How Much Is the Tax in Florida? Income, Sales, and Property

How much is tax in Florida depends on what you’re buying, earning, or owning: there is no state personal income tax, the state sales tax is 6% (with most counties adding a local surtax of roughly 0.5% to 2%), property taxes are set locally and vary by county, and corporations pay 5.5% on net income above $50,000. Florida also charges no state estate or inheritance tax.

Income Tax: Zero for Individuals, 5.5% for Corporations

Florida’s constitution bars the state from taxing individual income. Article VII, Section 5 ties any personal income tax to a federal credit that no longer exists, so the effective rate is zero.¹ That covers wages, self-employment earnings, retirement distributions, Social Security, and investment income. There is also no state withholding for nonresidents working remotely for Florida employers, because the state does not tax individual income at all.

Corporations are a different story. C-corporations and financial institutions doing business in Florida pay 5.5% on net income.² The first $50,000 of net income is exempt.³ A corporation with $150,000 of Florida net income pays 5.5% on $100,000, or about $5,500. S-corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships are not subject to this tax; their income flows through to owners who, as individuals, owe nothing to the state.

Sales Tax: 6% State Plus a Local Surtax

Florida’s main revenue source is a 6% state sales tax on most physical goods, including furniture, clothing, electronics, and appliances.⁴ The same rate covers admissions to amusement parks and sporting events, along with certain taxable services such as commercial pest control and investigative work. Buy something taxable out of state and bring it into Florida for use here, and you owe 6% use tax, self-reported on your return or through your business sales tax filing.

Most counties stack a discretionary sales surtax on top. Local rates run from about 0.5% to 2% or more, adopted by referendum to pay for transportation, schools, or infrastructure.⁵ The surtax follows the delivery location, so ordering from a seller in another county won’t let you escape your own county’s rate.

Big-ticket items get a break on the local piece. For purchases of physical goods like vehicles, boats, or mobile homes, the county surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the price.⁵ On a $40,000 vehicle in a 1% surtax county, the surtax caps at $50. The 6% state tax still applies to the full purchase price.

What’s Exempt

Groceries are not taxed. The exemption covers meat, dairy, produce, baked goods, canned items, cereals, eggs, and frozen dinners, among other foods meant for home preparation. Coffee, tea, and natural fruit juice are exempt unless sold ready-to-drink in liquid form.⁶ Prepared meals from restaurants and bakeries with dine-in seating stay taxable.

Most medical products are exempt too: prescription drugs, over-the-counter remedies for illness or injury, prosthetics, hearing aids, crutches, prescription eyeglasses, and dentures.⁶ Cosmetics and personal care products do not qualify.

One recent change for businesses: Florida used to charge sales tax on commercial lease payments. That tax was fully repealed effective October 1, 2025.⁷ From 2026 onward, no state sales tax is owed on office, retail, or warehouse rent, though county surtaxes may still apply to pre-repeal rental periods.

Property Tax: Set Locally, Softened by Homestead

There is no state property tax. Counties, cities, school districts, and special districts each adopt their own annual millage rates. One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value.⁸ Your county property appraiser values the property as of January 1, and the combined millage rates from every taxing authority covering that parcel produce your bill. Effective rates vary widely across Florida.

Homestead Exemption

Own a home and make it your permanent residence by January 1, and you can apply for a homestead exemption that reduces taxable value. The exemption comes in two layers. The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, including school taxes. A second exemption applies to assessed value between $50,000 and roughly $76,400, but reduces non-school taxes only.⁹ For 2026, that additional piece is worth up to $26,411 after inflation adjustments.¹⁰

To qualify, you must be a permanent Florida resident and file with your county property appraiser by March 1 of the tax year. Have your Florida driver’s license or ID, Florida vehicle registration, and proof that you aren’t claiming residency elsewhere ready.

Save Our Homes Cap

Once you have the homestead exemption, your assessed value cannot rise more than 3% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, no matter what the market does.¹¹ Over years of rising prices, that produces a widening gap between market value and the lower assessed value your tax is based on.

Sell and buy another Florida home, and you can port the accumulated savings. You must establish homestead on the new property within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, and you need to file Form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1.¹¹ Miss the deadline and the benefit is gone for that move.

Real Estate Closing Taxes

Two transfer taxes hit when you buy property in Florida, and both can add real money to closing costs.

The documentary stamp tax is $0.70 for every $100 of the sale price, or any portion of $100.¹² On a $400,000 home, that’s $2,800. Miami-Dade uses a different structure: $0.60 per $100 on single-family homes, and $1.05 per $100 on all other property types. The tax applies to the full consideration, including any mortgage balance the buyer assumes.

If you finance the purchase, add the nonrecurring intangible tax: 2 mills on the mortgage, or $2 per $1,000 borrowed.¹³ A $320,000 mortgage owes $640. Combined, the two taxes often add several thousand dollars on a typical home purchase.

Short-Term Rental Tax

Rent out a home, condo, or room for six months or less, and the rental is subject to the tourist development tax, often called the bed tax. Counties set their own rates, generally between 2% and 6% of the rental charge.¹⁴ It covers hotels, motels, vacation rentals, and single-family homes rented short-term, and it comes on top of the 6% state sales tax and any county surtax on the rental.

As the owner or platform operator, you collect the tax from guests and remit it to the county tax collector. Failing to collect and remit leads to penalties and interest.

Estate and Inheritance Tax

Florida charges no state estate or inheritance tax. The statute still exists but is tied to a federal credit that was eliminated years ago, so the effective rate is zero and no state estate return is required.¹⁵

Federal estate tax still applies above the federal exemption, which is $15,000,000 per person for 2026.¹⁶ Married couples can effectively double that through portability of the unused exemption. Anyone with assets approaching the federal threshold should work with an estate planning professional.

1
FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art VII, 5 – Estate, Inheritance and Income Taxes
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 220.11 – Tax Imposed
3
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 220.14 – Exemption
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.05 – Sales, Storage, Use Tax
5
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.054 – Discretionary Sales Surtax
6
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 212.08 – Sales, Rental, Use, Consumption, Distribution, and Storage Tax; Specified Exemptions
7
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax on Commercial Rentals Repealed Effective October 1, 2025
8
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 192.001 – Definitions
9
Florida Department of Revenue. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption
10
Florida Department of Revenue. Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment
11
Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation and Portability Transfer
12
Florida Department of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax
13
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 199.133
14
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 125.0104
15
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 198.02 – Tax Upon Estates of Resident Decedents
16
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026