 days to contract and 7.4 months of supply. 114 sales were cash.

Read those numbers as an investor. Six in ten house sales and two in three condo sales closed in cash, and houses go under contract in under a month. Prices jumped faster than rents, which is exactly what squeezes a DSCR ratio. In Boca the deal usually works on a larger down payment, a strong market rent, or a property that is priced below the median.

Short-term rentals in Boca: why lenders use long-term rent

Unlike Hollywood or Pompano Beach, Boca Raton has no city vacation rental license to apply for. Instead, the city has enforced its zoning code against nightly rentals. In 2019 the city told WPTV that short-term rentals are not allowed under city code because it treats them as motels, which are not a permitted use in single-family neighborhoods, and that violators can be fined $1,000 a day until they comply.

Why can Boca do that when most Florida cities cannot? Florida Statutes 509.032(7)(b) says a local rule may not prohibit vacation rentals or regulate how long or how often they are rented, but that limit does not apply to local rules adopted on or before June 1, 2011. A 2018 report in The Coastal Star said Boca's pre-2011 rules do not permit rentals shorter than six months. We have not found a current city page that spells this out, so get the answer in writing from the city's zoning staff before you count on any short-stay income.

What this means for the loan:

• Plan on a 12-month lease. Most DSCR lenders qualify Boca properties on the appraiser's long-term market rent or a signed lease, not on projected nightly income.
• Seasonal tenants are a question, not a plan. A three-month winter lease may run into the six-month rule reported above and is taxed as a transient rental. Confirm before you underwrite it.
• Condos and HOAs add their own limits. Many associations set minimum lease terms, approval steps and a cap on leases per year. Read the declaration and rules before you sign.
• State license. Any property rented as a transient public lodging establishment also needs a Florida DBPR license, on top of city zoning.

Guest taxes and Palm Beach County property taxes

Tourist Development Tax. Palm Beach County charges 6% on revenue from transient rentals of six months or less, as of November 2026. The host is liable if it is not collected, returns are due on the 1st and late after the 20th, and the Tax Collector notes that booking platforms do not remit this tax for you. Florida's 6% sales tax also applies, and Palm Beach County's surtax is 0.5% for 2026 (the old 1% surtax was repealed at the end of 2025, per the Florida Department of Revenue). Total: about 12.5% on a stay of six months or less. The guest pays it, so it is not in your DSCR, but it applies to seasonal leases too.

Property taxes. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser lists these 2026 proposed rates for a Boca Raton address: 3.6476 city plus 0.0163 city debt, 4.5000 county plus 0.0210 county debt, 3.0390 and 3.2480 school board, 1.0331 Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, 0.6561 Health Care District, 0.4908 Children's Services Council, 0.2301 for the three South Florida Water Management District levies, and 0.0270 Florida Inland Navigation District. Total: 16.9090 mills, about 1.69% of taxable value, the same total the city shows in its 2026 Taxes Explained brochure.

There is no homestead on a rental. Under Florida Statutes 193.1554, a rental of nine or fewer units is reassessed at just value on January 1 after you buy, then annual increases are capped at 10% for non-school levies. Underwrite taxes on your price, not the seller's bill. At Boca prices, that one line can move the ratio more than the interest rate.

Flood zones, insurance and Boca's condo recertification

Per the city, as of November 2026, a large portion of Boca Raton lies in a FEMA special flood hazard area, and FEMA adopted new flood maps on December 20, 2024. If you last checked an address before that date, check it again. In high-risk zones, DSCR lenders typically require flood insurance, and on request the city's Development Services Department will visit a property to review a flood problem (City Hall 561-393-7700). See what a flood zone means for your loan.

Condos. Boca runs its own Building Recertification Inspection Program, adopted August 24, 2021, on top of the state milestone inspection law:

• It covers condo and co-op buildings 3 stories or more, or 50 feet or taller, and threshold buildings.
• The age trigger is 25 years for condos and co-ops within 3 miles of the coastline and 30 years elsewhere, counted from the certificate of occupancy.
• The city fee is $500 per recertification, and the city publishes a recertification schedule for 2027 to 2031.

A building with an overdue report or open repairs can turn into a non-warrantable condo, and a big SIRS funding gap means higher dues. Both reach your DSCR through the HOA line. Ask the association for its recertification status with the condo questionnaire.

Example only: DSCR math with Boca Raton numbers

Example only, not a quote or an approval. Prices are the city's Q3 2026 medians. Rents are HUD's FY2026 Fair Market Rents for the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton HMFA (all of Palm Beach County), used only as a long-term benchmark. Taxes use 16.9090 mills on the full price. Insurance and HOA dues are assumptions.

House at $1,410,000, 4 bedrooms, rent $3,388:

• Taxes about $23,842 a year, or $1,987 a month. Assumed insurance: $900 a month. Taxes plus insurance: $2,887.
• At a 1.0 DSCR, PITIA can be $3,388, leaving about $501 a month for principal and interest.
• At a 1.25 DSCR, PITIA can be $2,710, which is below taxes and insurance alone. The rent would need to be about $3,609 just to cover those two lines at 1.25, before any loan payment.

Condo at $569,000, 2 bedrooms, rent $2,254:

• Taxes about $9,621 a year, or $802 a month. Assumed HOA dues $900 and HO-6 policy $125 a month. Total: $1,827.
• At 1.0, about $427 a month for principal and interest. At 1.25, PITIA can be $1,803, about $24 short of taxes, insurance and dues.

The takeaway: HUD's county benchmark is too low for Boca's median prices. Your file rests on the appraiser's market rent for the actual property, which is often higher in Boca. If the rent still does not reach the target ratio, the levers are a bigger down payment, a lower price, or a lender that accepts a ratio under 1.0 with more cash down and stricter terms. Rates vary daily; call for today's pricing.

How we work a Boca Raton DSCR file

QMS Lending is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL (NMLS #1781090), founded in 2018, with access to 100+ lenders, including DSCR lenders with different rules on condos, LLC vesting, rent sources and ratios under 1.0. Our order of work:

• Check the address: zoning, flood zone on the 2024 maps, and for a condo, its recertification status, reserves and leasing rules.
• Build PITIA with taxes at 16.9090 mills on your price, real wind, flood and HO-6 quotes, and full dues.
• Run the ratio on long-term market rent, then size the down payment to hit the ratio your lender needs.

Buying to renovate first? A bridge loan or hard money in Boca Raton can come first, with a DSCR refinance after. Comparing markets? See DSCR loans in West Palm Beach or DSCR loans in Pompano Beach. Call 305-425-1990 in English or Spanish. Michael Fernandez, NMLS #1491775, President; 4.9 stars across 200+ Google reviews. Business-purpose loans only. Subject to credit approval and property eligibility. Equal Housing Opportunity.