Florida DOR Exempts Parking Violation Fees From Sales Tax

The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) has concluded that a separately stated parking violation fee is not subject to Florida sales and use tax. The conclusion appears in Technical Assistance Advisement (TAA) 25A-009, issued October 27, 2025 by the DOR’s Office of Technical Assistance. 

Parking Is Taxable, but the Penalty Is Not

A taxpayer that manages parking spaces for private and public clients asked the DOR to confirm whether the violation fee on a parking ticket receipt is exempt from Florida sales and use tax. The taxpayer’s representative confirmed that the request concerns only motor vehicle parking lots and garages.

The taxpayer agreed that the parking charge itself is taxable. Section 212.03(6), Florida Statutes, treats leasing or renting parking spaces for motor vehicles as a taxable privilege, and Section 212.02(10)(i), Florida Statutes, defines a license as the granting of a privilege to use or occupy real property. The question was whether the penalty added on top of that charge is taxable too.

A $71.35 Ticket From Volusia County

The taxpayer submitted a Volusia County Parking Division Notice of Parking Violation. The notice listed a $20.00 parking fee, $1.35 in sales tax on that fee, and a $50.00 violation fee, for a total due of $71.35. It was issued because a vehicle entered the county parking facility and payment for the stay, as required for use of the facility, was not received. The notice also stated that an additional $50.00 late fee would be charged if the amount was not paid by a specified date.

The Argument for Keeping the Violation Fee Tax-Free

The taxpayer argued that the violation fee should not be taxed. It relied on the principle that Florida taxing statutes are construed against the State, with any doubt resolved in the taxpayer’s favor. It also compared the violation fee to Rule 12A-1.007(13)(e)1., Florida Administrative Code, which exempts separately stated insurance charges that a customer elects to purchase. In the taxpayer’s view, the violation fee is avoidable at the customer’s option and separately itemized, so it falls outside the tax.

Why the DOR Agreed

The DOR acknowledged that Section 212.03(6), Florida Statutes, subjects the rental of parking spaces to tax, and that the 6 percent state rate applies to the total rental charged. See also Rule 12A-1.073, Florida Administrative Code. The taxability of the parking charge was not in dispute.

The DOR noted that the “sales price” of a taxable transaction includes services that are part of the sale, and found that a violation fee, and any late fee, is not an additional service provided to the customer. Because no statute or rule speaks directly to charges of this kind, it turned to analogous authority.

First, the DOR cited Department of Revenue v. B & L Concepts, 612 So. 2d 720 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). There, a rental business charged late fees for items returned after the agreed date. The court found that such charges were incidental to the rental, and held that separately itemized charges applied at the sole option of the lessee, or avoidable by the lessee’s own decision or action, are not taxable.

Second, the DOR pointed to two administrative rules. Rule 12A-1.045(4)(a), Florida Administrative Code, exempts separately stated transportation charges that the purchaser can avoid by its own decision or action. Rule 12A-1.007(13)(e)1., Florida Administrative Code, exempts separately itemized insurance charges that a motor vehicle renter may elect.

Applying these authorities, and mindful that tax must clearly be shown to apply, the DOR determined that the violation fee was separately stated and could be avoided by a decision or action of the car owner, namely paying the parking fee at the time of the stay. The fee is therefore not subject to sales and use tax. The DOR added that the same analysis would apply to a separately stated late fee.

The Ticket Also Got the Tax Rate Wrong

The DOR also addressed the tax on the parking charge. The applicable sales tax rate in Volusia County is 6.5 percent, so the tax on the $20.00 parking fee is $1.30, rather than the $1.35 shown on the notice. The DOR directed the taxpayer to its Discretionary Sales Surtax Information form (DR-15DSS) and to Tax Information Publication 21A01-02 for further guidance. 

Who Can Rely on This Advisement

A TAA is binding on the DOR only under the facts and circumstances described in the request, as provided in Section 213.22, Florida Statutes. The DOR cautioned that later statutory or rule changes, or judicial interpretations, may lead to different treatment of similar transactions. 

What Parking Operators Should Do Now

Parking operators and local governments that issue violation notices should confirm that avoidable penalty fees are separately stated and are not taxed alongside the required parking charge. Fees that are not separately stated, or that cannot be avoided by the customer’s own action, were not addressed by this advisement and warrant individual review.