Sales Tax in Florida: A Comprehensive Guide

Updated June 30, 2026

Florida Sales Tax FAQ

Do You Need to Collect and Remit Sales Tax in Florida? 

If your business meets Florida’s economic or physical nexus thresholds, you’re required to register with the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) to collect, report, and remit Florida sales and use tax.

There are two ways to register:

1. Online through the Florida Business Tax Application (required for remote sellers and marketplace providers)
2. By mail, by completing a paper Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1)

Once registered, you’ll receive a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) and a Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax, and you’ll be assigned a filing frequency. Registration is free, and the Certificate of Registration doesn’t expire as long as your account stays active and in good standing.

Not sure if you’ve crossed the nexus line or where to even start? Our Florida Sales Tax Registration Guide walks through the full process step by step, from gathering your documents to submitting your application.

What’s Taxable in Florida?

Florida’s general rule is broad: every sale, admission, storage, or rental in Florida is taxable unless a specific exemption applies. Commonly taxable categories include:

• Tangible personal property sold at retail (most physical goods)
• Prepared food and restaurant meals, candy, and soft drinks
• Short-term rentals (vacation houses, hotel rooms, etc.)
• Admissions to places of amusement, sport, or recreation
• Rentals or leases of tangible personal property such as vehicles, machinery, and equipment
• Specific taxable services, including nonresidential cleaning, nonresidential pest control, and investigative or crime-protection

What’s Not Taxable in Florida?

Florida also exempts a meaningful list of goods and services, including:

• Most groceries, specifically unprepared food for home consumption
• Prescription drugs and common household OTC medical items (pain relievers, antacids, bandages, etc.)
• Oral hygiene products, menstrual products, and diapers
• Most professional and personal services
• SaaS and digital goods (though streaming services and software delivered on a physical media are taxable)
• Long-term residential rentals (six months or longer)
• Items purchased for resale, when backed by a valid resale certificate
• Commercial real property rentals as of October 1, 2025
• Disaster preparedness supplies—now a permanent, year-round exemption as of August 1, 2025
• Florida State Park admissions and annual passes, exempt since July 1, 2025

Beyond these examples, additional exemptions require a valid exemption certificate. Government entities, for instance, must apply for a Florida Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption to make tax-exempt purchases. Sellers should collect these certificates at the point of sale. In the event of an audit, the burden of proof falls on the seller, not the buyer.

Florida Sales Tax Taxability Matrix

The table below provides a quick-reference for how common product and service categories are treated under Florida sales tax:

Do You Have Sales Tax Nexus in Florida? 

Florida recognizes two types of nexus: physical and economic. Meeting either generally requires you to register and collect Florida sales tax.

Physical Sales Tax Nexus

You likely have physical nexus in Florida if your business:

1. Has an office, warehouse, or other place of business in the state
2. Has employees, agents, or independent contractors conducting sales or business activities in Florida
3. Owns, rents, or leases real or tangible personal property in Florida
4. Assembles, installs, services, or repairs products in Florida using its own employees or contractors
5. Delivers goods to Florida customers on a regular basis using a company-owned or leased vehicle

Economic Sales Tax Nexus

Out-of-state sellers establish economic nexus in Florida if their taxable remote sales delivered to Florida customers exceed $100,000 during the previous calendar year—without any physical presence in the state.

There are a few important nuances:

• There’s no transaction-count threshold. Florida’s economic nexus test is revenue-only.
• Florida uses a prior-year look-back period. Exceed $100,000 in 2025, and you’ll have collection and remittance obligations for all of 2026, regardless of what your 2026 sales look like.
• Marketplace-facilitated sales are excluded from your own threshold calculation, as long as the facilitator is registered and collecting on your behalf.

Are Marketplace Facilitators Required to Collect and Remit Florida Sales Tax? 

Yes. Since July 1, 2021, marketplace facilitators must register with the FDOR and collect and remit sales and use tax on taxable sales they facilitate into Florida.

If all of your Florida sales run through a registered marketplace, you don’t need your own Certificate of Registration—unless you also make direct sales (through your own website, for example) that independently exceed the $100,000 economic nexus threshold.

