Florida residents pay no state tax on personal income, but they still face a stack of other taxes: federal income tax, a 6% state sales tax with local add-ons, locally assessed property taxes if they own a home, transfer taxes when they buy real estate, vehicle registration charges, and excise taxes built into the price of fuel, tobacco, alcohol, and communications service. What follows is a plain walk through the taxes a Florida resident actually encounters, and the ones the state deliberately does not collect.
No State Income Tax, but Federal Still Applies
Florida’s constitution bars the state from taxing personal income. Article VII, Section 5 ties any state income tax to a federal credit that no longer exists, so in practice there is a complete ban on state personal income tax, and changing it would require a statewide ballot amendment.1FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art. VII, Section 5 – Estate, Inheritance and Income Taxes
That protection covers the state only. Every Florida resident still owes federal income tax on worldwide income to the IRS.2Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Residents If you moved to Florida mid-year from a state with its own income tax, check that state’s partial-year filing rules, because some states tax income earned while you were still a resident there.
If you run a small business as a sole proprietor, partnership, or S corporation, Florida does not tax that income either, because it passes through to your personal return. Only traditional C corporations and financial institutions pay Florida’s 5.5% corporate income tax, with the first $50,000 of net income exempt.3Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 220.11 – Tax Imposed4Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 220.14 – Exemption
Sales Tax at the Register
Florida’s general sales tax rate is 6%, applied to most goods and some services.5Florida Dept. of Revenue. Tax and Interest Rates Most counties add a discretionary sales surtax of up to 2%, so the combined rate you actually pay runs between 6% and 8% depending on where you shop.6Florida Dept. of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for 2026
Clothing, electronics, furniture, and restaurant meals are taxable. Unprepared groceries, prescription medications, and certain medical devices are exempt. If you order from an out-of-state seller that does not collect Florida sales tax, you technically owe a use tax at the same rate on the purchase.
The Legislature usually passes several sales tax holidays each year, including a back-to-school window in the summer and a disaster preparedness window before hurricane season. Dates and eligible items change annually, so the Department of Revenue’s holiday page is the place to confirm what’s covered.7Florida Dept. of Revenue. Sales Tax Holidays and Exemption Periods
Property Taxes on Your Home
Florida does not collect property tax at the state level. County property appraisers assess your home, local taxing authorities (school districts, counties, municipalities, and special districts) set millage rates, and your county tax collector sends a single combined bill each November.
Homestead Exemption
If you own and live in your primary residence as of January 1, you can apply for a homestead exemption that shields up to $50,000 of assessed value. The first $25,000 applies to all local taxes, including school taxes. The second $25,000 only kicks in for homes assessed above $50,000 and does not apply to school taxes.8FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art. VII, Section 6 – Homestead Exemptions On a $200,000 home, the savings typically run $750 to $1,000 or more a year depending on local millage.
File your application with the county property appraiser by March 1.9Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 196.011 – Annual Application Required for Exemption Miss that date and you generally waive the exemption for the year, though a late application may be accepted if you can show extenuating circumstances. Once granted, the exemption renews automatically as long as you keep living in the home.
Save Our Homes and Portability
Once your homestead is in place, the Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in assessed value to 3% or the Consumer Price Index change, whichever is lower, no matter what the market does. Over years, that gap between assessed and market value becomes real money.
Sell your homestead and buy another Florida primary residence, and you can carry the accumulated savings over through portability. You have to establish homestead on the new property within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, and you file Form DR-501T with your new homestead application by March 1.10Florida Dept. of Revenue. Save Our Homes Assessment Difference Transfer (Portability)
When to Pay
Florida discounts property tax for early payment:11Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 197.162 – Tax Discount Payment Periods
- Pay in November: 4% off
- Pay in December: 3% off
- Pay in January: 2% off
- Pay in February: 1% off
- Pay in March: full amount, due by March 31
Taxes unpaid after March 31 go delinquent on April 1. Interest and penalties start accruing, and if the balance stays unpaid, the county auctions a tax certificate on your bill. An unredeemed certificate can eventually lead to a tax deed sale and loss of the property.
