How to Calculate Sales Tax in the State of Florida

The Florida Department of Revenue imposes a state sales tax and allows cities and counties to impose additional sales taxes should they so choose. As of 2010, the Florida state rate equals 6 percent. By using Florida's online database, you can find the total sales tax rate based on where in the state you are making your purchase. Florida does not charge sales tax on some items including certain medical items and general groceries.

Instructions

1. Look up the sales tax rate on the Florida Department of Revenue Tax Rate Lookup. You will need the address in Florida to determine the sales tax rate.

2. Divide the sales tax rate by 100 to convert from a percentage to a decimal. For example, if the sales tax rate equals 6.5 percent, you would divide 6.5 by 100 to get 0.065.

3. Multiply the sales tax rate written as a decimal by the purchase amount to find the sales taxes for Florida. Finishing the example, if you purchased $142 of taxable goods, you would multiply $142 by 0.065 to find the sales tax to be $9.23.

References

• Florida Department of Revenue: Florida Sales and Use Tax
• College Cram: Calculating Sales Tax
• Florida Department of Revenue: Nontaxable Medical Items and General Grocery List

Resources

• Florida Department of Revenue: Tax Rate Address Lookup