Does Florida still charge sales tax on commercial rent?

No. Effective October 1, 2025, the state sales tax on rent for commercial real property was repealed, and the discretionary county surtax on that rent went with it. This covers office, retail, warehouse and self-storage space.

My tenant is paying August 2025 rent late. Do I charge tax on it?

Yes. What matters is the occupancy period, not the payment date. Rent for any period through September 2025 is still taxable at 2% plus any county surtax, even if the money arrives now. Paying late does not avoid the tax.

I paid sales tax on rent for a period after October 1, 2025. How do I get it back?

From your landlord, not from the state. A tenant who paid tax to a landlord when no tax was due has to get the refund from that landlord. The landlord then refunds you first and afterwards claims it back from the Department on Form DR-26S.

Is parking or self-storage still taxable in Florida?

Self-storage units are covered by the repeal and are no longer taxed. Parking is not — parking and storage spaces for motor vehicles, boat docking and marina storage, and aircraft tie-down are taxed under a different statute that was not repealed, and they remain taxable.

Do I need to close my sales tax account if I only collected on commercial rent?

No. File the returns for your final reporting periods through September 2025, including any with no tax due, and the Department updates the account automatically. If rent for a pre-October 2025 period arrives later, you still have to report and remit the tax on it.

I rent chairs to stylists in my salon. Does the repeal apply to me?

Yes. The Department addresses this case directly. Rent or license fees for occupancy periods through September 2025 are taxable; anything from October 1, 2025 onward is not.

Florida Commercial Rent Tax: Repealed October 1, 2025

The short version

No state sales tax and no county surtax on commercial rent for occupancy periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025.
Rent for periods through September 2025 is still taxable at 2% plus surtax — even if paid late.
Parking, boat docking and aircraft tie-down are still taxable under a different statute.

If you are reading conflicting answers on this, that is because most of what is published predates the change. Florida taxed commercial rent from 1969 until last autumn, alone among the fifty states, and a great deal of still-indexed advice — including from accounting firms — quotes the old rate as current.

What changed

HB 7031, signed June 30, 2025, repealed section 212.031, Florida Statutes, which had imposed sales tax on rent and license fees for commercial real property. The repeal took effect October 1, 2025 and covers office space, retail space, warehouses and self-storage units. The discretionary county surtax that rode on top of it is gone too.

The rate had been stepping down for a while: 4.5%, then 2% from June 2024, then nothing.

The date that governs is the occupancy period, not the payment

This is where the mistakes happen, in both directions. The Department’s own two examples:

Still taxable

Tenant pays August 2025 rent in October 2025. Tax is due — 2% plus surtax. “Delayed payment of rent for taxable rental periods does not avoid tax.”

Not taxable

Tenant pays October 2025 rent in September 2025. No tax — but the landlord still files a September return even if nothing is due.

What is still taxable — read this part

“Florida doesn’t tax commercial rent any more” is true and incomplete, and the gap is expensive. A separate statute, section 212.03, was not repealed. Sales tax and surtax still apply to:

Transient rentals — living, sleeping or housekeeping accommodations rented for six months or less
Parking and storage spaces for motor vehicles in parking lots or garages
Docking and storage for boats at boat docks or marinas
Tie-down and storage for aircraft at airports

Note the trap in the middle of that list: a self-storage unit is covered by the repeal and is no longer taxed, but a parking garage is not. They feel like the same kind of business and they sit under different statutes.

If tax was paid when it shouldn’t have been

The refund route surprises people, because it does not go where you would expect.

Tenants claim from the landlord, not the state. If you paid tax to a landlord when none was due, the Department will not refund you — the landlord has to.
Landlords refund the tenant first, then apply to the Department on Form DR-26S with documentation showing the tenant was made whole. Claims go in online (opens in new tab).

The common case is a tenant who prepaid October–December 2025 rent, with tax, back in the middle of 2025 when everyone still expected to owe it.

Landlords: what happens to your tax account

File your final returns for periods through September 2025 — including any period with no tax due.
Don’t ask for the account to be closed. If it was used only for commercial rent, the Department updates it automatically once the final returns are in.
Don’t report non-taxable rent. Semiannual and annual filers whose period straddles October 1 leave the post-repeal rent off the return entirely.
Existing penalties and interest are not forgiven. The repeal does not wipe a late-filing liability.
Keep the records — generally three years.
If the account also reports other taxable sales, it carries on as normal.

Cases the Department answered directly

Salon chair rental. Renting floor space to independent stylists is covered — stop collecting for occupancy from October 1, 2025.
Vending and amusement machine agreements. License fees granting the right to use real property are covered.
Direct pay permit holders self-accruing tax on real property leases: the repeal applies to you too.
Scholarship credits. No new Florida Tax Credit Scholarship allocations tied to commercial rent were issued from July 1, 2025; credits already earned could be used against tax on rent through September 2025.

Common questions

Does Florida still charge sales tax on commercial rent?: No. Effective October 1, 2025, the state sales tax on rent for commercial real property was repealed, and the discretionary county surtax on that rent went with it. This covers office, retail, warehouse and self-storage space.
My tenant is paying August 2025 rent late. Do I charge tax on it?: Yes. What matters is the occupancy period, not the payment date. Rent for any period through September 2025 is still taxable at 2% plus any county surtax, even if the money arrives now. Paying late does not avoid the tax.
I paid sales tax on rent for a period after October 1, 2025. How do I get it back?: From your landlord, not from the state. A tenant who paid tax to a landlord when no tax was due has to get the refund from that landlord. The landlord then refunds you first and afterwards claims it back from the Department on Form DR-26S.
Is parking or self-storage still taxable in Florida?: Self-storage units are covered by the repeal and are no longer taxed. Parking is not — parking and storage spaces for motor vehicles, boat docking and marina storage, and aircraft tie-down are taxed under a different statute that was not repealed, and they remain taxable.
Do I need to close my sales tax account if I only collected on commercial rent?: No. File the returns for your final reporting periods through September 2025, including any with no tax due, and the Department updates the account automatically. If rent for a pre-October 2025 period arrives later, you still have to report and remit the tax on it.
I rent chairs to stylists in my salon. Does the repeal apply to me?: Yes. The Department addresses this case directly. Rent or license fees for occupancy periods through September 2025 are taxable; anything from October 1, 2025 onward is not.

Not sure how this lands on your books?

Straddling periods, prepaid rent and refund claims are exactly the kind of thing worth ten minutes of a CPA’s time. Tell us what you need and we’ll connect you with one in Florida — free, no obligation.

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Every fact on this page comes from the Florida Department of Revenue’s Tax Information Publication 25A01-04 (opens in new tab), issued July 24, 2025, and from sections 37 and 49 of Chapter 2025-208, Laws of Florida. Read September 20, 2026. This is general information, not tax advice — the Department’s own publication is the authority, and your situation may turn on facts it does not cover.