Commercial Lease Tax Study
Study Led to Reduction in Commercial Lease Tax
After a 2013 study showed that removing this tax would produce $10 billion in economic benefits to Florida, the Legislature to date has approved several reductions.
The report, Economic Impact of Sales Tax Exemption for Commercial Leases in the State of Florida, was prepared by Fishkind and Associates. It contains a detailed examination and evaluation of the economic impact of sales tax exemptions for commercial leases in Florida.
Download the report (PDF, 668k, 44 pages)
Key findings
- Commercial lease sales tax, charged at the rate of 6 percent on gross lease revenues, represents an estimated $1.99 billion in revenue to the State of Florida in 2019.
- Economic analysis shows removing the lease tax increases annual employment growth by 184,500 jobs.
- Removing the commercial lease sales tax revenue will produce an estimated five-fold increase in economic benefits to the State of Florida.
Actions taken
Due in part to the study, the Florida Legislature passed a cut to the state tax on commercial leases, otherwise known as the Business Rent Tax. The law, which passed in October 2017, took effect January 1, 2018.
Download an overview of the Business Rent Tax reduction (PDF, 664k, 4 pages)