When you buy a manufactured home in Florida, you must pay state sales tax on the purchase. In addition, if your home is on land that you own, you may also have to pay annual property tax to the county. And if your home is on rented land, you have to pay an annual registration fee.
Sales Tax
The statewide sales tax in Florida is 6 percent. This tax applies to most consumer goods, including manufactured homes. In addition, many counties impose local-option sales taxes on purchases. Alachua County, for example, adds a 0.75-percent tax to mobile home purchases on the first $5,000. If the home is purchased from a dealer, the buyer pays the dealer the tax and the dealer in turn pays the county. If the home is used, and bought from a private individual, the buyer pays the tax when registering the home at the tax collector's office.
Read More: Florida RV Sales Tax Laws
Property Tax
If you put your mobile home on land that you own and it is "permanently affixed" to the ground, then the home is classified as "real property" and it will be subject to annual county property tax, just like a site-built home. Your county tax collector can determine if the home is permanently affixed.
Rented Lots
Many mobile homes in Florida are on rented lots in mobile home parks. When you rent a lot, you pay no annual property tax. However, you still must pay for an annual registration decal. The home must display one decal per section; a double-wide has two decals and a triple-wide has three. As of 2010, annual decal fees range from $25.10 to $85.10 each, based on the length of the home.
References
Writer Bio
Russell Roberts started writing professionally in 1975 at "The Decatur Daily" in Alabama. He was a writer and editor at Florida newspapers in Sarasota, Lake City, Tallahassee and Eastpoint. He has won several awards, including a 2007 Florida Press Association honor for columns in the small weekly category. He holds a Bachelor of Science in journalism from the University of Florida.