Florida Sales Tax Handbook

RATE OF SALES TAX:

6.00%

LOCAL & COUNTY MAXIMUM RATES:

2.50%

Hire a Sales Tax Professional:

One such dependable service is:

TaxJar ($17/month) assists businesses with ecommerce sites in calculating sales tax at the checkout.

What Are the Taxable Goods and Services?

The first step in sales tax compliance is determining if the items or services your firm provides are taxable in Florida.

Traditional Products and Services

Physical property, such as furniture, household appliances, and automobiles, is subject to sales tax in Florida.

In Florida, groceries, prescription medications, and fuel are all tax-free.

In Florida, several services are subject to sales tax. View this PDF from the (name of state/relevant agency) website for a complete list of taxable services.

Digital Products and Services

A digital item or service is anything that is supplied electronically, such as a music downloaded from iTunes or a movie bought from Amazon.

Businesses in Florida are not required to collect sales tax on the sale of digital products or services.

Florida, on the other hand, has one exemption to this restriction. Businesses are required to collect sales tax on pre-written computer software offered online.

How to Register for Sales Tax in Florida

If you have concluded that you must charge sales tax on part or all of the products and services that your company sells, the next step is to apply for a seller’s licence.

This enables your company to collect sales tax on behalf of the municipal and state governments.

You will need the following information to register:

Entity’s Legal Name
Employer Identification Number (FEIN)
Date of incorporation, fiscal year end, and charter number
Name of the Owner/Officer (s)
Social Security Number of the owner
Business Location’s Physical Address
Address of the Owner

Even if you don’t have any sales tax to report or pay, Florida mandates that every seller with a sales tax permit submit a sales tax return on the due date.

A Resale Certificate might help you save money.

When acquiring items for resale, your firm does not have to pay sales tax if you obtain a resale certificate, also known as a reseller’s permit.

Sales Tax Collection

After obtaining your seller’s licence and starting your company, you’ll need to figure out how much sales tax to charge various consumers. It is critical for company owners to collect the right rate of sales tax to avoid penalties and the danger of expensive audits.

When computing sales tax, consider the following types of transactions:

Store Sales Shipping Within-State Sales Outside-State Sales

Retail Sales

For conventional company owners who sell products or services on-site, calculating sales tax is simple: all sales are taxed at the rate determined by the store’s location.

Here’s an illustration of how this situation may look:

In Hollister, Florida, Mary owns and operates a bookshop. Because books are taxed in the state of Florida, Mary charges a flat 7.000% sales tax on all purchases. This includes Florida’s 6.000% sales tax and Putnam County’s 1.000% sales tax.

Sales inside the state

The state of Florida implements a destination-based sales tax policy. This implies that long-distance purchases inside Florida are taxed based on the buyer’s address. This regulation applies to sales taxes levied by the state, county, and city.

Consider the following scenario:

Steve operates his own eBay electronics company from his home in Crescent City, Florida. A buyer from Jacksonville discovers Steve’s eBay website and buys a $350 set of headphones. Steve uses the Florida State tax rate of 6.000% plus the Duval County tax rate of 1.000% when computing the sales tax for this transaction. The entire cost is $374.50 ($24.50 sales tax) at a total sales tax rate of 7.0%.

Out-of-State Purchases

Businesses in Florida are only required to pay sales tax on out-of-state transactions if they have a presence in other states.

Nexus indicates that the company has a physical presence in another state.

Common nexus types include:

A physical place, such as an office, retail shop, or warehouse.
An employee who works from home or as a roaming sales representative.
An affiliate marketer
Dropshipping from a third-party vendor.
A temporary physical site, such as a festival or fair booth.

Submit Your Sales Tax Return

You’re ready to submit your sales tax return now that you’ve obtained your Florida seller’s permit and understand how to charge the correct amount of sales tax to all of your customers. You avoid penalties and fines, be sure to meet all filing dates.

How to File a Claim

Businesses in Florida are required to file sales tax forms and make sales tax payments online.

How Frequently Should You File?

The frequency with which you must submit is determined by the total amount of sales tax collected by your firm.

Annual filing: If your company receives less than $100.00 in sales tax each year, you must submit returns on an annual basis.
Semiannual filing: If your company receives between $101.00 and $500.00 in sales tax each month, you need submit returns semiannually.
Quarterly filing: If your company receives between $501.00 and $1000.00 in sales tax each month, you need submit quarterly reports.
Monthly filing: If your company receives more than $1000.00 in sales tax each month, you must submit monthly returns.

Deadlines for Filing

The deadline for all Florida sales tax returns is the 20th of the month, unless it is a weekend or federal holiday, in which case the deadline is postponed to the following working day. If the 20th of the month comes on a weekend or federal holiday, the deadline is shifted to the business day before the 20th. The following are the filing deadlines for this year:

Penalties for Filing Late

Florida has a minimum fine of $50.00 or 10% of the late sales tax owed, whichever is larger.