Taxes – Are You Living in Florida?

The tax laws vary from one state to the other. In some states, you’d find high property taxes. In few sates, the government various options tax relief that allow a taxpayer to pay less tax than other states. Florida is one such state in which you don’t need to pay state income tax. In this tax friendly state, you can save up to ten percent of your annual income every year. Moreover, you won’t pay gift or estate taxes while living in Florida. It sounds government of sate of Florida provides lot of options to save money to its people however, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to pay any taxes.

In Florida, you don’t need to pay state tax however; you’d need to pay sales tax. Ever sale, storage fee, admission charge or rental in Florida is taxable. There are some other services also fall in this category. However, in some cases you get few exemptions and you can check those options with state tax authorities or get information on their website. Generally, you pay around six percent sales tax in Florida which is bit higher, if you compare with other states. You’d be paying less than 5 percent sales tax in other states.

Besides sales tax, you’d also need to pay Florida county sales tax which is also known as discretionary sales tax. The tax rate could be anywhere between 0.25 and1 percent. In most of the sales which could include motor vehicles, you’d need to pay discretionary sales tax. The rate will depend on the county in which the good are being delivered.

Like other states, in Florida as well, you need to pay property taxes on your home and other real estate properties. There is no fixed rate as it is calculated by the county every year. County appraiser is the person who assesses the property tax rate. The rate is not fixed but there is no need to be scared that the rate will shoot up unexpectedly next year as it is limited by “Save Our Homes Amendment.” If you’re living in Florida, you’d also need to pay Use Tax which would be made on large purchases outside the state. If you brought your large scale purchases in Florida within last six months, you’re liable to pay sales tax. In case you’ve already paid taxes in another state for the same product and if the amount was lower than the Florida state sales tax, then you only need to pay the difference. If you’ve paid taxes in another country then you’d need to make payment for the complete amount.

Documentary stamp tax is another kind of tax that you’d need to pay while living in Florida. You’d pay documentary stamp tax on things such as mortgages, promissory notes, warranty deeds and documents that are responsible in transferring interest in Florida property. The tax plays a vital role in Florida closing costs while purchasing any property in the state.

You can save a lot of money while living in Florida; you just need to have information on how tax laws works in the state.