Departments \ Taxes \ Sales Tax

Sales Tax

General Information

Generally, when any department makes a sale, sales tax must be collected unless there is an exemption.  Each sale, admission, storage, or rental in Florida is taxable, unless the transaction is exempt. Sales tax is added to the price of taxable goods or services and collected from the purchaser at the time of sale.  Departments must charge and collect sales tax as required by Florida Statutes.  Once sales tax is collected, it must be remitted to the state of Florida.  The UM Tax Department is responsible for remitting sales tax to the State of Florida. 

Departments must submit monthly reconciliations of the sales tax liability ledger to the Tax Department to ensure accurate reporting of sales tax.  Please contact the Controller’s Office with any questions. 

Florida Sales Tax Exempt Certificate

Terms of Use

Purchases of goods, services, rentals, and hotel room stays by the University are not subject to sales tax in the state of Florida. You can help conserve your department’s financial resources by providing vendors a sales tax exemption certificate before making a purchase.

This certificate is to be used for University business only. Under no circumstances is this certificate to be used for the personal benefit of any individual. It is a criminal offense to fraudulently present this certificate to evade the payment of sales tax.

Purchases must be made with University funds (e.g. purchase order, university check, credit card) in order be exempt from sales tax. Purchases made by an individual on behalf of the University are taxable, even if the individual will be reimbursed by the  University.

Failure to follow these requirements shall result in discipline, which includes dismissal by the University of Miami. Violators are liable for the payment of sales tax, plus penalties, and may be subject to conviction of a third degree felony.

    Click on the “I  agree” link to agree to the Terms of Use and download            

            the current Sales Tax Exemption  Certificate -   I  agree  

Florida Sales Tax Rates

The sales tax rate for Miami-Dade county is currently 7%. This rate is comprised of two components – the State “base  rate” of 6%, and the county’s “surtax rate” of 1%. Please see the links below for surtax rates by county as well a detailed explanation of surtaxes and  their applicability.

• Discretionary Sales Surtax Schedule
• Explanation of Florida’s Discretionary Sales Surtax
• Sales Tax FAQ’s 

Other States’ Sales Tax Exemption Certificates

If your department routinely does business in other states, contact the Controller’s Office for information regarding possible sales tax exemption for your purchases. At the current time the University enjoys sales tax exemption in the following states and  jurisdictions: