Overview of Florida Retirement Tax Friendliness
Florida has no state income tax, which means Social Security retirement benefits, pension income and income from an IRA or a 401(k) are all untaxed. Florida has no estate or inheritance tax, and property and sales tax rates are close to national marks.
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Florida Retirement Taxes
The Sunshine State is one of the ultimate retirement destinations for seniors. It has famously pleasant weather, countless golf courses and beautiful beaches. Florida’s tropical lifestyle can be a big draw for retirees who are done with snow and ice.
But warm winters and green fairways aren’t the only reason people 65 and older comprise more than a fifth of Florida’s population, one of the highest percentages in the U.S. The state’s tax system is an equally large factor.
Florida has no income tax, which means all forms of retirement income (including Social Security) are tax-free at the state level. It doesn’t end there, however. While most income tax-free states make up for the lost revenue with high taxes on property or sales, Florida’s sales and property tax rates are close to the national average.
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Is Florida tax-friendly for retirees?
Florida is extremely tax-friendly, as it boasts no state income tax, which means Social Security income, pension income and income from an IRA or 401(k) all goes untaxed. That alone could mean thousands in tax savings for retirees as compared with other states. Additionally, Florida has no estate or inheritance tax.
Is Social Security taxable in Florida?
The state of Florida won’t tax your Social Security income at all.
Are other forms of retirement income taxable in Florida?
Florida has no state income tax. That means any earnings, whether from wages, pensions or retirement accounts, are tax-free at the state level. Even if you have an IRA in which you have accumulated savings over the years through income in another state, if you move to Florida, your withdrawals will not be taxed.
How high are property taxes in Florida?
Although property taxes are one of the main sources of revenue for local governments in Florida, property tax rates are not especially high. The state’s median effective property tax rate is 0.86%, just below the U.S. median of 1.01%.
At $248,700, the median home value in Florida is lower than the national median ($281,900). That's fairly neutral news for seniors, who tend to spend a significant portion of their income on housing. Keep in mind, however, that in some areas, such as the city of Miami, housing costs are much higher than elsewhere in the state.
What is the Florida homestead exemption?
Florida’s homestead exemption is available to Florida homeowners and can be applied toward their principal residence. It exempts $25,000 of a home’s assessed value from property taxes, with an additional exemption of $25,000 for your home's assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 for non-school property taxes.
Depending on your local property tax rate, the homestead exemption could mean hundreds of dollars in tax savings per year. In some Florida counties, senior citizens ages 65 and over could qualify for an additional homestead exemption of up to $50,000.
In fact, some counties or municipalities may allow senior citizens with income below a certain level to exempt the entire value of their property from taxes. Contact your local board of county commissioners or municipal government to see if you're eligible.
How high are sales taxes in Florida?
When considering both state and local rates, sales taxes in Florida are pretty close to the national average. The statewide rate is 6%, and the maximum total rate, including local taxes, is 8.25%. Those rates do not apply to groceries or medicine, however, which are two major expenses for seniors.
What other Florida taxes should I be concerned about?
There really isn't anything else to be worried about, as Florida does not levy an estate or inheritance tax.
Most Tax Friendly Places for Retirees
SmartAsset’s interactive map highlights the places in the country with tax policies that are most favorable to retirees. Zoom between states and the national map to see the most tax-friendly places in each area of the country.
Methodology Our study aims to find the areas with the most tax-friendly policies for retirees. To do that we looked at how the tax policies of each city would impact a retiree with a $50,000 income. Our hypothetical retiree is getting $15,000 from Social Security benefits, $10,000 from a private pension, $15,000 from retirement savings like a 401(k) or IRA and $10,000 in wages.
To calculate the expected income tax this person would pay in each location we applied deductions and exemptions. This included the standard deduction, personal exemption and deductions for each specific type of retirement income. We then calculated how much this person would pay in income tax at the federal, state, county and local levels.
We calculated the effective property tax rate by dividing median property tax paid by median home value for each city.
In order to determine sales tax burden we estimated that 35% of take-home (after-tax) pay is spent on taxable goods. We multiplied the average sales tax rate for a city by the household income less income tax. This product is then multiplied by 35% to estimate the sales tax paid.
For fuel taxes, we first distributed statewide vehicle miles traveled down to the city level using the number of vehicles in each county. We then calculated miles driven per capita in each city. Using the nationwide average fuel economy, we calculated the average gallons of gas used per capita in each city and multiplied that by the fuel tax.
For each city we determined whether or not Social Security income was taxable.
Finally, we created an overall index weighted to best capture the taxes that most affect retirees. We gave a 4x weighting to income tax, 3x weighting to property tax rate, a 2x weighting to sales tax and 1x weighting to fuel tax.
Sources: Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, state websites, local government websites, US Census Bureau 2014 American Community Survey, Avalara, American Petroleum Institute, GasBuddy, UMTRI, Federal Highway Administration
