How is sales tax figured on a car in Florida?

The two parts: state tax and county surtax

“Florida’s general state sales tax rate is 6%,” according to the Department of Revenue (Florida DOR). On top of that, “most counties impose a local option discretionary sales surtax.” For a car, the county that counts is the one on your registration or title: surtax is due when “the purchaser’s residing address on the registration or title to the motor vehicle is a location within a county imposing a surtax” (Florida DOR, GT-800030).

The surtax has a cap: it “applies to the first $5,000 of the purchase price” (GT-800030). DOR says county rates “currently range from .5% to 2%,” and some counties have none (Florida DOR). Its 2026 list runs from none in Citrus and Collier counties to 2% in Hamilton County (DR-15DSS, 2026). So the most county surtax on one car is $100, and at a 1% rate it’s $50. DOR updates the list each November (Florida DOR).

What goes into the taxable price

Tax is due on the sales price, “including any separately itemized charge or fee for items, such as” (GT-800030):

• “any accessory sold with the vehicle”
• “preparation, settlement, or closing fees”
• “freight, handling, or delivery of the motor vehicle to the dealer”
• “commission”
• “any other expense or cost of the dealer that the dealer requires the purchaser to pay”

What stays out: “Any separately itemized fee or charge mandated by a state law for titling, licensing, or registering the motor vehicle, or for recording a lien on the motor vehicle, is not subject to tax.” So the dealer fee is taxed, and the title and registration fees aren’t. See Is a $999 dealer fee normal in Florida?

Trade-ins

“A registered motor vehicle dealer may deduct a trade-in allowance from the taxable sales price of a motor vehicle when, in a single transaction, tangible personal property (not real property) is traded as part of the motor vehicle sale” (GT-800030). The words “single transaction” matter. DOR’s rule says a separate sale of your old car “is not a trade-in, even if the proceeds from the sale are immediately applied” to buying another one (Fla. Admin. Code R. 12A-1.007(1)(b)). So selling to one buyer and buying from another dealer doesn’t lower the tax on the new car. Trading in a car when you still owe on it covers the rest of the trade.

Service contracts and other add-ons

Accessories sold with the car are part of the taxable price. A service contract is taxed on its own: DOR’s rule treats a motor vehicle service agreement as a taxable “service warranty” and sets the tax at 6% of its price (Fla. Admin. Code R. 12A-1.105). DOR’s surtax page also lists service warranties among the sales that can carry county surtax (Florida DOR). If you cancel the contract, the tax is refunded on the same proration as the price (R. 12A-1.105(3)(b)).

A 2002 DOR technical assistance advisement found that GAP that is strictly optional and priced separately is not part of the taxable price. It binds DOR only on the facts of that request (TAA 02A-008). Ask the dealer to show any tax on GAP as its own line.

Worked example

Example inputs only. Price $28,000, dealer fee $999, dealer-installed accessories $500, trade-in allowance $8,000, county surtax rate 1%.

Title and registration fees are added after that, untaxed. Our out-the-door calculator applies the state rate but doesn’t include county surtax.

Buying out of state

• A Floridian buying elsewhere. If you buy in another state to use the car here, Florida tax and surtax are due when you register or title it in Florida. DOR allows “a credit against any Florida sales and use tax or surtax” when you show “a like tax has been lawfully imposed and paid to another state.” Its example: pay 4% elsewhere, and you owe “an additional 2%, plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax” (GT-800030).
• Delivery outside Florida. A sale is exempt when “the motor vehicle dealer delivers the vehicle to a purchaser outside of Florida” (GT-800030).
• A nonresident buying in Florida. If your home state taxes cars at less than 6% and you take the car in Florida, you pay your home state’s rate, with no surtax, by giving the dealer a notarized Form DR-123 and registering the car at home within 45 days. If your state’s rate is 6% or more, Florida collects 6% (GT-800030).

What to say

Before you sign: checklist

Florida notes

FAQ

Sources

1. Florida DOR – GT-800030, Sales and Use Tax on Motor Vehicles (R. 08/22): what’s taxable, untaxed government fees, trade-ins, surtax on the first $5,000 by registration address, out-of-state credit, exemptions, nonresident partial exemption (accessed Oct 2026)
2. Florida DOR – Florida Sales and Use Tax: 6% state rate (accessed Oct 2026)
3. Florida DOR – Discretionary Sales Surtax: rate range, $5,000 limit, service warranties, address lookup, DR-15DSS updated each November (accessed Oct 2026)
4. Florida DOR – DR-15DSS, Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026 (R. 11/25): county rates and 2026 changes (accessed Oct 2026)
5. Florida DOR – Rule 12A-1.007, Aircraft, Boats, Mobile Homes, and Motor Vehicles: trade-in only in one transaction; a separate sale is not a trade-in; a car bought out of state is presumed taxable, and presumed exempt with proof of six months’ use elsewhere and that state’s tax paid, (2)(a) (accessed Oct 2026)
6. Florida DOR – Rule 12A-1.105, Service Warranties: motor vehicle service agreements taxed at 6%; tax refunded pro rata on cancellation, (3)(b) (accessed Oct 2026)
7. Florida DOR – Technical Assistance Advisement 02A-008 (Feb 19, 2002): optional, separately stated GAP isn’t part of the taxable sales price; binding on DOR only on the facts of that request (accessed Oct 2026)

About this guide

This page is general information about Florida tax rules as of October 2026. It isn’t tax or legal advice. Your contract and the law control, and rates can change each year. For a ruling on your own purchase, ask the Florida Department of Revenue.