Everything a local business needs to know about collecting, filing, and paying Florida sales tax in St. Johns County — written by the team that reconciles it for local businesses every month.
Combined rate in St. Johns County (6% Florida state tax + 0.5% county discretionary sales surtax, 2026)
of the month following your reporting period
filed through the DOR’s File and Pay portal; register first with Form DR-1
On this page: Who must collect · Registering · Rates & surtax · Filing & due dates · Common mistakes · FAQ
1. Who must collect sales tax in Florida
If your business sells taxable goods or certain services in Florida, you’re required to register with the Florida Department of Revenue and collect sales tax from your customers at the time of sale. This covers more businesses than most owners expect. You generally must register if you are:
- Selling taxable items at retail (in-store or online)
- Repairing or altering tangible personal property
- Renting or leasing personal property like vehicles, machinery, or equipment
- Renting short-term living accommodations (six months or less)
- Charging admission to any place of amusement, sport, or recreation
- Providing certain taxable services, such as nonresidential cleaning or nonresidential pest control
- An out-of-state seller with more than $100,000 in remote sales into Florida in the prior calendar year
Even a side business or booth vendor can trigger the registration requirement. If you’re not sure whether what you sell is taxable, that’s exactly the kind of question we answer every week — ask us before the Department asks you.
2. Registering with the Florida Department of Revenue
Registration is free and done online through the Department’s registration portal (floridarevenue.com/taxes/registration), or by paper using the Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1). Each business location must be registered separately.
Once registered, you’ll receive a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11), which must be displayed at your business location, and a Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13), which lets you buy inventory tax-free when you intend to resell it. Resale certificates expire December 31 each year; active dealers who e-file print their own renewal.
Two things owners forget: if you move your business to a different county, add a location, or change your legal entity or ownership, the Department needs to know — an entity or ownership change requires a brand-new application, not just an update.
3. Rates: state tax + St. Johns County surtax
Florida’s general state sales tax rate is 6%. St. Johns County adds a 0.5% discretionary sales surtax, making the combined rate 6.5% on most taxable sales delivered into the county.
St. Johns County’s surtax is a school capital outlay surtax — first approved by voters in 2015 and renewed in the November 2024 election, it’s now extended through December 31, 2035 and funds school construction, technology, and safety projects in our county’s schools.
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Florida state rate | 6% |
| St. Johns County surtax | 0.5% |
| Combined rate | 6.5% |
The county surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the sales price of a single item of tangible personal property. Above $5,000, only the 6% state rate applies to the remainder. The cap does NOT apply to services or commercial rent. Example: on a $12,000 piece of equipment, you collect 6.5% on the first $5,000 and 6% on the remaining $7,000.
Florida is a destination-based state: when you deliver goods into another county, you charge that county’s combined rate, not St. Johns’. For 2026, our neighbors all charge more than we do — Duval 7.5%, Clay 7.5%, Flagler 7%, Putnam 7% — so a St. Johns business delivering into Jacksonville must collect a full percentage point more than at home.
| County | County surtax | Combined rate |
|---|---|---|
| St. Johns County | 0.5% | 6.5% |
| Duval | 1.5% | 7.5% |
| Clay | 1.5% | 7.5% |
| Flagler | 1% | 7% |
| Putnam | 1% | 7% |
Special cases: the surtax for motor vehicles and mobile homes follows the purchaser’s home county, not where the sale happens. For any other Florida address, the DOR’s Address/Jurisdiction Database returns the correct rate.
4. Filing frequency, due dates & the collection allowance
The Department assigns your filing frequency based on how much sales tax you collect per year. Most new businesses start quarterly:
| Sales tax collected annually | Filing frequency |
|---|---|
| More than $1,000 | Monthly |
| $501 – $1,000 | Quarterly |
| $101 – $500 | Semiannually |
| $100 or less | Annually |
Returns (Form DR-15) and payments are due on the 1st of the month following your reporting period and are late after the 20th. Here’s the trap that catches even careful owners: if you pay electronically, your payment must be initiated — with a confirmation number — by 5:00 p.m. ET on the business day BEFORE the 20th. Waiting until the 20th itself makes an electronic payment late.
A return is required for every period, even when you owe nothing. Skipping a “zero return” still triggers the $50 minimum penalty.
If you paid $5,000 or more in sales tax during the state’s prior fiscal year (July–June), you’re required to file and pay electronically — paper filing after that adds $10 + $10 penalties per return.
When you e-file and e-pay on time, Florida lets you keep 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due — up to $30 per location per period. That’s up to $360 a year for a monthly filer, just for being punctual and electronic. Paper filers get nothing.
Late returns cost 10% of the tax due (minimum $50), plus floating interest that the Department updates every January 1 and July 1.
5. The mistakes we fix most often
- Including collected tax in gross sales on the DR-15 — inflates the tax due and generates a bill from the Department.
- Missing the 5 p.m.-the-day-before electronic payment cutoff — the return looks on time, the payment isn’t.
- Skipping zero returns during slow months or seasonal closures.
- Charging the St. Johns rate on deliveries into other counties (or vice versa) — Florida taxes at the delivery destination.
- Applying the 0.5% surtax to the full price of big-ticket items instead of capping it at $5,000.
- Using an expired resale certificate, or accepting one from a customer without documenting it.
Frequently asked questions
6.5% — Florida’s 6% state sales tax plus St. Johns County’s 0.5% discretionary sales surtax (2026).
For single items of tangible personal property, the 0.5% county portion applies only to the first $5,000; the 6% state rate applies to the full amount. Services and commercial rent aren’t subject to the cap.
The 1st of the month after your reporting period, late after the 20th — but electronic payments must be initiated by 5 p.m. ET the business day before the 20th.
Yes. A return is due for every reporting period, even with zero tax. Missing one triggers a minimum $50 penalty.
A reward for timely electronic filing: keep 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due, up to $30 per period. Paper filers don’t qualify.
Florida taxes at the delivery destination — a shipment into St. Johns County gets 6.5% regardless of where you’re located. Out-of-state sellers must register once Florida remote sales top $100,000 in a calendar year.
Behind on sales tax, or not sure you’re filing right?
Sales tax reconciliation is one of our core services. We’ll get you caught up and accurate.
This guide is general information current as of September 2026, not tax advice for your specific situation. Rates, thresholds, and rules change — verify current figures with the Florida Department of Revenue (floridarevenue.com) or contact us.