Sales tax on food truck sales in Florida
How does sales tax work for a food truck in Florida?
Florida food truck meals are taxable, including to go
Food a Florida truck prepares for immediate eating is taxable. That holds even when the customer walks away with it.
The grocery exemption does not help here. It covers food bought to take home and prepare. A burrito handed through the window is a meal.
Street-corner concession sales are named directly. Food and drinks sold for 10 cents or more from those stands are taxable.
Florida taxes food sold for immediate consumption by restaurants and similar businesses, even if sold on a to-go or take-out basis. — Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800035, retrieved 2026-09-27
10 centsFlorida taxes food, drinks and other items priced 10 cents or more when sold from concession stands at fairs, stadiums, street corners and similar locations. — Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800003, retrieved 2026-09-27
The Florida rate is 6 percent plus the county surtax
The state rate is 6 percent. Most counties add a discretionary sales surtax on top.
The surtax follows the county where you make the sale. A truck that works three counties in a week may charge three rates.
A few counties charge no surtax at all. The table shows the 2026 figures for some large ones. Check the Department of Revenue's current list before each calendar year.
| County | Surtax | Total with 6% state rate |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | 1% | 7% |
| Broward | 1% | 7% |
| Palm Beach | 0.5% | 6.5% |
| Orange | 0.5% | 6.5% |
| Hillsborough | 1.5% | 7.5% |
| Duval | 1.5% | 7.5% |
| Pinellas | 1% | 7% |
| Collier | None | 6% |
6%Florida restaurant and food service sales are generally subject to the 6 percent state sales tax plus any applicable discretionary sales surtax. — Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800035, retrieved 2026-09-27
For calendar year 2026, Florida lists a 1.5 percent surtax in Hillsborough and Duval, 0.5 percent in Orange and Palm Beach, and none in Collier. — Florida Department of Revenue, Form DR-15DSS, retrieved 2026-09-27
Tax-included menu prices and the Florida divisor
Many trucks post round prices with tax included. Florida gives concession sellers a divisor to back the tax out.
Divide total receipts by the divisor for the county's combined rate. The result is your taxable sales. The difference from receipts is the tax due.
At a 7 percent combined rate, the divisor is 1.0751. So $1,000 of tax-included receipts means about $930.15 of sales and $69.85 of tax.
| Combined rate | Divisor |
|---|---|
| 6% | 1.0659 |
| 6.5% | 1.0697 |
| 7% | 1.0751 |
| 7.5% | 1.0795 |
| 8% | 1.0839 |
1.0751Florida concession sellers divide total receipts by the county's tax rate divisor, such as 1.0751 at a 7 percent combined rate, to find gross sales and tax due. — Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800003, retrieved 2026-09-27
Tips, service charges and packaging on a Florida truck
A tip is not taxable if it is itemized on the receipt and the business keeps none of it. A mandatory service charge is taxable.
That matters for event catering. A 15 percent "service fee" on a private booking is part of the taxable price.
Single-use packaging that goes out with the food is not taxed. Cups, bags, napkins, straws and disposable utensils qualify. Buy them tax-exempt with your annual resale certificate, Form DR-13. Cookware and equipment you keep are taxable purchases.
In Florida, tips are not taxable when separately itemized and the dealer receives no monetary benefit, but service charges are part of the taxable sales price. — Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800035, retrieved 2026-09-27
Florida restaurants may use the Florida Annual Resale Certificate, Form DR-13, to buy single-use packaging such as cups, bags and napkins tax-exempt. — Florida Department of Revenue, GT-800035, retrieved 2026-09-27
When a Florida food truck files its sales tax return
Your filing frequency depends on how much tax you collect in a year. Most busy trucks file monthly.
Returns are due on the 1st and late after the 20th of the month after the period. Filing and paying electronically earns a small collection allowance.
The allowance is 2.5 percent of the first $1,200 of tax due, up to $30 per return. It is small, but it adds up over twelve monthly returns.
| Annual tax collected | Filing frequency |
|---|---|
| More than $1,000 | Monthly |
| $501 to $1,000 | Quarterly |
| $101 to $500 | Semiannual |
| $100 or less | Annual |
$30Florida sales tax returns are due on the 1st and late after the 20th of the following month, and electronic filers may keep 2.5 percent of the first $1,200 of tax due, up to $30. — Florida Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-27
Keep sales records by county from the first Florida sale
Log each day's sales against the county you sold in. The surtax depends on where each sale happened, and bank deposits will not tell you that later.
Most card readers can tag a location. Use it. Count cash sales against the same location.
Register before your first sale if you have not already. The setup sequence covers registration. Where you can operate covers the local rules that come with each spot, and the annual report and income tax covers the other yearly filings.
Florida businesses must register each location to collect, report and pay sales tax. — Florida Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-27
Questions
Is food from a Florida food truck exempt as groceries?
No. Florida taxes food prepared for immediate consumption, even when sold to go. The grocery exemption covers food products bought for later preparation, not meals handed over ready to eat.
Which county's surtax do I charge at an event?
The surtax of the county where the sale is made. Florida's concession guidance tells sellers to use the tax rate divisor for the county where the sales took place, so an event in another county uses that county's rate.
Are tips on my food truck's card reader taxable?
Not if the tip is separately itemized on the receipt and the business receives no monetary benefit from it. A mandatory service charge added to the bill is taxable as part of the sale.