Florida Cuts Double Tax on EV Charging Stations

Florida is making it cheaper and fairer to charge your electric vehicle, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are celebrating the fix.

The state Senate committee unanimously passed a bill on January 27 that eliminates what legislators call a historical wrong. Right now, when you plug in your EV at a public charging station, both you and the station owner pay taxes on the same electricity.

Senator Debbie Mayfield explained the problem with a simple comparison. When you fill up at a gas station, only the driver pays fuel tax. The station owner doesn't get taxed again because they're just passing the product through to you.

But electric vehicle charging works differently under current Florida law. Station owners pay a 2.6% gross receipts tax and a 4.3% electricity sales tax. Then drivers pay taxes again when they charge up.

The new legislation fixes this mismatch by exempting charging station owners from those taxes. The change treats electrons like gasoline, taxing only the end user who actually consumes the energy.

Florida has 13,792 charging ports, ranking third in the nation behind California and New York. Making charging more affordable helps the state's growing community of EV drivers save even more money on the road.

Right now, powering an EV costs between 3 and 6 cents per mile at charging stations. That already beats the 10 to 13 cents per mile for gasoline or diesel vehicles, according to analysis from the New York Times.

The Ripple Effect

This tax fix does more than save drivers a few dollars. It removes a barrier that made running charging stations less profitable, which could encourage more businesses to install charging infrastructure across Florida.

The state estimates the change will reduce tax collections by just $2 million, a small price for making the tax code fairer. A complete economic analysis of electric vehicles in Florida is coming in 2027.

The bill shows how practical policy fixes can support both innovation and fairness. Representative Brian Hodgers co-sponsored the House version, demonstrating bipartisan support for removing unnecessary tax burdens.

Florida drivers who've gone electric are about to save a little more on every charge.