Short answer
Florida taxes vehicle sales at 6% state plus up to 2.5% local (depends on buyer address). Florida taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. Florida collects tax at the buyer's home-state rate, capped at Florida's own rate. Florida credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. Exception: no full credit for tax paid to Alaska, Washington, DC, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia. This covers a retail purchase from a dealer; leases and private-party sales follow different rules in most states.
Florida car sales tax quick facts
Last verified July 5, 2026| Sales tax rate on vehicles | 6% state plus up to 2.5% local (depends on buyer address)[1] |
| Trade-in credit | Florida taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted.[2] |
| Selling to an out-of-state buyer | Florida collects tax at the buyer's home-state rate, capped at Florida's own rate.[3] |
| Credit for tax paid to another state | Florida credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. Exception: no full credit for tax paid to Alaska, Washington, DC, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia.[3] |
| Dealer doc fee | No statutory cap[4] · taxable[2] |
| Temp tag for the drive home | Florida dealers issue 30-day temporary tags. FLHSMV procedure RS-31 lists a vehicle sold in Florida to a resident of another state for registration in their home state as a 30-day temp tag use; one additional 30-day tag may follow, and the DR-123 nonresident tax must be handled at issuance. (valid 30 days)[5] |
| Out-of-state buyer registration | An out-of-state-registered vehicle must be registered in Florida within 10 days of the owner becoming employed, placing children in public school, or establishing residency. First-time registrants without a Florida plate in their name pay the $225 initial registration fee and must show proof of Florida insurance.[6] |
From the desk
Florida makes the desk do two math problems on every deal: the state rate, then the county surtax with its own cap rules. Out-of-state buyers add a third, because Florida prices their tax off another state's number, and the biller has to know which one.
Selling to an out-of-state buyer in Florida
Florida collects tax at the buyer's home-state rate, capped at Florida's own rate.[3]
The paperwork that makes the exemption real is Form DR-123 (Affidavit for Partial Exemption of Motor Vehicle Sold to a Resident of Another State), completed at delivery. Miss it and the exemption is the dealer's problem, not the buyer's.
Either way, the desk still owns the rest of the cross-border chain: the title work, the temp tag, and making sure the deal doesn't go quiet while paperwork sits. Tracking every in-flight title, temp tag, and out-of-state registration is exactly what Voltra's title tracking is for.
Buying in Florida from out of state
If you live in another state and buy in Florida, the deciding rule is where the vehicle gets registered: your home state's tax applies at registration, and what happens at the Florida sale depends on the row above. Florida credits sales tax legally paid to another state, so the same dollars are not taxed twice. Exception: no full credit for tax paid to Alaska, Washington, DC, Georgia, Montana, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia.[3]
Registration and temp tags
An out-of-state-registered vehicle must be registered in Florida within 10 days of the owner becoming employed, placing children in public school, or establishing residency. First-time registrants without a Florida plate in their name pay the $225 initial registration fee and must show proof of Florida insurance.[6] Florida dealers issue 30-day temporary tags. FLHSMV procedure RS-31 lists a vehicle sold in Florida to a resident of another state for registration in their home state as a 30-day temp tag use; one additional 30-day tag may follow, and the DR-123 nonresident tax must be handled at issuance. Validity: 30 days.[5]
Bordering states
Cross-border deals from Florida most often involve Alabama and Georgia. Every pair works differently: check both states’ rules before you write a check.
Vehicle-type exceptions
RVs (travel trailers, campers, motor homes, fifth-wheels) and trailers count as motor vehicles under Florida's sales tax rules, so the same 6% rate, county surtax on the first $5,000, trade-in deduction, and nonresident partial-exemption rules apply to them.[2]
Sources
- floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx · verified 2026-07-05
- floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/brochure/gt800030.pdf · verified 2026-07-05
- floridarevenue.com/taxes/tips/Documents/TIP_26A01-01.pdf · verified 2026-07-05
- www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0501/Sections/0501.976.html · verified 2026-07-05
- www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/proc/rs/rs-31.pdf · verified 2026-07-05
- www.flhsmv.gov/motor-vehicles-tags-titles/license-plates-registration/motor-vehicle-registrations/ · verified 2026-07-05