Miami Car Sales Tax: Rates, Trade-Ins, and Exemptions

Buying a car in Miami-Dade County means paying a combined Miami car sales tax of 7% on the first $5,000 of the purchase price and 6% on everything above that. The 7% is Florida’s 6% statewide sales tax plus Miami-Dade’s 1% local discretionary surtax, which only applies to the first $5,000 of any single vehicle sale. On a $30,000 car, that works out to $1,850 in tax before title, registration, and the $225 initial registration fee that catches many first-time Florida buyers off guard.

How the State and County Rates Combine

Florida charges 6% sales tax on the full purchase price of any motor vehicle sold in the state.¹ Miami-Dade adds a 1% discretionary surtax, but the surtax only hits the first $5,000 of the vehicle’s price. Anything above $5,000 is taxed at the flat 6% state rate.²

The practical effect: the local surtax adds a maximum of $50 to any vehicle purchase in Miami-Dade, whether you’re buying a $10,000 sedan or a $90,000 SUV. That cap is set by state law.²

Calculating Your Tax Bill

Take a $30,000 vehicle purchase:

State tax at 6%: $30,000 × 0.06 = $1,800
Miami-Dade surtax at 1% on the first $5,000: $5,000 × 0.01 = $50
Total sales tax: $1,850

Because the surtax caps at $50, the effective combined rate drops slightly as the price rises. The state’s 6% is always the dominant cost.

How a Trade-In Lowers What You Owe

When you trade in a vehicle as part of the same transaction, the trade-in value is subtracted from the purchase price before tax is calculated. Buy a $40,000 car and trade in a vehicle worth $15,000, and you pay tax on $25,000 instead of $40,000.³ That saves $900 in state tax alone. The trade must happen in the same deal as the purchase for the deduction to apply.⁴

Selling your old car privately might get you a higher price, but you’d lose the trade-in tax reduction. Run the numbers both ways before deciding.

Buying From a Dealer vs. Private Seller

A licensed dealer collects all applicable sales tax and surtax at the time of sale and remits it to the state.⁴ The tax appears on your purchase agreement, so no separate trip is required. Florida taxes the full sales price, which includes dealer-added charges like preparation, delivery, and closing fees.³

Private purchases put the tax burden on you. Visit a Miami-Dade Tax Collector’s office or an authorized tag agency to pay the tax and complete the title transfer. Florida gives you 30 days from the sale date, and missing that deadline triggers a $20 late fee. Bring the signed title, your ID, proof of Florida insurance, and payment for all fees.

Cars Bought Out of State

Miami-Dade residents who buy a vehicle in another state still owe Florida use tax when they bring the car home to register it. The use tax rate matches the sales tax: 6% plus the 1% surtax on the first $5,000. Florida gives a dollar-for-dollar credit for sales tax already paid to the other state. Buy a car in a state with a 4% tax and you’d owe Florida the remaining 2% on the full price plus any applicable surtax.³

If the other state’s rate equaled or exceeded Florida’s, you owe nothing more. Keep the bill of sale and tax receipts as proof.

Exemptions That Can Reduce or Eliminate the Tax

Out-of-State Buyers

If you live in another state and buy a car in Miami-Dade, Florida caps your tax at whatever your home state would charge on the same sale, provided that amount is less than Florida’s rate. A buyer from a state with a 3% rate pays 3%. A buyer from a state with no vehicle sales tax pays nothing. To claim the reduced rate, you need a notarized statement declaring your intent to license the vehicle in your home state within 45 days of purchase, along with proof you’ve paid the equivalent tax to Florida.⁵

One detail that surprises people: the vehicle doesn’t actually have to leave Florida. As long as you license and title it in your home state within 45 days, the partial exemption applies even if the car stays parked in a Miami garage.⁵

Gifts

Gifting a vehicle is exempt from sales tax in Florida, and it isn’t limited to family. Any transfer between individuals qualifies as long as no money changes hands, no other consideration is exchanged, and the new owner doesn’t assume an outstanding lien. The new owner signs a sworn statement on the title application declaring the transfer was a genuine gift.⁶

Military Personnel

Active-duty service members who are legal residents of another state and stationed in Florida may use the same partial exemption available to non-residents under Florida Statute 212.08(10). Their home-state rate applies instead of Florida’s, which can mean significant savings. Non-resident military members are also exempt from the $225 initial registration fee.⁷

Title, Registration, and Other Fees

Sales tax is only part of your out-of-pocket cost at the tag office.

Title fee: $75.25 for an electronic title transfer, which includes the $70 base fee, $4.25 service charge, and $1 security fee. Add $2.50 for a paper title mailed to you, and $2 to record a lien.⁸⁹
Initial registration fee: $225 if you don’t already have a Florida license plate in your name to transfer to the new vehicle. This applies to first-time Florida registrations.¹⁰
Out-of-state title surcharge: $10 extra on the title fee if the vehicle was previously registered in another state.⁹
Annual registration renewal: varies by vehicle weight and type, typically around $15 to $55 for standard passenger vehicles.

On a $30,000 car with no trade-in and no existing Florida plate, a first-time buyer could face roughly $1,850 in sales tax plus another $300 or so in title and registration fees. Budget for at least $2,150 beyond the vehicle’s sticker price.

Deducting Vehicle Sales Tax on Your Federal Return

If you itemize deductions, you can deduct the sales tax you paid on a vehicle. You choose between deducting state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes, not both. Since Florida has no state income tax, the sales tax deduction is almost always the better choice for Miami-Dade buyers.¹¹

Vehicle sales tax gets added on top of the IRS’s standard sales tax tables, which estimate your deduction based on income and family size. The IRS treats cars as a “specified large purchase” you add separately, so a big vehicle purchase in a given year can meaningfully boost your itemized deductions.¹¹

For 2026, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap has been raised to $40,400, up from the $10,000 limit that applied in prior years. That higher ceiling means most Miami-Dade car buyers can deduct their full vehicle sales tax without hitting the cap, especially since Florida residents don’t have state income tax eating into the allowance. The cap begins phasing down for taxpayers with income above $505,000.

Avoiding Late Fees

Florida requires you to transfer the title and pay all taxes within 30 days of a vehicle sale. Missing the deadline adds a $20 late fee on top of everything else you owe. The 30-day clock starts on the date of sale shown on your bill of sale or title assignment, not the date you decide to start driving the car. Miami-Dade tax collector offices can have long lines, so private buyers should not push the deadline.

1
Florida Statutes. Florida Code 212.05 – Sales, Storage, Use Tax
2
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.054 – Discretionary Sales Surtax; Limitations, Administration, and Collection
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Motor Vehicles
4
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Procedure Manual TL-08 – Sales and Use Tax Transfer of Motor Vehicles, Mobile Homes, and Vessels
5
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.08 – Sales, Rental, Use, Consumption, Distribution, and Storage Tax; Specified Exemptions
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Do I Have to Pay Sales Tax When I Transfer My Car Title if the Car Was a Gift
7
Bay County Tax Collector. Military Registration and Titling
8
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
9
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 319.32 – Fees
10
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle Registrations
11
Internal Revenue Service. Use the Sales Tax Deduction Calculator