Taxes When You Buy Real Estate
Two separate transfer taxes get collected at closing when the deed and mortgage are recorded.
The documentary stamp tax on deeds runs $0.70 per $100 of the purchase price statewide, dropping to $0.60 per $100 in Miami-Dade.12Florida Dept. of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax On a $400,000 home outside Miami-Dade, that’s $2,800.
If you take out a mortgage, a second doc stamp tax of $0.35 per $100 of the loan amount applies, plus a nonrecurring intangible tax of $2 per $1,000 of the mortgage.13Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code Rule 12C-2.004 – Property Subject to Tax A $320,000 mortgage adds $1,120 in stamp tax and $640 in intangible tax to your closing costs.
Some transfers skip the deed stamp tax. Transfers between spouses involving homestead property, including those in a divorce, are generally exempt when the only consideration is the existing mortgage. Deeds from a personal representative under a probated will are typically exempt, as are transfers under threat of eminent domain. There is no exemption for moving property into a revocable trust for estate planning.12Florida Dept. of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax
Taxes When You Buy or Bring a Vehicle
Vehicle purchases, whether from a dealer or a private seller, trigger the 6% state sales tax on the purchase price. A trade-in at a registered dealer reduces the taxable price by the trade-in value; private trades qualify too, but only when an aircraft, boat, motor vehicle, or mobile home is traded in a single transaction.14Florida Dept. of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Motor Vehicles
New Florida residents bringing a vehicle from another state owe a one-time initial registration fee of $225, on top of the regular annual registration based on weight class.15Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees If you bought the vehicle out of state and paid no Florida sales tax, or paid a lower rate elsewhere, you owe the difference at registration.
Excise Taxes Built Into Prices
Several taxes are already baked into what you pay at the pump, counter, or on your phone bill.
Fuel. As of January 2026, the total state tax on gasoline is roughly $0.38 per gallon, and diesel is about $0.389 per gallon, with counties free to add their own local fuel tax on top.16Florida Dept. of Revenue. Fuel Tax Rates Adjusted Beginning January 1, 2026
Tobacco. The cigarette surcharge alone is 5 cents per cigarette, adding $1.00 to a standard 20-pack, and the combined state tax lands at about $1.34 per pack.17Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 210.011 – Cigarette Surcharge Levied; Collection Cigars and other tobacco products carry their own rates.
Alcohol. State excise taxes by category:18MyFloridaLicense.com. Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco – Tax Rate Info
- Beer: $0.48 per gallon
- Wine under 17.259% alcohol: $2.25 per gallon
- Wine 17.259% or more: $3.00 per gallon
- Liquor 17.259% to 55.780% alcohol: $6.50 per gallon
- Liquor over 55.780% alcohol: $9.53 per gallon
These are collected from distributors and are on top of the 6% sales tax you pay at the register.
Communications. The communication services tax covers phone, cable, satellite TV, and similar services. The state rate is 4.92% plus a 0.15% gross receipts component, and local governments add their own CST.19Florida Dept. of Revenue. Communications Services Tax Residential households are exempt from the state 4.92% and 0.15% portions but still pay local CST, which varies by county and city.
What Florida Does Not Tax
Florida has no state estate tax, no inheritance tax, and no gift tax. The state’s estate tax was tied to a federal credit that was phased out in 2005, so no Florida estate tax has been collectible for anyone who died after December 31, 2004.1FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art. VII, Section 5 – Estate, Inheritance and Income Taxes
Federal estate tax still applies to estates above the federal exemption, which is $15,000,000 per person for 2026.20Internal Revenue Service. Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Estates under that threshold owe nothing at either level.
If You Rent Out Property Short-Term
Rent out a property for six months or less, through a vacation platform or any short-term lease, and the rental income is subject to the 6% state sales tax plus a local tourist development tax (the “bed tax”). County rates run 2% to 6%, with a few municipalities as high as 7%.21Florida Dept. of Revenue. Local Option Transient Rental Tax Rates With the state sales tax and any local surtax, the total on a nightly rate commonly hits 12% to 13% in tourist-heavy counties.