Florida Sales Tax Fast Facts:
For more information on FL Sales Tax visit our Florida Sales Tax Guide for Businesses.
- Florida’s base or statewide sales tax is 6% which is applied to the sale, lease, or rental of most items.
- Counties, cities, and special districts can charge an additional local sales tax of up to 1.5%, making the maximum possible combined sales tax rate 7.5% in FL.
- Florida has a total of 993 taxing jurisdictions. That means up to 993 different sales tax rates for your business to track.
- Florida has a county sales tax cap on purchases greater than $5,000.
- To illustrate this concept; if you purchase a car for $40,000 from a dealer located in an area with a combined sales tax rate of 7%, you will have to pay 7% sales tax on the first $5,000 and only 6% on the balance of your purchase, $35,000 in this case.
- Florida is the only state in the country that imposes sales and use tax on real property rentals, even if the rental is between related parties.
- Clothing is subject to sales tax in FL.
Florida Sales Tax Exemptions:
Florida Sales Tax Exemptions List
In general, FL does not collect sales tax on purchases of:
- Prescriptions drugs
- Groceries (unprepared food)
- Common household remedies
- Long term residential real property leases
- Seeds and fertilizers
Florida Sales Tax Exemptions for Aviation
The primary Florida sales tax exemptions for the aviation industry include:
- Aircraft repair parts and labor (if the aircraft is repaired or maintained in Florida and the aircraft has a maximum certified takeoff weight of more than 2,000 pounds)
- All aircraft repairs or modifications done under the permission of a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regardless of aircraft weight.
Note: Purchases of aircraft in Florida or brought into Florida are subject to sales and use tax. More information about Sales and use tax on Aircraft purchases can be found here.
Florida Sales Tax Exemptions for Healthcare
The primary Florida sales tax exemptions for the medical & healthcare industry include:
- Chemical compounds and test kits
- Hypodermic needles & syringes
- Medical gases
- Medical services
- Prescription drugs
- Prosthetic and orthopedic appliances
- Single-use medical products
Note: Nonprofit entities in healthcare are treated differently by the state of Florida and are generally afforded more sales tax exemptions.
Florida Sales Tax Exemptions for Manufacturing
The primary Florida sales tax exemptions for manufacturing include:
- Purchases of labor (if no tangible personal property is transferred)
- Machinery & equipment used in manufacturing (including parts and labor for their repair)
- Raw materials (i.e., ingredients or components of the final product)
- Utilities used in manufacturing (i.e., gas and electricity)
Note: These manufacturing exemptions only apply if / when the items are used in the manufacturing or production process. The state will assess partial sales tax based on usage allocated to tasks other than manufacturing.
Florida Sales Tax Exemptions for Software
The primary Florida sales tax exemptions for software include:
- Custom Software (delivered tangibly or electronically)
Note: Software that is transferred to the purchaser electronically (including SaaS) is not subject to FL sales & use tax because it is not “tangible personal property.” Since it is not taxable in the first place, there is no need for an exemption.
Florida Sales Tax Exemption Certificate:
Businesses and individuals making purchases of goods for resale, improvement, or as raw materials for manufacturing can apply for a Florida resale certificate, which allows them to make these purchases tax-free.
Once you get a Florida state sales tax exemption certificate from the FLDOR, you will need to provide a Florida Sales Tax Exemption Form to your vendors before they can make tax-free sales to you. Florida also allows the use of multijurisdictional uniform sales tax exemption certificates, which are general exemption certificates that can be used across multiple states. Download yours here.