Florida Income Tax for Canadians: What You Still Owe

No. Florida doesn’t tax the income of individuals, so there’s no Florida return to file, whether you winter there or live there full time. That doesn’t make Florida tax-free for a Canadian, though. If you’re still a Canadian resident, Canada taxes your income from everywhere, and the IRS taxes your US-source income, like rent from a Florida condo. For how winters in the US fit together, start with our snowbird tax guide.

Does Florida have a state income tax?

Not for individuals. The Florida Department of Revenue says plainly that “Florida does not impose a personal income tax, so there are no filing requirements” for people, though businesses do have filing requirements. That covers wages, pensions, rent, dividends and capital gains alike, and it holds whether you’re a full-time resident or a snowbird.

The rule sits in the Florida Constitution, Article VII, section 5. It bars any state tax on the income of natural persons who are residents or citizens of Florida beyond what could be credited or deducted against a similar tax levied by the United States or any state. Florida levies none, and the Department of Revenue’s answer on income tax filing confirms there’s nothing to file.

A few related points from the Department of Revenue:

• Capital gains. Its capital gains answer says Florida “does not have an income tax for individuals, and therefore, no capital gains tax for individuals.” Corporations are different.
• Inheritance and gifts. The new residents brochure (GT-800025) says Florida “does not impose personal income tax, inheritance tax, gift taxes, or tax on intangible personal property.”
• Estate tax. The estate tax page says a federal change “eliminated Florida’s estate tax on people who died after December 31, 2004.” The US federal estate tax still applies to a Canadian’s US property, which is a separate question.

What taxes does Florida charge instead?

Florida raises its money from spending, property and transactions. The state sales tax is 6 percent, counties can add a surtax, short stays in a condo carry their own tax, and real estate is taxed by counties every year. Deeds, mortgages and notes pay documentary stamp tax, and corporations pay income tax. Most of these hit a Canadian whether or not they ever become a Florida resident.

Tax	Does Florida charge it?	Who it hits
Personal income tax	No	Nobody
Capital gains tax on individuals	No	Nobody
Estate, inheritance and gift tax	No (estate tax ended for deaths after 2004)	Nobody at the state level
Sales and use tax	Yes, 6 percent state rate plus county surtax	Anyone buying taxable goods or services in Florida
Transient rental tax	Yes, 6 percent on rentals of six months or less, plus surtax and county tourist tax	Guests, collected and remitted by the owner or manager
Property tax	Yes, levied by counties	Every owner; the homestead exemption is for permanent residents only
Documentary stamp tax	Yes	Deeds, mortgages, notes
Corporate income tax	Yes, 5.5 percent	Corporations, including foreign ones doing business or earning income in Florida

The details, from the Department of Revenue and the statutes:

• Sales tax. The sales tax page says “Florida’s general state sales tax rate is 6%.” The discretionary surtax page says county rates “currently range from .5% to 2%,” and some counties charge none.
• Short-term rentals. Section 212.03 taxes condominium and similar rentals at 6 percent of the total rent, but not a bona fide written lease of more than six months. Counties can add tourist development taxes on rentals of six months or less, with maximum rates of 3 to 6 percent depending on the county.
• Documentary stamp tax. The documentary stamp tax page sets deeds at 70 cents per $100 of consideration (60 cents in Miami-Dade, plus a 45 cent surtax on some Miami-Dade transfers) and notes at 35 cents per $100, with the tax on a note capped at $2,450. A mortgage is taxed at the same 35 cents per $100 of the amount it secures, and the Department says there’s no cap on that tax.
• Corporate income tax. The corporate tax page lists 5.5 percent for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, and section 220.14 exempts the first $50,000 of net income.

Do Canadian snowbirds pay tax in Florida?

A snowbird pays Florida’s sales tax on what they buy and property tax on what they own, but no Florida income tax. The income tax goes to Canada and, on US-source income only, to the IRS. A snowbird who stays a Canadian resident files a full Canadian return on world income, and only needs a US return if they have US income or claim the closer connection exception.

