Six percent, plus whatever the county adds
Florida's state sales tax is 6%. Counties may add a discretionary surtax of 0.5% to 1.5%, so the real rate ranges from 6% to 7.5% depending on where the sale happens.
Florida has no state income tax, and sales tax is a large part of why. The consumption side carries what the income side does not.
The formula
Worked example: $100 at 6%
- Tax: $6.00
- Total: $106.00
| County type | Rate | Tax on $100 |
|---|---|---|
| No surtax | 6.0% | $6.00 |
| 0.5% surtax | 6.5% | $6.50 |
| 1.0% surtax | 7.0% | $7.00 |
| 1.5% surtax | 7.5% | $7.50 |
The surtax cap that catches large purchases
The county surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of a single item. The state 6% applies to the whole amount.
On a $30,000 car in a 1% surtax county the tax is $30,000 × 6% plus $5,000 × 1% = $1,850, not $2,100. Applying the combined 7% to the full price overstates the bill by $250, and this is one of the most commonly miscalculated figures in Florida.
What is exempt
Groceries, prescription medicine and most services are not taxed. Florida also runs periodic sales tax holidays — typically back-to-school and hurricane preparedness — during which specific categories are exempt for a defined window.
Commercial rent is taxed, which is unusual: Florida is one of very few states to levy sales tax on business leases.
What this calculator leaves out
Use tax on out-of-state purchases, the tourist development tax added to short-term rentals, and county rates that change at year end.
Working backwards from a receipt
Given $106 and a 6% rate, the pre-tax price is 106 ÷ 1.06 = $100. Subtracting 6% from the total gives $99.64, which is wrong — and the error grows with the amount.
Businesses reclaiming tax and anyone filing an expense claim need the pre-tax figure, so divide rather than subtract. On a $5,000 invoice the difference between the two methods is $17.
No income tax, but the money comes from somewhere
Florida funds itself through sales tax, tourism levies and property tax rather than an income tax. For a high earner that is a substantial advantage; for a low earner it is often not, because sales tax takes the same rate from every dollar spent regardless of income.
A household spending $40,000 a year pays roughly $2,400 in state sales tax whether it earns $45,000 or $450,000. Whether Florida is cheap depends on which side of that arithmetic you sit on.
Buying a vehicle from another state
Florida credits sales tax already paid to another state, but only up to its own 6%. Buy in a state charging 4% and Florida collects the remaining 2% at registration; buy in a state charging 8% and Florida collects nothing but refunds nothing either.
The county surtax still applies to the first $5,000 at your county's rate, based on where you register the vehicle rather than where you bought it.
Related calculators
- Sales tax calculator — any rate, any state
- California sales tax calculator — a very different structure
- VAT calculator — the European equivalent