Florida General Revenue Hits $51.9 Billion, Beating Forecast

Quick Answer: Florida collected $51.86 billion in net general revenue in fiscal year 2025-26, beating the official estimate by $869.6 million and rising 4.4% from the prior year. Through September 2026, the new fiscal year is running $435.7 million ahead of forecast, but corporate income tax accounts for all of that gain while sales tax trails the estimate.

Florida’s General Revenue Fund is the pool of money the Legislature uses for most discretionary spending, from public schools and universities to Medicaid and prisons. Every month the state’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) compares actual collections with the forecast adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference, and those monthly reports are the clearest public scorecard of how the state’s tax base is performing.

The most recent figures tell a two-part story. The fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026, finished comfortably ahead of expectations. The first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 is also ahead, but the margin comes almost entirely from one volatile source: taxes on corporate profits. This article walks through the numbers for business owners, investors and anyone who watches the state budget.

How much general revenue did Florida collect in FY 2025-26?

According to EDR’s June 2026 monthly revenue report, net general revenue collections for fiscal year 2025-26 totaled $51,857.1 million. The estimate in force for the year was $50,987.5 million, so collections came in $869.6 million, or 1.7%, above forecast.

Compared with fiscal year 2024-25, when net collections were $49,676.0 million, revenue grew by about $2.18 billion, or 4.4%. That is solid growth for a mature tax base, and it came during a year when the same EDR reports described a consumer under pressure, with a personal saving rate of 2.7% and consumer prices up 3.5% over 12 months as of the June report.

When the Revenue Estimating Conference met on August 14, 2026, its executive summary confirmed the $869.6 million overage and used it as the starting point for a new forecast.

Which taxes drove the FY 2025-26 results?

Sales tax remains the backbone of Florida’s budget. The state has no personal income tax, so the 6% sales and use tax carries much of the load. In FY 2025-26, sales tax general revenue totaled $37,437.3 million, roughly 72% of all net general revenue. Sales tax collections finished just $30.4 million above estimate, which the conference described as ending the year “virtually on estimate,” and grew 1.4% from the prior year.

The real outperformance came elsewhere. Corporate income tax produced $5,919.1 million, which was $584.3 million above the estimate. June alone brought in $1,238.3 million against a $913.1 million estimate. Documentary stamp taxes, which are levied on deeds, mortgages and other real estate and financial documents, totaled $1,558.8 million, $128.4 million above estimate and up 19.0% from the year before.

Insurance premium taxes added $1,682.9 million, $76.9 million above forecast. Intangibles taxes came to $583.2 million, $45.8 million above estimate. Beverage taxes were one of the few categories to fall short, finishing at $219.2 million, $25.1 million below forecast.

Source: EDR monthly revenue report, June 2026. “n/a” means the figure was not reported in the sources used for this article.

What did June sales tax data show about Florida consumers?

EDR breaks sales tax collections into categories that offer a window into spending patterns. In the June 2026 report, consumer nondurables, which covers everyday goods, rose 11.5% from a year earlier. Tourism and recreation collections rose 3.2%.

Most big-ticket categories moved the other way. Autos and accessories fell 1.7%, other durables fell 10.5%, building investment fell 6.4% and business investment fell 3.8%. Taken together, the pattern suggests households kept buying necessities and traveling, while purchases of cars, furniture, building materials and business equipment cooled.

That reading lines up with the August 2026 conference summary, which noted that construction and real estate “continue to decelerate” and that tourism growth is slowing.

How did the August 2026 estimating conference change the forecast?

The Revenue Estimating Conference raised its outlook, but only modestly. The executive summary reports that the FY 2026-27 estimate rose by $475.1 million, less than 1%, and the FY 2027-28 estimate rose by $508.0 million. Combined, the two-year increase was $983.1 million. The conference said that “neither adjustment is a material change to the overall forecast.”

Corporate income tax was the largest upward revision, with $527.2 million added for FY 2026-27 and $439.0 million for FY 2027-28, a two-year total of $966.2 million. The summary attributed the change to strong collections in the second half of FY 2025-26, tempered by uncertainty about corporate profits.

Sales tax was revised up by $183.5 million for FY 2026-27 and $93.8 million for FY 2027-28. The summary said the first-year revision was driven mainly by a strong preliminary July result. Documentary stamp tax and earnings on investments each received two-year gains of more than $230 million.

The only material reduction was insurance premium tax. Although collections through June were above estimate, the conference noted that calendar 2025 data show premium growth will “markedly slow” compared with the prior calendar year, particularly in homeowners and auto insurance. Two-year reductions for that source totaled $594.9 million.

What does the long-range outlook look like?

EDR’s General Revenue Outlook Statement, dated August 14, 2026, shows the adopted revenue estimates rising slowly over the next several years.

Source: EDR General Revenue Outlook Statement, August 14, 2026. Growth rates for future years are calculated from the published estimates.

The FY 2026-27 estimate implies growth of less than 1% over the actual FY 2025-26 total. In other words, the state’s own forecasters expect a much flatter year after four-plus percent growth.

How is FY 2026-27 tracking so far?

The new fiscal year began July 1, 2026. EDR’s July report, measured against the forecast in place before the August conference, showed net collections of $3,683.0 million, $16.3 million below estimate and 1.7% lower than July 2025. Sales tax was strong at $3,206.9 million, $166.8 million above estimate and up 4.0%. The shortfall came from refunds, which were $272.6 million higher than expected because of insurance premium tax refunds.

August was the first month measured against the newly adopted forecast. Net collections for the month were $3,807.8 million, just $2.0 million below estimate. Through two months, collections of $7,490.9 million were $6.7 million above estimate but 1.7% below the same point a year earlier. Sales tax was $43.0 million short of the estimate in August.

