Florida Retirement Income Tax: What Retirees Pay in 2026

The Florida retirement income tax is zero. Florida does not tax a single dollar of your retirement income, because the state has no personal income tax at all, so Social Security, pensions, IRA withdrawals, and 401(k) distributions are all free of state tax.1

This guide covers what Florida retirement income tax really means, what you may still owe, and how to plan around the taxes that remain.

In This Guide

• The Short Answer
• Florida Retirement Income Tax at a Glance
• Does the Florida Retirement Income Tax Have Any Exceptions?
• What You Still Pay in Florida
• What No State Income Tax Means for Your Planning
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Next Steps

The Short Answer

Florida taxes none of your retirement income. There is no state personal income tax, so the state takes nothing from your pension, IRA, 401(k), or Social Security.1

The reason is structural. The Florida Department of Revenue states that Florida does not impose personal income tax.1 Article VII, Section 5(a) of the Florida Constitution provides that no tax on the income of natural persons who are residents or citizens of the state may be levied by the state, or under its authority, in excess of the amounts that may be credited upon or deducted from a similar tax levied by the United States or any state.1 Florida Statute 220.02(1) describes that section as a mandate that no income tax be levied on natural persons who are residents and citizens of the state.1

So when people ask whether Florida taxes pensions or Social Security, the answer is the same for both. It taxes neither. Because Florida has no personal income tax at all, the answer does not change with the type of income.1

Florida Retirement Income Tax at a Glance

Here is how each common source of retirement money is treated by the state.

Every entry reads "None." That is the practical meaning of having no income tax.1 Federal tax is a separate question, covered under What You Still Pay in Florida below.

Does the Florida Retirement Income Tax Have Any Exceptions?

There are none. It is fair to wonder whether there is a catch, so here is the full answer: there isn't.

A teacher's pension from another state, a corporate 401(k), a military pension, a Social Security check, a required minimum distribution from a traditional IRA: Florida taxes all of them the same way, which is not at all.1 Your income level doesn't matter. There is no threshold above which Florida starts taxing retirement income, because there is no income tax to begin with.

This also means there is no Florida retirement-income exclusion or senior income-tax credit to apply for, because there is no state income tax for one to reduce.

One thing to check if you're moving here from a state that taxes income: Florida's rule covers only Florida. Ask your former state's tax agency, or a tax preparer, how and when its income tax stops applying to you.

What You Still Pay in Florida

No income tax does not mean no taxes. Three kinds can still apply.

Federal income tax. Federal income tax is separate from Florida's rules. Per the IRS, all or some portion of pension or annuity payments from a qualified employer retirement plan may be taxable, unless the payment is a qualified distribution from a designated Roth account.1 Traditional IRA distributions are taxed as ordinary income, apart from any portion that came from nondeductible contributions, and required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA or a workplace plan such as a 401(k) are taxable income.2 Social Security benefits become federally taxable only when your modified adjusted gross income (a federal measure whose adjustments include adding tax-exempt interest) plus one-half of your benefits exceeds a base amount that depends on filing status, and no more than 85 percent of them is ever included in gross income.3 One filing status gets no cushion: if federal tax law counts you as married at the end of the year, you do not file a joint return, and you did not live apart from your spouse for the entire year, the base amount is zero.3 Moving to Florida takes state income tax off the table. It leaves the federal questions above for you and your tax preparer to work through.

Property tax. If you own a home, budget for property tax: the county property appraiser assesses property each year to set the ad valorem tax owed, and the county tax collector collects it.1 An owner who makes the property a permanent residence, or the permanent residence of a dependent, may be eligible for a homestead exemption of up to $50,000: the first $25,000 against all property taxes including school district taxes, and an additional exemption of up to $25,000 against assessed value over $50,000 and only against non-school taxes.4 The $50,000 maximum is no longer exact, because the additional exemption is adjusted every January 1 for inflation whenever the Consumer Price Index change is positive, so both it and the combined maximum now run above the round numbers.4

On top of that, Florida law authorizes two local-option senior exemptions for homeowners 65 or older whose household income is within the annual limitation: one of up to $50,000 for a permanent resident who holds legal or equitable title, and a longtime-resident exemption equal to the home's full assessed value for an owner who has kept permanent residence on the property at least 25 years and whose home had a just value under $250,000 in the first year they applied and were eligible.4

Read the income limitation carefully before you rule yourself out. It is $38,686 for the 2026 exemption year, but "household income" here means adjusted gross income as defined in section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code, so money that never enters adjusted gross income does not count toward it: non-taxable Social Security benefits and tax-exempt bond interest among them, so a senior whose gross receipts exceed $38,686 may still qualify.4 And where title is held jointly with right of survivorship, the person living on the property who otherwise qualifies may receive the entire senior exemption, not a share of it.4 The two senior exemptions are adopted by ordinance, so not every county or city offers them; for the up-to-$50,000 exemption, the adopting ordinance sets the actual amount and may set it well below $50,000; and where they exist they apply only to the tax millage the county or city levies, not to the millage of school districts or other taxing units.4 Nothing here arrives on its own: you apply through your county property appraiser, and a first-time claimant files a sworn statement of household income no later than March 1.4 See our Florida senior property tax relief guide for the full breakdown.

Sales tax. Retail sales of most goods in Florida are subject to a 6 percent state sales tax, plus any discretionary sales surtax imposed by the county where the sale occurs.1 What you actually pay therefore depends on your county as well as the state rate. Check your county's current surtax with the Department of Revenue rather than budgeting on 6 percent alone.

So the picture has two halves. Florida levies no personal income tax, and residents may still owe property tax, which is assessed and collected at the county level, and sales tax.1 Whether that comes out ahead for you depends on the home you own and how much you spend.

What No State Income Tax Means for Your Planning

Start with the tax math. A retiree pulling $60,000 a year from a pension and IRA pays no Florida income tax on it.1

No income tax also simplifies withdrawal planning. There's no state tax to weigh when you decide how much to pull from a traditional IRA in a given year, or when to convert to a Roth.1 What a state charges at death is a separate question with its own answers state by state; our guide to estate and inheritance tax by state covers where Florida sits.

None of this replaces a plan for care costs, which Florida's tax rules don't touch. If you're thinking through how retirement income will cover long-term care, start with our guide on how to pay for senior care and our framework for building a senior care funding plan. For the accounts themselves, see using retirement accounts for care.

Next Steps

• If you're moving to Florida, ask your former state's tax agency or a tax preparer when its income tax stops applying to you.
• If you own a home, apply for the homestead exemption through your county property appraiser by March 1, and ask whether your county or city adopted either senior exemption. Each one is claimed by application to the county property appraiser, and March 1 is the deadline to file the homestead application.4
• Plan your federal withdrawals. No state tax doesn't change your federal bill, so coordinate IRA and 401(k) draws with your tax preparer.
• Map income against care costs. Read our guide to paying for senior care and retirement accounts for care.

Learn More

Find personalized help planning retirement income for senior care at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.