New 2025 Florida sales tax holidays

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has released his budget proposal for fiscal year 2025–2026. It includes seven sales tax holidays. Five will look familiar to anyone who follows Florida sales tax holidays, but two are new.

If the governor’s budget proposal is approved as submitted, Florida will provide:

• A 14-day back-to-school sales tax holiday
• Two 14-day disaster preparedness sales tax holidays
• A freedom month sales tax holiday
• A seven-day tool time sales tax holiday
• A Second Amendment sales tax holiday
• A two-month boating fuel tax holiday 

Additional details are scant. Here’s what we currently know about the proposed 2025 Florida sales tax holidays.

The two-week back-to-school sales tax holiday would provide a temporary sales tax exemption for the following items:

• Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles priced up to $30
• School supplies priced up to $50
• Clothing and accessories priced up to $100
• Personal computers and computer accessories priced up to $1,500

The items included are similar to the state’s 2024 back-to-school sales tax holiday. Florida provided two back-to-school sales tax holidays in 2024, one in January and one from July 29 through August 11.

The DeSantis budget predicts the 2025 back-to-school sales tax holiday would save Florida families $87 million.

Another way of looking at that number: Florida would collect $87 million less in sales tax.

Generators priced $3,000 or less would be exempt from Florida sales tax during the two 14-day disaster preparedness sales tax holidays, as would other “items needed during disasters.” 

The budget doesn’t offer any 2025 dates. In 2024, Florida hurricane sales tax holidays ran June 1 through 14 and August 24 through September 6.

According to the budget proposal, this sales tax holiday would save Floridians (and cost the state) $72 million in sales tax.

As it has for the past several years, Florida would provide a freedom month sales tax holiday. For 2025 it would be the month of July. 

If prior years are any indication of what’s to come in 2025, there would be a host of eligible items with a wide range of price thresholds. The budget proposal names canoes and kayaks priced $500 or less, and tents priced $200 or less. Tickets to events and museums would also be tax-free.

All told, a month free from sales tax on select items would save Floridians (and cost the state) about $82 million in sales tax.

Florida has offered a tool time sales tax holiday since 2022. This year, “specified tools and equipment used by skilled workers” would be tax-free.

For 2025, a weeklong sales tax holiday for tools would cost the state and save taxpayers $18 million in sales tax.

New for 2025, Florida may offer a sales tax holiday for ammunition, firearms, and related accessories between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. This tax-free event is expected to cost the state and save Floridians $8 million in sales tax.

Louisiana and Mississippi are the only other states with a Second Amendment tax holiday as of this writing. They usually last one weekend only, though the dates for the Mississippi Second Amendment sales tax holiday haven’t yet been announced.

Also new for 2025 is the proposed two-month boating fuel tax holiday. The motor fuel taxes levied on 90 octane, unleaded, ethanol free gasoline blend (REC-90) would drop by 29.5 cents per gallon.

If enacted, Floridians should avoid $27 million in sales tax.

We’ll update this post if any of these proposed 2025 Florida sales tax holidays are enacted, which is likely. In the meantime, check out what other states are up to in our 2025 sales tax holiday blog post.