Updated October 5, 2026. Quick answer: No. Florida’s income tax code reaches corporations and other artificial entities and says it is not intended to tax “any estate of a decedent or incompetent; or any testamentary trust”. The Constitution also limits any state tax on the income of natural persons to a federal-credit amount.
How Florida treats trust income
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Treatment | Florida’s income tax code taxes corporations and other artificial entities, and it describes that tax as one “for the privilege of conducting business, deriving income, or existing” within the state. It says it is not meant to tax natural persons, estates of decedents or incompetents, or testamentary trusts. |
| Where the no-tax rule is written | Article VII, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution limits state income taxes on natural persons who are residents or citizens. The source says: “tax upon estates or inheritances or upon the income of natural persons” is limited by that rule. |
| Rate on trust income | The Department of Revenue prints a 5.5% corporate income tax rate for taxable years beginning on or after 1/1/2022, and that rate applies to corporations and entities taxed as corporations, not to a trust of an individual. |
| Business trusts | The income tax code defines corporation to include a business-style trust formed by a declaration of trust, so that kind of entity is a taxpayer. The source says: “common-law declarations of trust, under chapter 609” are named in that definition. |
| What Florida taxes instead | The intangible personal property chapter now covers a one-time nonrecurring tax of 2 mills on each dollar of the value of notes and other obligations secured by Florida real property. |
| Return to file | The Department of Revenue says corporations, associations, and artificial entities doing business, earning income, or existing in Florida file the corporate income tax return. The source says: “doing business, earning income, or existing in Florida.” The page does not describe a trust of an individual. |
| Not stated in the documents read | The documents read do not state a residency test for an ordinary inter vivos trust, a distribution deduction rule, or a rule for nonresident trusts. |
A $10,000 example
A trust with $10,000 of taxable income owes $0 of Florida income tax on it. Federal tax on the trust’s income still applies.
Where a trust is administered does not by itself settle the question: other states tax a trust by who created it or who benefits from it, as the by-state table on state taxation of trust income shows.
What changes in 2026
Chapter 2026-137 amended parts of the corporate income tax code retroactive to January 1, 2026, and the documents describe no change to trust income rules.
Federal rules
The state’s treatment sits on top of the federal one. The federal brackets a trust faces are laid out in trust tax brackets versus individual brackets, and capital gains that a trust keeps are covered in capital gains stay in the trust. The IRS explains the federal return in the About Form 1041 page.
Related: how Florida taxes retirement income, whether Florida taxes pensions, what a living trust costs in Florida, trust income tax by state, and federal trust tax brackets.
Find the right next step for your situation
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Compare vetted advisors for your trust
If your portfolio is $250,000 or more, this connects you (free, with no obligation to hire anyone) with 2 to 3 vetted advisors.
Before you start, what actually happens. The matching service is run by WiserAdvisor, an independent advisor-matching company. It opens on their site, asks for your ZIP code and a few questions, and matches you with 2 to 3 vetted advisors. It is free to you.
WiserAdvisor states the service is built for portfolios of $250,000 and above. By submitting, you consent to emails, phone calls and text messages from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisors, so expect to be contacted. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form, whether or not you ever hire anyone.
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See how an advisor plans your trust
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment through this service, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
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It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
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Answer againSources
- Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 5 (Florida Senate): https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution
- Florida Statutes Chapter 220, Income Tax Code (Online Sunshine): www.leg.state.fl.us
- Florida Corporate Income Tax (Florida Department of Revenue): https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/corporate.aspx
- Florida Statutes Chapter 199, Intangible Personal Property Taxes (Online Sunshine): www.leg.state.fl.us
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 5, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.