Florida does not have a personal income tax, an estate tax, an inheritance tax, a gift tax, or an annual tax on intangible personal property like stocks and bonds. That puts it among the small group of states that leave individual earnings alone entirely, and the missing death-related taxes add another layer of protection for retirees and families transferring wealth. The state still collects a 6% sales tax and locally administered property taxes, so Florida is not tax-free, but the categories it skips are the ones that hit hardest in most other states.
No Personal Income Tax
Florida charges no tax on individual income. The protection comes from the state constitution itself, under Article VII, Section 5, which authorizes a tax on corporate income but gives the legislature no power to tax individuals. Lawmakers cannot create a personal income tax without a constitutional amendment approved by voters.
The zero rate applies to every form of individual income: wages, salaries, freelance earnings, capital gains, dividends, interest, rental income, and business distributions from pass-through entities like S corporations and partnerships. Where you earned the income and where your employer is headquartered do not matter. Counties and cities are equally barred from imposing local income taxes, so the rate is uniform statewide.
You never file a state income tax return in Florida. No state withholding appears on your paycheck, and there is no risk of a state late-filing penalty. Your only income tax obligation is the federal return you file with the IRS.
Retirement Income
The exclusion covers every category of retirement income. Social Security benefits, private and public pensions, 401(k) withdrawals, IRA distributions, and annuity payments all go untaxed at the state level. Some states that nominally lack an income tax still carve out exceptions for certain retirement streams or phase taxes in above income thresholds. Florida does not. A retiree drawing $150,000 a year from a mix of Social Security and a 401(k) owes nothing to the state on any of it.
No Estate or Inheritance Tax
Florida imposes neither an estate tax on a deceased person’s holdings nor an inheritance tax on the people who receive assets from an estate. The full value of a Florida resident’s estate passes to beneficiaries without a state-level tax, no matter the size.
Florida once collected what was called a “pick-up tax,” which captured a share of the federal estate tax credit that the IRS allowed for state-level death taxes. When Congress converted that credit into a deduction in 2004, the mechanism that funded Florida’s estate tax disappeared. Under Section 198.02 of the Florida Statutes, the state tax equals the federal credit minus amounts paid to other states. With no federal credit available, the tax is zero for anyone who died on or after January 1, 2005.1Florida Department of Revenue. Estate Tax2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 198 Section 02
Federal estate tax still applies, but the threshold is high. For 2026, the basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per person, following the passage of the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4, 2025.3Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 A married couple using portability can shelter up to $30,000,000. Below those thresholds, the entire estate transfers with no federal or state tax. Above them, only the federal government takes a cut; Florida still takes nothing.
No Gift Tax
Florida does not tax gifts. You can transfer money, real estate, vehicles, or other property to anyone during your lifetime without the state imposing a tax or requiring a state filing. The relationship between giver and recipient does not matter, and there is no cap on the amount.
Federal gift tax rules still apply. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without triggering a federal reporting requirement.3Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Gifts above that amount require filing IRS Form 709, but for most people the excess simply reduces the $15,000,000 lifetime exclusion rather than producing an immediate tax bill. Florida adds nothing on top. A parent gifting $100,000 toward a child’s home purchase owes zero to the state and, assuming remaining lifetime exclusion, zero to the IRS as well.
No Annual Intangible Property Tax
Until 2007, Florida taxed the value of financial assets that lack physical form: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market accounts, and unsecured promissory notes. The recurring annual tax, governed by Chapter 199 of the Florida Statutes, required investors to report and pay based on the fair market value of their holdings each year. The legislature repealed it effective January 1, 2007.4Florida Department of Revenue. Repeal of Annual Intangible Personal Property Tax Your investment portfolio is no longer subject to any annual state tax on its value.
One piece of the old system survived. Florida still charges a nonrecurring intangible tax of 2 mills (0.2%) on any debt obligation secured by a mortgage or lien on Florida real property.5Florida Department of Revenue. Nonrecurring Intangible Tax On a $400,000 mortgage, that comes to $800, paid once at closing. It is not an annual obligation and does not reach stock portfolios or bank accounts.
What Florida Does Tax
The missing taxes above are offset by consumption and property-based taxes that fund state and local government.
The state sales tax rate is 6%, and most counties add a discretionary surtax ranging from 0.5% to 1.5%, bringing the combined rate as high as 7.5% depending on where you shop.6Florida Dept. of Revenue. Tax and Interest Rates7Florida Dept. of Revenue. Florida’s Discretionary Sales Surtax The local surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of a single transaction. Unprepared groceries, prescription drugs, and some medical items are exempt.
There is no state-level property tax, but counties, cities, school boards, and special districts all levy property taxes on real estate. The average effective rate is roughly 0.82% of a home’s market value, below the national average. A homestead exemption reduces the burden for primary residents who apply with the county property appraiser.
When you buy or sell real property, Florida charges a documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 of the sale price. On a $400,000 home, that is $2,800.8Florida Dept. of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax
One qualification on the income tax story: Florida taxes corporate income at 5.5% for C corporations.6Florida Dept. of Revenue. Tax and Interest Rates This tax does not reach sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs taxed as partnerships, or S corporations. Those entities pass income through to their owners’ personal returns, and since there is no personal income tax, the pass-through income goes untaxed at the state level. The corporate tax only hits entities that file as C corporations for federal purposes.
Moving to Florida Does Not Automatically Give You the Tax Benefit
Buying a Florida home does not shield you from your former state’s income tax. States like New York and New Jersey aggressively audit former residents, and if you fail to demonstrate that you genuinely changed your domicile, those states can tax your entire worldwide income for the year, including pensions and deferred compensation. The burden of proof falls on you during a residency audit: any day you cannot document your location is presumed spent in the former state.
Florida Statute 222.17 lets you formalize your intent by filing a sworn Declaration of Domicile with the clerk of the circuit court in your county.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 222.17 – Manifesting and Evidencing Domicile in Florida The declaration is signed under oath before a notary and states that your Florida residence is your permanent home. Filing it alone will not survive an audit from a high-tax state, but it establishes a paper trail of intent.
To build a credible domicile case, you should also obtain a Florida driver’s license, register your vehicles in Florida, register to vote here, and move your primary banking relationships. Selling or leasing your former home at arm’s length is strong evidence that you have abandoned your old domicile. Former states look at where your immediate family lives, where you keep valuable personal possessions, and how many days you actually spend in Florida versus the prior state. Spending more than 183 days in a former state that uses a statutory residency test can negate your Florida domicile for that tax year. This is where most people moving for tax reasons get tripped up, and it deserves far more attention than the move itself.