The short answer
There are exactly two ways to be charged, and both are published.
Per item. Every common item has a fixed price. Sofa $126. Loveseat $119. Recliner $98. Queen mattress $103. Standard refrigerator $164. Washer $133. TV between 42 and 65 inches $68. Hot tub $322.
By truck fraction. Quarter $241. Three-eighths $338. Half $431. Five-eighths $513. Three-quarters $587. Seven-eighths $661. Full truck $732.
Minimum visit $75. Below that there is nothing — a single $30 microwave still bills at $75.
No stair charge. No long-carry charge. No mileage or fuel line. No same-day premium. No storm-week premium. No refrigerant or environmental fee on appliances. The same prices apply from Wesley Chapel to Apollo Beach and across the bay to Clearwater.
The truck-fill ladder, in plain terms
| Fraction | Price | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 | $241 | A bedroom's furniture, or one wall of garage shelving |
| 3/8 | $338 | A living room, or a single garage bay |
| 1/2 | $431 | A one-bedroom condo, or half a two-car garage |
| 5/8 | $513 | A small two-bedroom |
| 3/4 | $587 | A full two-car garage |
| 7/8 | $661 | A three-bedroom, partly cleared |
| Full | $732 | A three-car garage, or a house-sized load |
Estate and hoarding work runs multiple loads — two full trucks is $732 + $732 = $1,464. The ladder does not change; you just climb it more than once.
The crossover: when volume beats itemizing
This is the one calculation worth doing before you book.
Add up your named items at the published prices. If the total is under $241, pay per item. If it is over $241, compare against the truck ladder and buy the fraction that fits.
Two items are almost always cheaper itemized. A sofa and a queen mattress is $126 + $103 = $229, which beats a quarter truck at $241.
A room is usually cheaper by the fraction. A living room of sofa, recliner, coffee table, two end tables and a TV stand is $126 + $98 + $67 + $52 + $52 + $96 = $491. A half truck is $431 and it also takes the lamps, the rug and the boxes in the corner.
A garage is always the fraction. Once a second refrigerator at $164 and a treadmill at $115 are on the list you are past $241 before you have counted a single box.
The crossover sits between a quarter and a half truck for most households. Do the addition; it takes two minutes.
What a Tampa job typically costs
Real shapes from around the metro.
- One sofa from a Seminole Heights bungalow: $126.
- Queen mattress and box spring from a South Tampa second floor: $143 as a set.
- Balcony set from a Channel District condo: patio table plus four chairs, $89 + $30 + $30 + $30 + $30 = $209.
- Kitchen appliance swap in Temple Terrace: fridge, electric range and dishwasher, $164 + $134 + $109 = $407.
- Two-car garage in Town 'n' Country: three-quarter truck, $587.
- Three-car garage in Wesley Chapel: full truck, $732.
- Unused hot tub inside a Brandon pool cage: $322.
- Seasonal condo turnover in Clearwater: mattress set, loveseat and a TV, $143 + $119 + $68 = $330.
Why Tampa jobs run larger than people expect
One structural reason: there are no basements here. The water table is high, the soil is sand, and houses are slab-on-grade concrete block. Everything a basement would hold in another city is in the garage, the attic or the Florida room instead.
So the mental model of a small job — 'just the garage' — is usually a three-quarter truck, not a quarter. And the attic, which in this climate runs extremely hot for half the year, has generally already destroyed whatever is in it, so the sorting decision is easier than people fear.
The second reason is climate. Humidity, sun and salt air retire furniture here faster than wear does, which means Tampa households throw out things that still look serviceable from across the room. Budget by volume, not by how much of it seems broken.
What is included in the price
- Labor. Crew, loading, all of it.
- The carry-out, from any floor, any distance from the truck. A third-floor walk-up off Fowler Avenue and an alley-only detached garage in Tampa Heights are both the published price.
- The truck and the drive. No mileage line — Wesley Chapel and Davis Islands cost the same.
- Disposal. Including the gate fee at the facility, which is the variable that makes DIY hauling unpredictable.
- Refrigerant handling on fridges, freezers and AC units. No surcharge.
- Insurance documentation for condo associations that require a certificate.
What is not included: household hazardous waste. Paint, solvents, pool chemicals, motor oil, propane cylinders and car batteries go to your county's HHW collection.
How to get the cheapest honest number
Four moves that genuinely reduce the bill.
Fill the minimum. If you are paying $75 anyway, walk the garage and the lanai first. The marginal cost of adding the dead window AC at $87 or a box of electronics at $77 is just the item price.
Bag the loose material. Bagged debris is banded — 10 bags $132, 20 bags $259, 30 bags $385 — and it loads far faster than loose debris.
Do the crossover maths. Under $241, itemize. Over it, buy the fraction.
Do it in one visit. Two separate visits means two minimums and two of everything. Batch the broken items and clear them together.
Booking
Give us the item list or the rough volume and pick a window. If you are in a tower, start the certificate of insurance and the service-elevator booking first — those take longer than the truck does.
The number you see before booking is the number on the invoice. That is the whole model, and it is why every figure on this page is published rather than quoted in your driveway.
Frequently asked questions
How much does junk removal cost in Tampa?
The minimum visit is $75. Most household jobs land between there and a half truck at $431. Per-item prices are published — sofa $126, queen mattress $103, standard fridge $164 — and truck fractions run $241 to $732.
Should I pay per item or by the load?
Add your items up. Under $241 — the price of a quarter truck — itemize. Over $241, buy the truck fraction, which also absorbs the boxes and odds and ends the item list misses.
Are there extra charges for stairs or distance?
No. No stair charge, no long-carry charge, no mileage line, no same-day premium and no storm-week premium. A third-floor walk-up costs the same as a garage.
Do you charge an environmental fee on appliances?
No. A standard fridge is $164 and a side-by-side or French door is $183, and refrigerant recovery is part of the job — no separate refrigerant, EPA or environmental line.
What is not included?
Household hazardous waste — paint, solvents, pool chemicals, motor oil, propane cylinders and car batteries. Those go to your county's HHW collection in Hillsborough or Pinellas.
Do prices differ across the Bay area?
No. Same published list from New Tampa and Wesley Chapel to Apollo Beach and Ruskin, and across to St. Pete, Clearwater and the beaches.