Florida Sales Tax Calculator
Work out Florida sales tax on a purchase — the 6% state rate plus the county discretionary surtax for the destination of the sale. Handles the $5,000 single-item cap on the county surtax that trips up most other online calculators.
Total (with Florida tax)
£107.00
- Pre-tax subtotal
- £100.00
- Florida state tax (6%)
- £6.00
- County discretionary surtax (1%, capped at first $5,000)
- £1.00
- Total sales tax
- £7.00
- Effective tax rate
- 7%
Florida charges a 6% state sales tax on the full taxable sales price, plus a county discretionary surtax that varies by county (0%–2%). For a single item of tangible personal property, the county surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the sales price; anything above that is exempt from the surtax but still owes the 6% state tax. Services, commercial rentals, and multi-item invoices do not get the $5,000 cap — the surtax applies to the full amount. Look up your county surtax on the Florida DOR Form DR-15DSS before invoicing, since counties re-authorize surtaxes periodically.
How to use this calculator
Enter the pre-tax sales amount, the county discretionary surtax rate for the destination county, and pick whether the sale is a single tangible item (the surtax is capped at the first $5,000 of the price), or a service, rental, or multi-item invoice (no cap — surtax applies to the full amount). Florida county surtaxes range from 0% (Citrus, Hernando, Lee, and a few others have no surtax) up to 1.5% (most surtax counties). The authoritative annual list is Florida DOR Form DR-15DSS, published each January. Counties re-authorize their surtaxes periodically — always check the current DR-15DSS before invoicing.
How the calculation works
State tax = Amount × 6%. County surtax = min(Amount, $5,000) × Surtax rate for a single tangible item, or Amount × Surtax rate for services / rentals / multi-item bills. Total tax = State tax + Surtax. The $5,000 cap is set by Rule 12A-15.004, F.A.C. and Florida DOR Publication GT-800019. It applies only to sales of a single item of tangible personal property; it does not apply to admissions, services, commercial rentals, or where multiple items are billed together and no single item exceeds $5,000. The state-level 6% is always applied to the full price — the cap is purely a surtax carve-out.
Worked example
A boat sells for $7,000 in Miami-Dade County, which has a 1% discretionary surtax. Because it is a single tangible item, the surtax only applies to the first $5,000: state tax = 7,000 × 6% = $420, surtax = 5,000 × 1% = $50, total tax = $470, and the buyer pays $7,470. If instead the same $7,000 were charged for a service in the same county, the surtax would apply to the full amount: surtax = 7,000 × 1% = $70, total tax = $490, buyer pays $7,490. This is exactly the split shown in the Florida DOR Publication GT-800019 example — the $5,000 cap is the difference between the two scenarios.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax rate in Florida?
The Florida state sales tax rate is 6% (Florida Statutes §212.05). Most counties add a discretionary surtax on top, ranging from 0.5% to 2.0%, so combined rates typically fall between 6.0% and 7.5%. As of the current Florida DOR Form DR-15DSS: Miami-Dade is 7% (6% + 1%), Broward is 7% (6% + 1%), Palm Beach is 7% (6% + 1%), Hillsborough is 7.5% (6% + 1.5%), Orange (Orlando) is 6.5% (6% + 0.5%), and Duval (Jacksonville) is 7.5% (6% + 1.5%). Fifteen or so counties have no surtax at all and sit at the plain 6% state rate. Look up your specific county on the current DR-15DSS before invoicing.
What is the Florida $5,000 surtax cap?
The $5,000 cap means that when you sell a single item of tangible personal property, the county discretionary surtax only applies to the first $5,000 of the sales price. The state 6% still applies to the whole price — only the county surtax is capped. So on a $20,000 boat in a 1% surtax county: state tax is 20,000 × 6% = $1,200, and surtax is only 5,000 × 1% = $50 (not 20,000 × 1% = $200). This is set by Rule 12A-15.004, F.A.C. and is described in Florida DOR Publication GT-800019. The cap does not apply to services, admissions, commercial rentals, or bills for multiple items — those pay surtax on the full amount. If two items are sold together and each is under $5,000, each item is treated separately for the cap.
Which Florida counties have no discretionary sales surtax?
A handful of Florida counties have no discretionary sales surtax, so purchases there are taxed at just the 6% state rate. The current list on Florida DOR Form DR-15DSS typically includes Citrus County, Hernando County, Lee County, and a few smaller counties depending on which local levies are active in the current tax year. The DR-15DSS is republished every January and any time a county surtax is added, extended, or expires — so this list changes. If you are relying on a zero-surtax county, verify against the current form before invoicing rather than trusting an older calculator or website.
Do I charge Florida sales tax on shipping?
It depends on whether the shipping is optional. If shipping is separately stated and the customer has a choice to pick up the item themselves, the shipping charge is not subject to Florida sales tax. If shipping is mandatory (the seller has to deliver, or shipping is bundled into the price without a separate line item), it becomes part of the taxable sales price and both the 6% state tax and the county surtax apply. This is set out in Florida DOR Publication GT-800019 and Rule 12A-1.045, F.A.C. When in doubt, separately state shipping and give the customer the pickup option to keep the freight out of the taxable base.
How does Florida tax car and boat purchases?
Motor vehicles, boats, aircraft, and manufactured homes are all subject to the 6% Florida state sales tax on the full purchase price, plus the county discretionary surtax on the first $5,000 (the $5,000 cap applies because each is a single item of tangible personal property). The tax is collected at the time of registration or titling with the county tax collector, not by the seller. For private-party used-vehicle sales, the tax is still due at registration and is based on the higher of the actual sale price or NADA book value if the sale price seems suspiciously low. Boats and aircraft have some additional exemptions if the buyer is a nonresident and removes the property from Florida within a set period — check Florida DOR Publication GT-800008 for the specifics.
When are Florida sales tax filings due?
Florida sales tax is generally filed on Form DR-15, due on the 1st of the month following the collection period and delinquent after the 20th. Most sellers file monthly; smaller sellers with lower collections can file quarterly, semi-annually, or annually as assigned by the DOR. Payments are due electronically if the previous year total tax was $5,000 or more. Late filing or late payment triggers a 10% penalty plus interest at a rate set by the DOR. A collection allowance of 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due (max $30 per return) is available if you file and pay on time. All the specifics are in Florida DOR Publication GT-800014 "Filing and Paying Taxes Electronically".