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.