Florida charges no state capital gains tax, so a Florida resident who sells an asset for a profit owes only the federal capital gains tax. On a long-term gain (something held longer than a year) that federal rate is 0%, 15%, or 20%, set by your taxable income. On a short-term gain (held a year or less) the profit is taxed as ordinary income, which runs as high as 37%.
That gap matters more here than it does in most of the country. A family that has owned a place off Centre Street for three generations sells it, and the only tax collector with a claim on the gain is the IRS. No cut goes to Tallahassee. The catch is that "federal only" still leaves plenty of math to do, and most of it comes down to two things: how long you owned the asset, and what your basis in it was.
Does Florida have a state capital gains tax?
No. Florida's constitution bars a personal income tax, and a capital gain counts as income, so the state takes nothing when you sell a rental or a block of stock at a profit. Whatever you owe on the gain is federal, and only federal. There is no separate state return for it. You report the sale on your federal return (Schedule D) for the year you sold, and nowhere else.
This is the quiet advantage behind a lot of moves into Nassau County. Someone sells an appreciated portfolio up north, relocates to a house near the marsh, and the same sale that would have carried a state tax bill in New York or California carries none here. You have to actually live here for that to hold (Florida wants residents, not just a mailbox address), but once you do, the state stays out of your capital gains entirely.
How much is the federal capital gains tax?
For assets held more than a year, the federal long-term rate is 0%, 15%, or 20%, based on your total taxable income for the year. Most sellers land in the 15% band. Assets held a year or less are short-term and taxed at your ordinary income rate, up to 37%. On top of that, a 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax applies to investment gains once your modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 single or $250,000 married.
| Long-term rate | Single (2025 taxable income) | Married filing jointly |
|---|---|---|
| 0% | Up to $48,350 | Up to $96,700 |
| 15% | $48,351 to $533,400 | $96,701 to $600,050 |
| 20% | Above $533,400 | Above $600,050 |
Those breakpoints rise a little each year with inflation, so a 2026 sale sits against slightly higher lines, but the three-rate structure has not changed. The $200,000 and $250,000 surtax thresholds, though, have not moved since 2013, so more sellers cross them every year. One detail people miss is that first row. A retired couple living on modest income can sell appreciated stock and owe nothing federal on part of the gain, as long as it keeps their taxable income under the 0% ceiling.
What counts as short-term versus long-term?
The line is one year and a day. Hold an asset longer than a year before selling and the profit is a long-term gain at the 0/15/20 rates. Sell at a year or less and it is short-term, taxed as ordinary income up to 37%. The holding clock starts the day after you buy and runs through the day you sell.
On real estate this rarely bites, because most property is held for years. It shows up on quick flips. Buy a tired cottage in the historic district, put eight months of work into it, sell it the same year, and the profit is short-term, taxed like a paycheck. Wait past the one-year mark and the same gain can drop into the 15% band. When a sale is sitting near that line, the calendar is worth watching.
How does inherited property change the bill?
Inherited property gets a stepped-up basis. Its cost basis resets to the fair market value on the date the previous owner died, so an heir who sells soon after inheriting often owes little or no capital gains tax. The gain is measured only from that stepped-up value, not from what the family paid decades ago.
This comes up constantly around here, because so much land has stayed in families for generations. A marsh-front parcel in Yulee bought for a few thousand dollars in the 1960s might be worth several hundred thousand today. Sold by the original owner, that is an enormous taxable gain. Inherited and then sold, the basis steps up to today's value and most of that gain disappears. The heirs still owe federal tax on any appreciation after the death, but the decades of growth before it are wiped clean.
What about selling your primary home?
If you are selling the house you actually live in, the federal primary-residence exclusion lets a single owner shield up to $250,000 of gain and a married couple up to $500,000, as long as you owned and lived in it for two of the last five years. Because of it, most homeowners owe no federal capital gains tax when they sell. Florida, again, adds nothing on top.
The mechanics of that exclusion (the two-of-five-year rule, how to figure your basis from the closing statement) are their own subject, and we walk through them in our guide to capital gains taxes on selling a house. For anything that is not your main home, a rental or a second place at the beach, the exclusion does not apply and the rates above are what you are working with.
When we list a property at Salt Harbor, the first thing we ask a seller to dig up is the original closing statement and every receipt for capital improvements: the new metal roof after a bad storm season, the seawall job, the HVAC the salt air ate through early. Those costs add to your basis and come straight off the taxable gain. People throw the paperwork away and hand the IRS money they never owed.
None of this replaces a CPA running your real numbers, and the swing between a short-term and a long-term sale, or a clean basis and a sloppy one, can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Get the holding period and the basis right before you sign anything. The state already did you a favor by sitting this one out.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the federal tax on capital gains?
For assets held more than a year, the federal long-term rate is 0%, 15%, or 20%, set by your taxable income, and most sellers pay 15%. Assets held a year or less are taxed as ordinary income, up to 37%. High earners may owe an additional 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax. Florida adds no state tax on top.
How much capital gains tax do I pay on $100,000?
On a $100,000 long-term gain in the 15% bracket, the federal tax is about $15,000. It could be $0 if your total taxable income is low enough to sit in the 0% bracket, or $20,000 plus the 3.8% surtax at high incomes. If the gain is from selling your main home, the $250,000/$500,000 exclusion may erase it. Florida charges nothing either way.
How to avoid federal capital gains tax?
The main legal moves are holding an asset longer than a year for the lower long-term rate, using the $250,000/$500,000 primary-residence exclusion on your home, deferring tax on investment property through a 1031 exchange, and offsetting gains with capital losses. We cover each in our guide on how to avoid capital gains tax on real estate.
How much capital gains tax on $300,000?
A $300,000 long-term gain taxed at 15% is $45,000 in federal tax, or $60,000 at the top 20% rate, before any 3.8% surtax. If it is profit from selling your primary home, the $250,000 (single) or $500,000 (married) exclusion can wipe out most or all of it. Florida adds no state capital gains tax.