Fernandina Beach Sales Tax Rate: 7.5% Breakdown and Exemptions

The Fernandina Beach sales tax rate is 7.5% for 2026, combining Florida’s 6% state sales tax with Nassau County’s 1.5% discretionary surtax.¹ Short-term rentals on Amelia Island carry a higher effective rate of 12.5% once the tourist development tax is added. Groceries, prescription medicine, and certain other essentials are not taxed.

How the 7.5% Breaks Down

Florida applies a 6% state sales tax uniformly on most purchases of tangible goods.² Nassau County adds a 1.5% discretionary surtax on top, made up of a 1% small county surtax and a 0.5% school capital outlay surtax.¹ At the register, it shows up as a single 7.5% charge.

You may still see the rate quoted as 7%. That figure was correct in previous years, when the county portion was 1%. The current 1.5% county surtax took effect January 1, 2026, raising the combined total.

The $5,000 Surtax Cap on Big-Ticket Items

The 1.5% county surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of any single item of tangible personal property.³ Buy a $20,000 boat and the surtax portion is $75, not $300. The 6% state tax still applies to the full purchase price.

The cap does not apply to admissions, services, or short-term rental charges. On those, the surtax hits the entire amount.³

What’s Taxed at 7.5%

The combined rate applies to most purchases of tangible personal property: clothing, electronics, furniture, sporting goods, building materials, and similar physical items. Renting tangible property is also taxable, whether that’s a bicycle on the boardwalk or heavy equipment for a job site.² Admissions to events, museums, amusement parks, and concerts are taxed at 7.5% on the ticket price.

One significant change for 2026: Florida completely repealed its sales tax on commercial real property leases as of October 1, 2025. Businesses renting office, retail, or warehouse space in Fernandina Beach no longer owe sales tax on their lease payments.

Digital Goods and Streaming

Florida does not tax digital downloads, streaming subscriptions, e-books, or software-as-a-service products. These aren’t classified as tangible personal property under state law, so Netflix, Spotify, and cloud software subscriptions escape the 7.5%. Video and satellite TV may be subject to a separate communications services tax, which is a distinct levy.

Short-Term Rentals on Amelia Island: 12.5%

If you rent lodging in Fernandina Beach for six months or less, the tax picture is steeper. The booking is subject to the 6% state tax, the 1.5% county surtax, and Nassau County’s 5% Amelia Island Tourist Development Tax, bringing the total to 12.5%.⁴

The tourist development tax applies broadly: hotels, motels, vacation homes, condominiums, cottages, RV parks, and even boats permanently docked and rented to guests.⁴ The $5,000 surtax cap does not apply to transient accommodations, so the full rate hits the entire rental charge.³

If you host through Airbnb or VRBO, the platform may collect and remit some or all of these taxes for you. Confirm exactly which taxes the platform handles, because the state tax, the county surtax, and the tourist development tax are administered separately.

What’s Exempt

Most unprepared food intended for home consumption is exempt. Bread, meat, produce, dairy, and canned goods are not taxed.⁵ Prepared food sold ready to eat is taxable.

Prescription medications and a wide range of medical products are also exempt, including bandages, prosthetic devices, hearing aids, crutches, prescription eyeglasses, and common household remedies approved by the state.⁵ The Florida Department of Revenue maintains a detailed list of nontaxable medical items and grocery products.⁶

Florida also runs sales tax holidays on specific categories. The 2026 back-to-school holiday runs through the month of August and covers clothing and shoes up to $100 per item, school supplies up to $50, learning aids up to $30, and computers and accessories up to $1,500. Both the state and county portions are waived on qualifying purchases during these windows.

Certain disaster preparedness items are permanently exempt year-round, including batteries, portable generators, fire extinguishers, tarps, smoke detectors, and sunscreen.

Buying From Out of State

When you buy from an out-of-state seller that doesn’t collect Florida tax and the item is used or delivered in Fernandina Beach, you owe use tax at the same 7.5% rate.⁷ Most large online retailers already collect the full combined rate on orders shipped here, since out-of-state sellers with more than $100,000 in annual Florida sales have been required to register and collect since July 2021. Marketplace platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy collect and remit directly on qualifying sales.⁸

For purchases where no tax was collected, individual consumers report use tax to the Department of Revenue using Form DR-15MO (Out-of-State Purchase Return) on a quarterly schedule:

January through March purchases: due April 1, late after April 20
April through June purchases: due July 1, late after July 20
July through September purchases: due October 1, late after October 20
October through December purchases: due January 1, late after January 20

If the tax owed is less than one dollar, no filing is required. You can also file at the time of purchase rather than waiting for the quarter to end.⁷

1
Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.05 – Sales, Storage, Use Tax
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax
4
Nassau County Tax Collector. Tourist Development Tax
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.08 – Sales, Rental, Use, Consumption, Distribution, and Storage Tax; Specified Exemptions
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Nontaxable Medical Items and General Grocery List
7
Florida Department of Revenue. Consumer Information
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.05965 – Marketplace Providers