2024 Guide to State Sales Tax in Florida

What is sales tax in Florida?

Florida charges a general state sales tax on every sale, admission, storage, or rental in Florida that’s taxable. Florida’s state sales tax rate is 6% but the state charges a different sales tax rate for certain special types of purchases.

• Florida sales tax rate of 6%
• Electricity rate of 6.95%
• Retail sales of new mobile homes rate of 3%
• Amusement machine receipts rate of 4%
• Rental, lease, or license of commercial real property rate of 4.5%

Florida also has some counties that charge a discretionary sales surtax (or county tax). These sales tax rates range from 0.5% to 1.5% depending on the county. That means the highest total Florida sales tax rate that can be charged is 7.5%. In many instances, this additional county tax only applies to the first $5,000 of a sale.

See the Florida Sales Tax Rate page for more information about state sales tax rates in Floridaland and the Discretionary Sales Surtax page for information about local sales tax rates across the state.

What is the Florida food tax rate?

Florida’s food tax rate is 0% on most groceries. Most food items are non-taxable in Florida unless they’re sold for immediate consumption.

Here are the rules to know about Florida’s food tax:

• Food products sold for immediate consumption are taxed – unless they are prepared off the seller’s premises and sold in their original container or sliced into smaller portions.
• Bakery products sold by bakeries that do not have eating facilities are exempt.

The Florida food tax rate doesn’t apply to certain items, however. These include:

• Candy
• Soft drinks

Learn more about sales tax on food in Florida, including what food items are exempt and which aren’t.

What is the restaurant tax in Florida?

Most restaurants have to charge a 6% Florida state sales tax and any additional country taxes. However, bakeries are exempt from paying sales tax if they don’t have eating facilities. If they do offer a place for their patrons to eat their purchased baked goods, everything in the facility is taxable, even if people purchase goods to bring home.

Learn more about the Florida restaurant tax.

What is Florida’s sales tax on clothing?

Florida’s clothing tax is the same as its tax on other taxable items. However, the state has a number of sales tax holidays and some include sales tax exemptions on the purchase of clothing. These include back-to-school sales tax holidays in Florida.

What counts as taxable items in Florida?

Most goods and services you purchase in Florida will be subject to Florida sales tax. The state charges sales tax on a wide variety of items.

Here are a few examples of taxable items in Florida:

• Tangible personal property, unless an exemption applies
• Certain services
• Admission to theme parks
• Furniture
• Motor vehicles
• Service warranties
• Lease and rentals of tangible personal property

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What are non-taxable items or sales tax exemptions in Florida?

Florida’s sales tax doesn’t apply to a number of items that are exempt from sales tax.

Here are few items exempt from state sales tax in Florida:

• Prescription drugs
• Food
• Certain services (ex. Installation and delivery charges)
• Non-prepared food items sold at a substantial grocery or market
• Sales or rentals of medical equipment
• Sales or rentals of mobility or prosthetic devices
• Farm equipment
• Software as a Service (SaaS)

For more information about what’s exempt from sales tax in Florida, see the Florida sales tax exemption guide.

When do I need to collect sales tax in Florida?

If you run an ecommerce business, you will be liable for collecting sales tax in Florida if and when your business achieves Florida nexus.

You can achieve nexus in Florida in two ways: Physical nexus or economic nexus.

Physical nexus

• Physical nexus is when you have some kind of physical presence in Florida (see below for what constitutes a ‘physical presence’ in Florida)

Economic nexus

• Economic nexus in Florida is achieved when you have gross revenue of more than $100,000 in the state in a calendar year

That means that many ecommerce sellers could achieve Florida nexus without ever having an office or warehouse in the state.

Below, we’ll go into more detail about what achieving Florida sales tax nexus looks like.

What is the physical Florida nexus threshold?

There are certain things businesses might do or activities they might engage in that would cause them to achieve physical nexus in Florida even if you’re primarily located in another state. Any business with physical sales tax nexus in Florida will have to register, file, and remit sales tax in Florida on all sales shipped to Florida.

