Monroe County FL Sales Tax Rate: 7.5% Breakdown, Caps, and Exemptions

The Monroe County, FL sales tax rate is 7.5%. That’s Florida’s 6% statewide rate plus a 1.5% local discretionary surtax, and it applies to most purchases of physical goods and certain services throughout the Florida Keys. Short-term rental guests pay more, because the county layers a separate 5% tourist development tax on top of the 7.5%.

What Makes Up the 7.5%

The 6% base is set by state law and is the same in every Florida county.¹²³ The revenue stays in the county.

The $5,000 Cap on Big-Ticket Items

When you buy a single item of tangible personal property, the 1.5% local surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the purchase price.⁴ The state’s 6% still applies to the full amount, uncapped.

On a $30,000 boat, that works out to $1,800 in state tax (6% of $30,000) plus $75 in local surtax (1.5% of $5,000), for a total of $1,875 rather than the $2,250 you’d owe if the surtax hit the whole price.

The cap does not apply to admissions, transient rental charges, prepaid calling arrangements, or taxable services.⁴ For those, the full 1.5% surtax applies to the entire amount no matter how large the bill.

What’s Exempt and What Isn’t

Florida exempts food products for human consumption from sales tax entirely, including the local surtax. That covers standard groceries: meat, produce, dairy, eggs, cereals, and baked goods from shops without eat-in seating.⁵ Coffee, juice concentrates, and tea (unless sold in liquid form) qualify too.

The exemption ends the moment food is prepared for immediate consumption. Ready-to-eat sandwiches, hot items, food served at tables or counters, and anything from a restaurant or prepared food counter get taxed at the full 7.5%.⁵ Soft drinks, ice cream novelties, and vending machine food are also taxable regardless of how they’re sold. If someone prepared it for you, you’re paying tax.

Prescription medications and medical devices dispensed under an individual prescription are also exempt, along with prosthetic and orthopedic appliances, chemical compounds for diagnosis or treatment, and single-use medical supplies prescribed by a licensed practitioner.⁶

Short-Term Rentals: 12.5% Total

Rent a hotel room, vacation home, or other living accommodation in the Keys for six months or less and you pay two layers. The 7.5% sales tax applies to the full rental charge, and on top of that Monroe County imposes a 5% tourist development tax. The combined effective rate is 12.5%.⁷

The six-month line comes from Florida Statute 212.03, which exempts anyone with a written lease for continuous residence longer than six months.⁸ Continuous stays longer than six months at the same property, once the transient tax has already been paid, also qualify for the exemption going forward.

The two taxes are administered separately. The Florida Department of Revenue collects the 7.5% sales tax; the Monroe County Tax Collector handles the 5% tourist development tax.⁷ Owners renting out property need accounts with both.

Commercial Rent Is No Longer Taxed

If you were expecting sales tax on a commercial lease, it was repealed. Effective October 1, 2025, no state sales tax or discretionary surtax applies to rent for commercial office space, retail storefronts, warehouses, or self-storage units for occupancy periods beginning on or after that date.⁹

Several related charges still carry sales tax: parking spaces in lots or garages, boat docking and storage at marinas, and aircraft tie-down space at airports.⁹ Transient rental accommodations remain taxable under a separate statute, so the repeal doesn’t touch short-term vacation rental operators.

Online Purchases Shipped to the Keys

Out-of-state businesses selling into Florida must collect the 7.5% Monroe County rate on orders shipped to Keys addresses once they cross Florida’s economic nexus threshold of $100,000 in taxable sales during the previous calendar year. There’s no separate transaction-count trigger. If you buy from a smaller online retailer that hasn’t reached that threshold, you technically owe the same 7.5% as use tax on your Florida return.

The local surtax portion follows the delivery address, not the seller’s location. Something shipped to a Key West address carries Monroe County’s 1.5% surtax; the same item shipped to Miami would carry Miami-Dade’s local rate instead.

Sales Tax Holidays

Florida holds several annual sales tax holidays that temporarily suspend the 7.5% combined rate on qualifying purchases in Monroe County. The dates and eligible product categories change each year based on legislative action. Recent years have included back-to-school holidays on clothing, school supplies, and computers, and disaster preparedness holidays on generators, batteries, and tarps. The Florida Legislature’s 2026 session has proposed a back-to-school holiday beginning July 20, 2026, along with a multi-month holiday on camping, fishing, and hunting supplies, though final enactment details may shift. Confirm current dates and item lists on the Florida Department of Revenue website as each holiday approaches.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 212.05 – Sales, Storage, Use Tax
2
Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Information Publication 24A01-26 – Monroe County Extends School Capital Outlay Surtax Expiration Date
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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
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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. Nontaxable Medical Items and General Grocery List
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Monroe County Tax Collector. Tourist Development Tax
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 212.03 – Transient Rentals Tax; Rate, Procedure, Enforcement, Exemptions
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Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Information Publication – Sales Tax on Commercial Rentals Repealed