Decrease in Florida Sales Tax on Commercial Rent

Effective as of January 1, 2020, the Florida state sales tax rate applicable to the lease of commercial real property has decreased from 5.7% to 5.5%.  Therefore, the state will levy a 5.5% sales tax on all rent collected from commercial properties in Florida. This new state sales tax rate, however, does not impact county surtax rates.  Because individual counties may impose a discretionary sales surtax, the surtax rate of the county where the rental property is located must be factored in when calculating the total sales tax rate.  For example, in Miami-Dade County, the surtax rate is 1%.  Therefore, the combined sales tax rate on rent collected from commercial properties in Miami-Dade County is 6.5% (5.5% state sales tax + 1% Miami-Dade County surtax). For the Florida statute on the state sales tax rate applicable to the lease of commercial real property, please see Florida Statute Section 212.031. For a list of county surtax rates in Florida for Calendar Year 2020, please see the Discretionary Sales Surtax Information (Form DR-15DSS). For an overview of Florida Sales Tax and County Discretionary Sales Surtax, please see the Florida Department of Revenue webpage.