Examples of business activities that can create Florida nexus include:

• Have employees, agents, or independent contractors conducting sales or other business activities in Florida.
• Maintain an office or other place of business in Florida.
• Assemble, install, service, or repair products in Florida.
• Own, rent, or lease real property or tangible personal property in Florida.
• Deliver goods to Florida customers using your company-owned or leased truck.

Here’s more information about the physical Florida nexus.

What is the economic nexus threshold in Florida?

Out-of-state sellers can achieve sales tax nexus in Florida if they have Florida sales that add up to a gross revenue of more than $100,000 in a calendar year.

Once businesses meet this Florida nexus threshold, they must register for sales tax and collect Florida sales and use tax on their sales going forward.

Here is how your sales are counted towards economic nexus in Florida:

• A ‘remote sale’ is the retail sale of tangible personal property ordered by mail, telephone, the internet, or other communication, from a person who receives the order outside Florida and causes the property to be transported into Florida.
• Marketplace sales are not counted towards the seller’s $100,000 Florida economic nexus threshold, but instead towards the marketplace facilitator’s threshold.

How does Florida nexus work with marketplaces?

Florida nexus is slightly more complicated if you’re a marketplace facilitator or if you sell through a marketplace. Here are a few things to be aware of when it comes to economic Florida nexus if you use or are a marketplace:

• A marketplace provider that is required to register in Florida must also certify to its marketplace sellers that it will collect and remit the applicable Florida tax on the taxable retail sales made through the marketplace.
• When the marketplace provider certifies to the marketplace seller that it will collect and remit the tax, the marketplace seller may not collect the tax and must exclude sales made through the marketplace from the marketplace seller’s tax return.
• The sales made by a marketplace facilitator count towards their Florida nexus threshold but they do not simultaneously count towards the marketplace seller’s Florida nexus threshold.

Are there sales tax holidays in Florida?

While some states legislate annual sales tax holidays that recur every year, Florida is an exception in that they typically only legislate sales tax holidays on a case-by-case basis. In recent years, Florida has announced multiple sales tax holidays throughout the year.

For example, in 2023, there were six sales tax holidays. In 2024, only one sales tax holiday has yet been announced.

It’s important to note that Florida allows businesses to opt-out of certain sales tax holidays if less than 5% of their gross sales in the previous calendar year are from qualifying items.

Confirmed 2024 Florida sales tax holidays

January back-to-school sales tax holiday

• This typically takes place over two weeks in early January. In 2024, it took place from January 1 to January 14th.
• Clothing, wallets, and qualifying bags – $100 or less
• Qualifying school supplies – $50 or less
• Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles – $30 or less
• Personal computers and computer-related accessories – $1,500 or less

Other Potential Florida Sales Tax Holidays in 2024

Based on 2023, we could see these additional Florida sales tax holidays.

Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday

• In 2023, there were two sales tax holidays for disaster preparedness that provided sales tax exemptions on supplies to prepare for hurricane season in Florida including things like generators and tarps.
• Length: 2 weeks each
• Dates: May and August

Freedom Summer Sales Tax Holiday

• This was a sales tax exemption on the sale of admissions to things like museums, sporting events, cultural events, state parks, performances, and more.
• Length: 3 months
• Dates: May-September

Florida Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday

• This holiday provided the same exemptions that the January back-to-school sales tax holiday provided.
• Length: 2 weeks
• Date: July-August

Tool Time

• This Florida sales tax holiday provided an exemption on sales tax for qualifying tools and equipment.
• Length: 1 week
• Dates: September

Is Florida a member of the Streamlined Sales Tax?

Currently, Florida is not a full or associate member of the SSTGB.

How do I register for a sales tax permit in Florida?

Do you meet the requirements for Florida sales tax nexus? You’ll need to register for Florida sales tax. Florida sales tax registration is easy and you have a couple of options for doing so.

• Florida Business Tax Online Application: The Florida Department of Revenue, which is tasked to administer tax law in the state, has an online application that uses an interactive wizard to help you determine your tax registration requirements. This is the easiest way to register for Florida sales tax.
• Florida sales tax registration – Paper: If you prefer submitting a paper application, you can fill one out for your Florida sales tax license. You’ll need to download the paper version of the application, fill it out, and submit it.

Learn more about obtaining a Florida sales tax license here.