Florida Sales Tax Rate: State, County Surtax, and Exemptions

The Florida sales tax rate is 6% at the state level, and most counties add a discretionary surtax on top of that. The combined rate you actually pay at the register runs from 6% in counties with no surtax to as much as 8% in counties that stack surtax levies.¹ Because Florida has no personal income tax, sales tax carries much of the weight for state and local services.²

The 6% State Rate

Section 212.05 of the Florida Statutes sets the base rate at 6% on retail sales of tangible personal property and many services.³ That 6% applies uniformly across all 67 counties before any local surtax gets added. Businesses collect it at the point of sale and remit it to the Florida Department of Revenue.

For most everyday purchases, 6% plus your county’s surtax is the whole story. A few product categories carry their own rates, which the sections below cover.

County Discretionary Surtax

Florida law lets counties impose a discretionary sales surtax on top of the state’s 6%, subject to voter approval. The proceeds generally fund infrastructure, schools, emergency services, or hospitals.⁴ The surtax a county charges depends on which categories it has adopted. Common ones include a charter county and regional transportation surtax of up to 1%, a local government infrastructure surtax of 0.5% or 1%, a small county surtax of 0.5% or 1%, a school capital outlay surtax of up to 0.5%, and an emergency fire rescue surtax of up to 1%.

Counties can stack more than one surtax, though combined-rate caps apply to certain groupings. Most county surtax rates fall between 0.5% and 1.5%.⁵ A handful of counties, including Citrus and Collier, impose no surtax at all, so the total rate there stays at 6%. On the other end, Hamilton County levies a 2% surtax, bringing its combined rate to 8%.¹ The Department of Revenue publishes a county-by-county rate table that gets updated as surtaxes change.

The surtax is determined by where the item is delivered or where the transaction takes place, not where the seller sits.⁶

The $5,000 Cap on Big-Ticket Items

One rule matters for larger purchases: the county surtax only applies to the first $5,000 of any single item of tangible personal property. If you buy a $10,000 piece of equipment, the surtax hits only the first $5,000, while the 6% state tax applies to the full $10,000.⁶ The cap is per item, not per transaction, so a cart full of smaller items doesn’t trigger it.

Categories Taxed at Different Rates

A few things don’t follow the standard 6%:⁷

Commercial real property rentals are taxed at 2% at the state level as of June 1, 2024, down from 4.5%. This covers office space, warehouses, retail storefronts, and self-storage. County surtaxes still apply on top.⁸
New mobile homes are taxed at 3% at the state level, but only when the title has never been transferred to an end buyer before.
Amusement machine receipts are taxed at 4%.
Electricity is taxed at 6.95%, plus any applicable county surtax.

Hotels and Short-Term Rentals

Short-term rentals of living or sleeping accommodations, including hotels, vacation homes, and Airbnb listings, are taxed at the full 6% state rate when the stay is less than six months.⁹ Most counties also impose a local tourist development tax, often called a bed tax, which can add up to another 6% depending on the county. Some counties collect this tax themselves while others let the Department of Revenue handle it. The total you see on a hotel folio in Florida often reflects both.

Admissions to events, amusement parks, movies, and similar entertainment are taxed at 6% of the ticket price, with limited exemptions for school athletic events, agricultural fairs, and certain championship games.¹⁰

What’s Exempt

A few major categories are permanently exempt from Florida sales tax, with no action required by the buyer.

Groceries, meaning food products for human consumption such as produce, meat, dairy, bread, canned goods, and frozen meals, are exempt. Prepared food sold ready to eat, like restaurant meals, remains taxable. Prescription medications, prosthetic devices, hearing aids, and other medical products dispensed by prescription are also exempt under Section 212.08(2).¹¹

Sales Tax Holidays

The Florida legislature periodically authorizes temporary sales tax holidays during which specific categories of goods become tax-free. Dates and qualifying items change year to year. The best-known is the annual back-to-school holiday, which in recent years has exempted clothing and footwear priced at $100 or less per item, school supplies at $50 or less, learning aids and puzzles at $30 or less, and personal computers at $1,500 or less for home use.¹² The 2026 back-to-school holiday is scheduled for August 1 through August 31. Florida has also offered hunting, fishing, and camping holidays in past years. The Department of Revenue posts current-year holidays and qualifying items on its website.¹³

Finding Your County’s Combined Rate

Because the surtax varies by county and can change when voters approve new levies or let old ones expire, the reliable way to confirm the rate for a specific address is the Florida Department of Revenue’s discretionary sales surtax rate table.¹ Add that county figure to the 6% state rate to get the combined rate for most purchases. For commercial rent, electricity, mobile homes, and amusement machines, substitute the special state rate noted above.

1
Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax Rate Table
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 220.02 – Legislative Intent
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.05 – Sales, Storage, Use Tax
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.055 – Discretionary Sales Surtaxes; Legislative Intent; Authorization and Use of Proceeds
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Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 212.054 – Discretionary Sales Surtax; Limitations, Administration, and Collection
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Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
8
Florida Department of Revenue. State Sales Tax Rate Imposed on Rentals, Leases, or Licenses to Use Real Property Reduced to 2.0%
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.03 – Transient Rentals Tax
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.04 – Admissions Tax
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.08 – Sales, Rental, Use, Consumption, Distribution, and Storage Tax; Specified Exemptions
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Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday
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Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Holidays and Exemption Periods