Sales Tax Information

On June 22, 2010, the School Board of Seminole County adopted a resolution which provides for a ½-cent sales tax for capital outlay, subject to voter approval on the November 2, 2010 general election ballot.

Florida’s state sales tax rate is 6%. Currently the sales tax in Seminole County is 7%, with the extra one cent (on the dollar) being divided as follows: the school district receives ¼-cent and the remaining ¾-cent goes to county government and the cities. The current Local Government Infrastructure Surtax (extra one cent) will expire on December 31, 2011.

The resolution provides for a ½-cent sales tax, above the state sales tax rate of 6%, to begin in January 2012. If approved in November, by the voters, then the school system would receive approximately $26 million per year to address building construction, remodeling/reconstruction (including safety) and implementation/retrofitting of technology. With the continuing reduction in capital revenue sustained by the district for the past several years, the project revenues from a ½-cent sales tax would, in effect, bridge the gap caused by these previous reductions.

Three items bear noting regarding the planned ½ cent sales tax. First, the ½ cent sales tax applies only to the first $5,000 of any single item purchase. That is, on a $10,000 purchase, the sales tax would be 6 percent on the $10,000 ($600) plus ½ percent ($25) on the first $5,000.
Second, the projects will create much needed construction jobs in Seminole County. And third, the sales tax in Seminole County will drop from the current 7% to 6 ½% due to the expiration of the current Local Government Infrastructure Surtax.