Sales tax in Florida

Question 1

What is Florida's sales tax rate?

Accepted Answer

Florida runs a 6% statewide base rate administered by the FL DOR. On top of that, the buyer's ship-to county stacks a discretionary surtax of 0.5% to roughly 2% (capped under FL DOR rules), set per-county through school-board and local-vote processes. Combined rates run from 6.5% to about 8% depending on the exact county — the surtax portion is collected and remitted on the same FL DOR return, not as a separate filing.

Question 2

How often does Florida require sales tax filings?

Accepted Answer

Most Florida sellers file monthly through the FL DOR. The return is due on the 20th of the month following the reporting period — for example, the September return is due October 20. The FL DOR may re-classify a low-liability account to quarterly (or, below the threshold, semi-annual or annual) after a year of on-time filings, but new accounts almost always start monthly and stay monthly until the FL DOR changes the assignment.

Question 3

How do I register for Florida sales tax with the FL DOR?

Accepted Answer

Florida's economic-nexus threshold is $100,000 of retail sales into Florida in the prior calendar year — a Wayfair-aligned threshold with no transaction-count alternative. Once crossed, the seller registers with the FL DOR using form DR-1 ("Application to Register as a Florida Dealer in Sales/Use Tax"), typically online through the FL DOR's Sales Tax portal, and receives a certificate of registration from the FL DOR within the FL DOR's pre-defined processing window.

Question 4

What happens if a Florida sales tax return files late with the FL DOR?

Accepted Answer

Late filings under the FL DOR carry a penalty plus interest, both compounding daily against the unpaid balance. Repeated late filings can move a monthly account up the FL DOR audit-review list even when the underlying liability is small. The 20th-of-the-month cadence makes this more likely than for states that file on a fixed weekday — a missed calendar date by a single day pushes the FL DOR return into the penalty window.

What you’ll find in this guide