Common Marketplace Facilitators

• Amazon   
• eBay
• Shopify Shop App   
• Etsy
• Walmart Marketplace

Florida Sales Tax Holidays

Florida runs one of the most generous sales tax holiday calendars in the country, and one of its most popular exemptions recently became permanent. As of August 1, 2025, disaster preparedness items like portable generators, batteries, and life jackets are now exempt from Florida sales tax year-round, with no price caps and no narrow shopping window to time.

The following sales tax holidays continue to run on an annual yet temporary basis:

• Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday — July 20 through August 20, 2026. During this month-long holiday, there is no sales tax on clothing, footwear, wallets, and bags priced $100 or less; school supplies $50 or less; learning aids $30 or less; and personal computers and accessories priced $1,500 or less.
• Hunting, Fishing & Camping Sales Tax Holiday — September 1 through December 31, 2026. For the last four months of the year, consumers can purchase qualifying hunting supplies—including ammunition, firearms, and bows—tax-free, along with camping and fishing supplies under specific price restrictions.

A few ground rules apply across Florida’s sales tax holidays: they don’t apply to purchases made within a theme park, entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport. Also, dealer participation is mandatory, including out-of-state and remote sellers who sell qualifying items.

Filing Florida Sales Tax  

Once you’ve determine that your business has nexus in Florida, you’ll need to register, collect, file, and remit. Each step plays a critical role in staying compliant with the FDOR.

How to Register for Florida Sales Tax

There are two ways to register:

• Online through the Florida Business Tax Application (the faster option, and mandatory for remote retailers)
• By mailing or hand-delivering a completed paper Form DR-1

Online applications typically process within 3-5 business days. After approval, you’ll receive your Certificate of Registration and a Florida Annual Resale Certificate, which allows you to make tax-exempt purchases for resale. The resale certificate renews automatically every December 31 for active accounts.

Want a full step-by-step walkthrough? Our Florida Sales Tax Registration Guide covers everything you need to know, from required documents to navigating the online application.

How to Collect Florida Sales Tax 

Florida imposes a 6% statewide rate, and most counties layer on additional discretionary sales surtax. These local rates generally range from 0.5% to 1.5%, bringing combined rates as high as 7.5%. This rate is determined by where the customer receives the goods or service—not where your business is located.

County surtax rates can change every January 1st, and are implemented for at least the remainder of the calendar year. Always verify the current-year Discretionary Sales Surtax Information (Form DR-15DSS) before configuring your point-of-sale systems. For most tangible personal property transactions, only the first $5,000 of a single item’s sales price is subject to county surtax. Amounts above that are taxed at the 6% state rate only.

How to File Florida Sales Tax Returns

Most dealers file using Form DR-15, the standard Sales and Use Tax Return. Businesses with simpler activity (generally under $200,000 in annual tax, with no transient rentals, vending sales, or multi-surtax-county sales) may qualify for the simplified DR-15EZ.

As of December 1, 2025, electronic returns are filed through Florida’s new eFile and Pay system, which replaced the prior portal. Electronic filing and payment is mandatory for any business that paid $5,000 or more in Florida sales and use tax during the state’s prior fiscal year (July 1–June 30).

Businesses that electronically file and pay on time may take a collection allowance of 2.5% on the first $1,200 of tax due, capped at $30 per reporting location.

When Are Florida Sales Tax Returns Due?

Most new businesses start out as quarterly filers, though your actual frequency depends on your annual tax collections:

Florida’s due date structure has some interesting quirks. Returns and payments are technically due on the 1st of the month following the reporting period, but aren’t considered late until after the 20th—giving filers a built-in grace window of almost three weeks. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, paper and electronically filed returns are timely if submitted by the next business day.

Electronic payments operate on a tighter schedule: you must initiate payment and receive a confirmation number by 5 p.m. ET on the business day before the 20th. If you miss that window, you’re late, even if the deadline hasn’t technically passed on the calendar. A return must also be filed for every reporting period—even with zero sales—or you’ll face a minimum $50 late filing penalty.

Behind on registration, collection, or filing—or just want Florida off your plate entirely? Visit our pricing page to see our tiered service options, transparent pricing, and zero locked-in contracts.