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State Guide Last verified July 5, 2026

Florida Car Sales Tax, Trade-In Credit, and Out-of-State Rules

What the desk and the buyer each need to know when a Florida deal crosses state lines: the rate, the trade-in math, the exemption paperwork, and the drive-home tags. Every fact links to the official source.

Check an Out-of-State Deal Jump to Quick Facts

Every fact sourced to Florida official publications below

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 applies to a retail dealer purchase; lease deals and private-party sales follow their own rules in most states.

Florida car sales tax quick facts

Last verified July 5, 2026
Sales tax rate on vehicles6% state plus up to 2.5% local (depends on buyer address)[1]
Trade-in creditFlorida taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted.[2]
Selling to an out-of-state buyerFlorida collects tax at the buyer's home-state rate, capped at Florida's own rate.[3]
Credit for tax paid to another stateFlorida 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 feeNo statutory cap[4] · taxable[2]
Temp tag for the drive homeFlorida 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 registrationAn 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]
General information, not tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change. Before you write a check, confirm with the Florida Department of Revenue or your accountant. Last verified July 5, 2026. Covers retail dealer sales; leases and private-party sales follow different rules in most states.

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 exemption lives or dies on Form DR-123 (Affidavit for Partial Exemption of Motor Vehicle Sold to a Resident of Another State), signed at delivery. Lose that paper and the uncollected tax lands on the store, not the customer.

Either way, collecting the right tax is the easy part. The title work, the temp tag, and the out-of-state registration still have to land, and Voltra's title tracking keeps each one aging in plain sight.

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. Each combination carries its own quirks; run the pair through the out-of-state checker.

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

  1. floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx · verified 2026-07-05
  2. floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/brochure/gt800030.pdf · verified 2026-07-05
  3. floridarevenue.com/taxes/tips/Documents/TIP_26A01-01.pdf · verified 2026-07-05
  4. www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0501/Sections/0501.976.html · verified 2026-07-05
  5. www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/proc/rs/rs-31.pdf · verified 2026-07-05
  6. www.flhsmv.gov/motor-vehicles-tags-titles/license-plates-registration/motor-vehicle-registrations/ · verified 2026-07-05

Florida car sales tax questions

Florida taxes vehicle sales at 6% state plus up to 2.5% local (depends on buyer address). The rate lands on the taxable price the dealer works up at the desk, so trade-in treatment and doc fees move the final bill.

Florida taxes the price after the trade-in is deducted. That rule moves the taxable price, which is why the same deal pencils out to different tax in different states.

Florida collects tax at the buyer's home-state rate, capped at Florida's own rate. The exemption runs on Form DR-123 (Affidavit for Partial Exemption of Motor Vehicle Sold to a Resident of Another State), completed at delivery.

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.

Florida does not cap dealer doc fees by statute. The doc fee is taxed along with the vehicle.