On the Canadian side, the CRA’s page on factual residents lists “spending part of the year in the U.S., for example, for health reasons or on vacation” as a situation where you may still be a resident. In that case your income “is taxed as if you never left Canada,” and you report “all income you receive from sources inside and outside Canada.”

On the US side, the IRS taxes nonresident aliens on two kinds of income: income effectively connected with a US trade or business, at graduated rates, and US-source investment-type income, at a flat 30 percent or a lower treaty rate with no deductions. Canadian pensions and Canadian-source investment income aren’t US-source, so they stay out of it. Dividends from US companies are US-source under IRC 861(a)(2), even when they’re paid into a Canadian brokerage account.

The day count is what can change all of this. The IRS substantial presence test makes you a US resident if you’re in the US at least 31 days this year and 183 days over three years, counting this year’s days, a third of last year’s and a sixth of the year before. A snowbird who crosses that line but keeps a closer connection to Canada can file Form 8840 to stay a nonresident. The Form 8840 instructions say that without a US return, you mail it by the 1040-NR due date, which the 1040-NR instructions put at June 15, 2026 for 2025 when you had no US wages.

Do I owe tax on renting out my Florida condo?

Yes, on three fronts. Florida charges its 6 percent transient rental tax, county surtax and tourist tax on stays of six months or less. The IRS taxes the rent as US-source income. And Canada taxes it too if you’re a Canadian resident, with a credit for the US tax. Florida still takes no income tax from the profit itself.

The US side has a choice in it. IRS Publication 519 says a nonresident with income from US real property held for the production of income “can choose to treat all income from that property as income effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States,” and if you do, you “can claim deductions attributable to the real property income and only your net income from real property is taxed.” Without that choice, the rent is taxed at a flat 30 percent of the gross. Article VI of the Canada-US treaty lets the US tax rent from US real property, and Article XXIV(2) has Canada give a credit for the US income tax on US-source income, subject to Canadian law.

If you rent for only a few days a year, read the 14-day rule for a Canadian’s Florida condo first. For platform rentals, the snowbird Airbnb tax picture covers the platform side.

Can a Canadian get the Florida homestead exemption?

Only if Florida is genuinely your permanent home. Section 196.031 gives the exemption to a person who, on January 1, holds title and “in good faith makes the property his or her permanent residence.” A snowbird whose permanent home is in Canada generally can’t claim it, while someone who has moved to Florida can.

What it’s worth, from the statute and the Florida Constitution:

• The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes.
• A second exemption of up to $25,000 applies to assessed value above $50,000, for all levies other than school district levies. That second amount is indexed for inflation each January 1.
• Once a home is homestead, Article VII, section 4(d) caps yearly increases in its assessed value at the lower of 3 percent or the change in the consumer price index.
• Section 196.011 requires the application by March 1, and missing it generally waives the exemption for that year (the statute has limited late-filing exceptions).

So a Canadian who moves in and owns the home by January 1, 2027 would apply by March 1, 2027.

What changes if I move to Florida for good?

Florida’s side barely changes: still no income tax, plus the homestead exemption if you qualify. The federal picture changes completely. As a US resident you’re taxed by the IRS on worldwide income, and leaving Canada triggers a final Canadian return with departure tax on most of your property. Our guide to moving from Canada to Florida walks through that sequence.

Three points from the sources:

• US tax on everything. Publication 519 says resident aliens are taxed on income “from sources both within and outside the United States.”
• Departure tax. The CRA’s deemed disposition page says that when you stop being a resident, you’re deemed to have sold most property at fair market value and bought it back. Canadian real estate and pension plans are among the exceptions.
• CPP and OAS. Under treaty Article XVIII(5), Canadian social security benefits paid to a US resident are “taxable only in” the US, and the US taxes them as if they were US Social Security.

Our broader guide to moving from Canada to the US covers the planning before the move.

If you’d rather have someone run your own numbers, see what a cross-border tax accountant in Florida handles for Canadians already there.

This guide is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Which points apply, and how, depends on your facts.