​​Sales Tax Information for School Associations and Organizations

School districts may purchase goods and services necessary for PTOs and PTAs tax exempt when funds for the purchase are provided by the PTO or PTA to the school district. The school district may provide a copy of its Florida Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption to the selling dealer to purchase the goods or services tax exempt.

School books, including printed textbooks and workbooks containing printed instructional material, used in regularly prescribed courses of study in schools offering grades K through 12 are tax exempt.

Yearbooks, magazines, newspapers, directories, bulletins, and similar publications distributed by schools offering grades K through 12 are tax exempt.

Schools offering grades K through 12, and PTOs and PTAs for those schools, may elect to pay Florida sales tax to their suppliers when purchasing certain taxable items and then sell those items without collecting sales tax. This provisions applies only to:

• School materials and supplies sold or rented to students in grades K through 12;
• Items sold for fundraising purposes, such as candy, photographs, greeting cards, or wrapping paper;
• Items sold through vending machines located on the school premises; and
• Food and drinks sold through vending machines located on school premises in locations other than areas specifically designated for student dining.

Food and drinks sold or served in, or sold or dispensed through vending machines located within, designated student dining areas in K through 12 schools are tax exempt. Food and drinks sold at these locations are not subject to tax at the time of purchase or at the time of sale.

School support organizations whose sole purpose is to raise funds to support extracurricular activities at K through 12 schools may pay tax on the purchase of food, drinks, and serving supplies and then sell those items at school fundraisers without collecting tax.

Example: A PTA operates a book store selling school supplies, such as pencils, paper, and notebooks, to elementary school students during the school year. The PTA holds a valid Florida Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption, but does not have a sales and use tax Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11). The PTA must pay tax to its suppliers on items sold to students in the book store, but may sell those items without collecting sales tax. The PTA may not provide a copy of their Florida Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption to purchase the school supplies for resale tax exempt.

Example: A high school booster club sells drinks, hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, ice cream, and similar items at a high school football game. The booster club may sell these items without collecting tax if the booster club paid tax when purchasing the drinks, food, and serving supplies.

The following admission charges and fees are tax exempt:

• Admissions to athletic or other events sponsored by a school where only student or faculty talent is used;
• Admission charges, dues, and membership fees to an event or program sponsored by a school, PTO, or PTA qualified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization;
• Admissions to events sponsored by a state tax-supported school where the talent for the event is not limited to students or faculty, the risk of success or failure for the event lies completely with the sponsoring school, the funds at risk for the event belong to the sponsoring school, and the event is held in a convention hall, exhibition hall, auditorium, stadium, theater, arena, civic center, performing arts center, or publicly-owned recreational facility;
• Fees charged by a sports or recreation facility to a student for participation in a program or activity sponsored by, and under the jurisdiction of, the student’s school;
• Participation and sponsorship fees for an athletic or recreational program sponsored, administered, planned, supervised, directed, and controlled by a state tax-supported school or other governmental entity, including those programs run in conjunction with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

You can register to collect, report and pay tax using the Department's online registration system or submit a paper Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1 ).