September changed the picture. EDR’s September 2026 report shows fiscal year-to-date net general revenue of $12,186.7 million, $435.7 million above the estimate. The report states plainly: “By itself, Corporate Income Tax accounted for all of the gain.”

Source: EDR monthly revenue report, September 2026.

Why did corporate income tax jump in September?

September is a major payment month for corporate income tax. EDR reported September corporate collections of $1,389.5 million against an estimate of $926.4 million, an overage of $463.1 million. Year to date, corporate income tax is up 57.7% from the same period in 2025.

Corporate payments can be lumpy. The August conference explicitly tempered its corporate forecast because of uncertainty about profits, and a single strong month does not guarantee the rest of the year will follow. Still, two consecutive strong periods, the final months of FY 2025-26 and September 2026, show that corporate profits tied to Florida have been a meaningful support for the budget.

What about sales tax and real estate taxes?

Sales tax is now running behind the revised estimate. September collections were $2,864.3 million, $17.3 million below forecast, and the year-to-date shortfall reached $51.7 million. Collections are still 1.9% higher than a year ago, but the gap to estimate matters because sales tax is nearly three-quarters of the general revenue base. EDR notes that September collections mostly reflect August economic activity.

Documentary stamp tax is the weakest major source so far. September collections were $55.8 million against a $74.4 million estimate, and the year-to-date total of $178.4 million is down 35.6% from $277.0 million a year earlier. Because documentary stamps are paid on deeds and mortgages, the decline is consistent with the conference’s description of a decelerating real estate sector.

What economic risks are Florida’s forecasters watching?

The August 2026 conference summary said key variables in the July 2026 state and national economic forecasts were similar to those in December 2025, and that prior forecasts “generally performed well over the past six months.” It still flagged several pressures: downward pressure on household savings, elevated use of credit and continuing inflationary pressure. The summary concluded that “uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated from this point forward.”

EDR’s monthly reports provide more detail. The September report cited a personal saving rate of 3.8% and a 3.7% rise in the Consumer Price Index over the 12 months ending in September. It also cited New York Federal Reserve data showing aggregate household debt fell 0.1% in the second quarter of 2026, while auto loans and credit card balances each rose 1.7%.

For businesses, the takeaway is that the state budget is not signaling distress, but it is not signaling a boom either. Consumer spending on necessities is holding, big-ticket purchases are soft, housing-related taxes are weak, and corporate profits are carrying the upside.

How much does Florida have in reserves?

The August 2026 outlook statement shows that FY 2025-26 ended with a general revenue balance of $13,329.4 million after effective appropriations of $54,054.0 million. For FY 2026-27, the statement shows total funds available of $65,961.6 million and effective appropriations of $54,916.6 million.

Separately, the Budget Stabilization Fund, the state’s rainy-day account, held a cash balance of $4,870.3 million. Based on the forecast, the outlook statement said no transfers into the fund are required for FY 2026-27 through FY 2030-31.

A proposed constitutional amendment would have raised the fund’s cap from 10% to 25% of general revenue and required a $750 million annual transfer. According to WGCU’s coverage of the November 3, 2026, election, that measure, Amendment 1, failed with about 40% of the vote, short of the 60% required. Voters did approve Amendment 3, which raises the homestead property tax exemption. Property taxes are levied by local governments, so that change affects city, county and school district budgets rather than the state’s General Revenue Fund directly.

What should Florida business leaders take from these numbers?

The data points to several practical signals for business planning.

• State spending capacity looks stable. Revenues beat the estimate in FY 2025-26, reserves are large, and the forecast was revised up rather than down.
• Growth is slowing. The official forecast calls for less than 1% revenue growth in FY 2026-27, compared with 4.4% in FY 2025-26.
• Consumers are selective. June sales tax data showed gains in everyday goods and tourism but declines in autos, durables, building and business investment.
• Real estate is cooling. Documentary stamp collections are down 35.6% year to date through September.
• Insurance growth is easing. Forecasters expect slower premium growth, particularly for homeowners and auto coverage.
• Corporate profits are the wild card. Corporate income tax accounts for all of the year-to-date gain, and forecasters themselves describe that source as uncertain.

The next Revenue Estimating Conference and the October and November monthly reports will show whether corporate strength persists and whether sales tax recovers to estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Florida’s General Revenue Fund?

It is the state’s main operating fund for discretionary spending. Sales tax supplies roughly 72% of net general revenue, followed by corporate income tax, insurance premium taxes, documentary stamp taxes and other sources.

Did Florida collect more than expected in FY 2025-26?

Yes. Net general revenue was $51,857.1 million, which was $869.6 million, or 1.7%, above the estimate and 4.4% above FY 2024-25.

How much revenue does Florida expect in FY 2026-27?

The August 14, 2026, outlook statement estimates $52,339.9 million, implying growth of less than 1% over FY 2025-26.

Why is Florida’s revenue ahead of estimate this year?

Through September 2026, collections are $435.7 million above estimate. EDR says corporate income tax accounts for all of that gain, while sales tax and documentary stamp tax are below estimate.

Does the new homestead exemption reduce state general revenue?

Not directly. Amendment 3 changes property tax exemptions, and property taxes are collected by local governments rather than the state’s General Revenue Fund.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Monthly Revenue Report, June 2026 — Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research
2. Monthly Revenue Report, July 2026 — Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research
3. Monthly Revenue Report, August 2026 — Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research
4. Monthly Revenue Report, September 2026 — Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research
5. Revenue Estimating Conference, General Revenue Fund Executive Summary, August 14, 2026 — Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research
6. General Revenue Fund Financial Outlook Statement, August 14, 2026 — Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research
7. Voters Approve Property Tax Cut, Reject Other Ballot Measures — WGCU News