Florida sales tax: rates, nexus & DR-15 filing

$100,000 in retail sales delivered into Florida during the previous calendar year — sales only, no transaction-count test. Florida switched to a sales-only test in July 2021 when SB 50 took effect. Once you cross $100,000 in a calendar year, you must register with the Florida Department of Revenue and start collecting on the first sale of the next calendar year.

Florida's statewide base rate is 6.00%. Counties may impose a discretionary sales surtax of 0.5%–1.5% on top, taking combined rates to 6.5%–7.5%. The surtax has an unusual twist: on a single sale of tangible personal property, the surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the sale. Anything above $5,000 in the same transaction is taxed at 6% only. This caps the per-sale county surtax at $75 (at the 1.5% maximum). The cap does not apply to services or rentals.

Florida does not tax SaaS or remotely-accessed software — the state requires a transfer of tangible personal property for the sale to be taxable, and remote access does not qualify. Downloaded electronic software is also exempt as of 1986. Digital downloads of music, ebooks, and videos are exempt. Florida is one of the more SaaS-friendly states; the carve-out is mature and well-litigated.

Florida is a destination-sourcing state for sales tax. The combined rate (state 6% + the destination county's discretionary surtax) is keyed to the buyer's ship-to address, not the seller's warehouse. The surtax can vary by 1 percentage point between adjacent counties (e.g., Miami-Dade at 7% vs Broward at 7%, but Monroe County at 7.5%), so flat-rate calculations miss revenue on cross-county shipments.

Florida's marketplace facilitator law (also part of SB 50, effective July 2021) requires facilitators with $100,000+ in Florida sales to collect and remit on behalf of third-party sellers. Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart and Shopify Markets in Florida are facilitators. Sellers track marketplace gross sales for their own nexus calculation but do not remit tax on those transactions. Direct sales through your own site still need to be collected and remitted by you once you cross nexus.

The Florida DOR assigns frequency based on annual tax liability: monthly if liability exceeds $1,000/year (most active sellers), quarterly for $501–$1,000, semi-annually for $101–$500, and annually for under $100. Returns and payments are due by the 20th of the month following the period. Electronic filing is mandatory for businesses over $20,000 in annual tax — and a collection allowance of 2.5% (max $30) is available for timely filers.

Florida has a 6% use tax (plus the destination county's surtax) on tangible personal property bought from out-of-state vendors where Florida sales tax was not collected, when used inside the state. Common triggers: equipment bought in a non-collecting state, ecommerce purchases pre-Wayfair, and inventory moved from an out-of-state warehouse. Use tax is reported on the same DR-15 return.

(1) Applying the surtax to the full sale amount when only the first $5,000 of tangible personal property is subject — a real error on B2B equipment sales. (2) Using a flat 7% rate everywhere instead of the destination county's actual surtax. (3) Forgetting that the surtax cap does NOT apply to services or rentals. (4) Missing the 20th-of-month due date — the DOR is strict on penalties for late filing. (5) Not claiming the collection allowance (2.5%, max $30 per return) on timely filings.