Taxes in St. Petersburg
Florida has no state personal income tax -- a fact already established at the state level -- and St. Petersburg/Pinellas County residents pay a combined sales tax rate of 7% (6% state plus 1% county surtax), notably lower than neighboring Hillsborough County's 7.5%. Beyond income and sales tax, property taxes (covered on their own topic page) are where most of a St. Petersburg household's real state-and-local tax burden actually lands.
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Learn moreNo State Income Tax (Briefly Restated)
Florida is one of a small number of U.S. states with no state personal income tax, a structural fact that applies statewide and is not St. Petersburg-specific -- see the Florida state page for the full context. It's worth restating here because it's the single largest driver of St. Petersburg's overall tax competitiveness relative to income-tax states, and matters directly when comparing take-home pay for a job offer here against one in a state that does levy income tax.
Pinellas County's Sales Tax Rate
The combined sales tax rate in Pinellas County is 7% as of 2026, per Avalara and Florida Department of Revenue rate data reviewed August 2026: Florida's base 6% state rate plus a 1% county surtax. That's a full half-point lower than Hillsborough County (Tampa) at 7.5%, a genuine, if modest, everyday-purchase advantage for St. Petersburg and the rest of Pinellas County over the Tampa side of the bay. Confirm the current combined rate for any specific purchase against the Florida Department of Revenue, since local surtaxes can be renewed, adjusted, or expire over time.
Property Taxes (Summary -- See Full Topic Page)
Property taxes are the other major state-and-local tax a St. Petersburg homeowner pays, and sources genuinely disagree on the precise combined millage (see the property-taxes topic page for the full disclosure and figures). Whether a property carries a homestead exemption and Save Our Homes protection changes the picture substantially between a longtime owner and a new buyer of an identical home.
Other Local Taxes and Fees
Florida imposes a documentary stamp tax on real estate transactions, commonly cited at $0.70 per $100 of consideration on deeds in most Florida counties (Miami-Dade is a documented exception at a different rate) -- a real closing cost, typically paid by the seller by local custom though negotiable by contract. A specific, independently confirmed Pinellas County figure for local tourist-development taxes applicable to short-term rentals was not sourced this pass; anyone operating a short-term rental in St. Petersburg should confirm current obligations directly with the Pinellas County Tax Collector rather than relying on a general statewide summary.
Key takeaways
- No Florida state income tax -- applies statewide, but the single biggest driver of overall tax competitiveness.
- Pinellas County's combined sales tax rate is 7% (6% state + 1% county surtax) -- a half-point lower than Hillsborough County's 7.5%.
- Property taxes are the other major local tax exposure, and sources genuinely disagree on the exact combined millage -- see the property-taxes topic page.
- Florida's documentary stamp tax on real estate deeds is commonly cited at $0.70 per $100 of consideration -- a real, negotiable-by-contract closing cost.
- Short-term rental operators should confirm current local tourist-development tax obligations directly with Pinellas County -- not independently sourced this pass.
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