Florida cuts the state sales tax on commercial rent from 5.5% to 4.5%

What changed in detail

From 1 December 2023, the Florida state sales tax rate on commercial real property rentals under section 212.031, F.S., fell from 5.5% to 4.5%. The cut was made by section 22 of House Bill 7063 (Chapter 2023-157, Laws of Florida, approved 25 May 2023). The Florida Department of Revenue announced it in Tax Information Publication 23A01-20, issued on 25 September 2023.

• The tax applies to the total rent charged, meaning all consideration the tenant pays for the right to use or occupy the property. The TIP gives commercial office or retail space, warehouses, and self-storage units or mini-warehouses as examples.
• The county’s local option discretionary sales surtax continued to apply to the total rent.
• The rate follows the occupancy period, not the payment date. Rent paid on or after 1 December 2023 for earlier periods stayed at 5.5%. Rent paid before 1 December 2023 for occupancy from that date was taxed at 4.5%.
• The reduced rate did not apply to parking or storage of motor vehicles, docking or storage of boats, or tie-down or storage of aircraft.

What it means

This step is spent. Florida cut the rate twice more within two years. The 2.0% rate took effect on 1 June 2024, after a trigger in the 2021 law (Chapter 2021-2) was met. HB 7031 (Chapter 2025-208) then repealed section 212.031 from 1 October 2025.

The 4.5% rate now matters only for back periods. Under the TIP’s occupancy rule, rent for December 2023 to May 2024 is taxed at 4.5% plus surtax, whenever it is paid. Late payments and audits for those months still use that rate.