The Miami restaurant tax runs from 7% to 9% of your food and drink subtotal, and the exact rate depends on three things: the city the restaurant sits in, whether it holds a liquor license, and how much revenue it does in a year. Florida’s 6% state sales tax and Miami-Dade’s 1% county surtax apply to every meal. On top of that, many restaurants add another 1% or 2% through a countywide food and beverage tax or a municipal resort tax.
The 7% Floor Every Miami Restaurant Charges
Every prepared meal sold in Miami-Dade starts at 7%. That’s Florida’s 6% state sales tax under Florida Statutes Section 212.051The Florida Senate. Florida Code 212.05 – Sales, Storage, Use Tax plus Miami-Dade County’s 1% discretionary sales surtax.2Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026 The county surtax has been in place since 1992, with a second component added in 2003, and the Florida Department of Revenue handles collection.3Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax
The tax applies to all prepared food sold for immediate consumption, whether you sit down, take it to go, or grab it at a counter. It’s calculated on the food and drink subtotal, before any tip or service charge is added.
The Extra 1% Food and Beverage Tax
Many Miami-Dade restaurants collect another 1% on top of the 7%, bringing the total to 8%. This is the local option food and beverage tax authorized under Florida Statutes Section 212.0306.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.0306 – Local Option Food and Beverage Tax; Procedure for Levying; Authorized Uses; Administration Revenue funds homeless prevention through the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust and, in smaller share, domestic violence centers.5Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. About Us
Not every restaurant owes it. Two conditions have to be met at the same time: the restaurant must hold a state license to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption, and it must have generated more than $400,000 in gross annual revenue in the previous calendar year.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.0306 – Local Option Food and Beverage Tax; Procedure for Levying; Authorized Uses; Administration A small neighborhood spot with a liquor license but modest revenue is out. So is a high-volume place that doesn’t serve alcohol. Sales at veterans’ organizations are also exempt.
Hotels and motels follow a different track under the same statute. They pay a 2% food and beverage rate rather than the 1% rate, which pushes a meal at a hotel restaurant outside the resort-tax cities to 9%.
Miami Beach, Surfside, and Bal Harbour: The 9% Zones
Dining in Miami Beach, Surfside, or Bal Harbour brings a different top layer. These municipalities are carved out of the countywide 1% food and beverage tax because they levy their own 2% resort tax on food and beverage sales.6Miami-Dade County. Tourist and Restaurant Taxes7City of Miami Beach. File/Pay Resort Tax8Village of Bal Harbour. Resort Tax Registration Stacked on the 6% state tax and 1% county surtax, that’s 9% total.
The practical effect: a meal on Ocean Drive costs a percentage point more in tax than the same meal in downtown Miami or Coral Gables. That’s why receipts can look different depending on which side of a city line the restaurant sits on.
Quick Reference by Restaurant Type
- Restaurant without a liquor license, anywhere in Miami-Dade: 7% (6% state + 1% county).
- Restaurant with a liquor license and more than $400,000 in annual revenue, outside the resort-tax cities: 8% (6% state + 1% county + 1% food and beverage).
- Any restaurant in Miami Beach, Surfside, or Bal Harbour: 9% (6% state + 1% county + 2% municipal resort tax).
- Hotel restaurant outside the resort-tax cities: 9% (6% state + 1% county + 2% hotel food and beverage tax).
On a $100 check, the swing from 7% to 9% is $2. Small on a single dinner, noticeable across a trip or a year of regular dining.
Delivery Orders
When you order through DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub, Florida’s marketplace facilitator law generally puts the platform on the hook for collecting and remitting the state sales tax and county surtax. Delivery network companies are treated differently under the statute unless they register as dealers and notify their restaurant partners, so the local 1% food and beverage tax or 2% resort tax isn’t always collected the same way on delivery orders.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 212.05965 – Taxation of Sales; Marketplace Providers From the diner’s side, the tax lines on your delivery receipt may not match a dine-in bill from the same restaurant.
Tips and Service Charges Are Not Taxes
The line on your receipt that looks like a tax often isn’t. Florida law defines an “operations charge” as any automatic fee beyond the cost of food and drink that a customer must pay, including service charges, automatic gratuities, credit card surcharges, and delivery fees.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 509.214 – Notification of Automatic Operations Charge and Public Food Service Establishment Receipts Those charges go to the restaurant. Many Miami restaurants add an automatic 18% to 20% service charge, especially for larger parties or in peak tourist season, and that money stays with the establishment and its staff. The tax lines, separately itemized, are what flow to the state and county.
If you want to check the math on your own receipt, add the food and drink subtotal, multiply by your applicable rate from the list above, and compare to the tax line. Anything else on the bill is the restaurant’s charge, not the government’s.