Key takeaways
- Florida assigns the filing frequency from the tax collected, and the Department's table runs from annual at $100 or less to monthly above $1,000.
- The return is due on the 1st and late after the 20th, so plan the close to the 20th.
- The 2.5% collection allowance is capped at $30 per reporting location per period, and it requires electronic filing and payment on time.
- County surtax follows the delivery address, and the Department updates its county rate table each November.
- A late return carries a 10% penalty with a $50 floor, plus 1% interest per month.
How Florida assigns the filing frequency
The Department of Revenue assigns the filing frequency, based on the tax you collect. The Department's sales tax page says most new businesses start on a quarterly schedule. It also says annual collections of more than $1,000 require monthly filing, $501 to $1,000 require quarterly, $101 to $500 require semiannual, and $100 or less require annual.
Statute 212.11(1)(c) uses a different base: the tax remitted over the preceding four quarters. It sets a quarterly return with monthly payment for amounts above $1,000 and up to $12,000. Before you tell a client their schedule, pull four quarters of remittances and check the Department's assignment notice for the schedule in force.
Each Florida place of business must be registered separately, so a client with two stores in two counties has two registrations and two frequency assignments. A new location is added with Form DR-1A, and the Department's page says a closure or sale must be reported. To request a change, call Taxpayer Assistance at 850-488-6800, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
Due dates: the 1st on the form, the 20th in statute
Statute 212.11(1)(b)1. requires the dealer to file and remit on or before the 20th day of the month, for transactions in the preceding calendar month. The Department's page shows the return as due on the 1st and late after the 20th. Treat the 20th as your working deadline.
Quarterly filers follow the same pattern. The Department's example is the January through March return, due April 1 and late after April 20. For the October through December 2026 quarter, the return is due January 1, 2027 and late after January 20, 2027. Set the internal close date ahead of January 20, 2027, and do not wait for the form's due date to start the work.
When the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the Department's page says a return filed without payment is timely if you receive a confirmation number for the electronically filed return. That rule covers the return. For the payment, check the Form DR-659 calendar for that month rather than assuming the date moved.
File and pay electronically, or lose the discount
The collection allowance is available only when the dealer files and pays electronically and pays on time. Statute 212.12(1)(a) uses the phrase “only by electronic means” for both. A paper return or a check that is on time earns no allowance, and the Department may deny the allowance when the return or tax is delinquent at the time of payment under 212.12(1)(b).
The Department's page says businesses that paid $5,000 or more in the prior state fiscal year must file and pay electronically during the next calendar year. A client who crosses that line and keeps mailing paper returns faces a $10 penalty for failure to file electronically and another $10 for failure to pay electronically, both in addition to any other penalty.
Electronic payment has a cutoff. The Department's page says the payment must be initiated and a confirmation number received no later than 5 p.m. ET to avoid penalty and interest. Form DR-659 lists the electronic payment deadlines by month. Initiate payment early, save the confirmation number and file it with the return.
Lines, surtax and the county of delivery
The Department's page notes that sales reported on lines A through E of the Sales and Use Tax Return, Form DR-15, may carry different tax rates. Surtax is the layer most often wrong. The county surtax rate applies to a taxable item or service delivered into a county that imposes a surtax, so the rate follows the delivery address, not the store that made the sale.
Florida's general state rate is 6%. Counties that levy a discretionary surtax add it on top. Form DR-15DSS, the county surtax table, is updated each November, so use the table that matches the reporting period.
Worked example. A client sells $20,000 of taxable goods in one month, all delivered into a county with a hypothetical 1.0% surtax. State tax is 6% of $20,000, or $1,200. Surtax is 1.0% of $20,000, or $200. Tax due is $1,400. The allowance is 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due, which is $30, not 2.5% of $1,400, which would be $35. The net payment is $1,370.
The failure mode is applying the store's county to online orders shipped elsewhere. Fix it by pulling the ship-to county from the order export, grouping taxable sales by county, and attaching that county schedule to the return file.
The timely-payment discount by filing method
The discount depends on how the return is filed and paid. Electronic filing and electronic payment on time earn 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due, capped at $30 per reporting location per period. A paper return, a check payment or a late return earns nothing.
The cap sets the ceiling. A monthly filer at the $30 cap earns up to $360 a year per location, and a quarterly filer earns up to $120. A client who owes $400 of tax in a quarter gets 2.5% of $400, or $10.
Decision rule: if the client still files on paper or pays by check, move them to electronic filing and payment before the next period. If the client paid $5,000 or more in the prior state fiscal year, plan on electronic filing for the next calendar year, because it is required.
Late returns: the penalty and the interest math
Statute 212.12(2)(a) sets the late filing penalty at 10 percent of the tax shown on the return that is not timely filed, and the penalty may not be less than $50. Interest runs at 1 percent per month of the amount due from the date due until paid, and under 212.12(3) it is calculated beginning on the 21st day of the month following the month for which the tax is due.
Example: a quarterly client owes $400 and files late. The 10% penalty is $40, but the $50 floor applies, so the penalty is $50. Interest on $400 is $4 for each month the tax stays unpaid. A monthly client with $1,400 of tax who files late owes a $140 penalty and $14 of interest per month.
The failure mode is treating the $50 floor as a rounding detail. On a small quarterly return it is the whole penalty. Calendar the late-after date and file early.
Running the return each period
Start from taxable sales by ship-to county, pulled from the POS or e-commerce export. Reconcile that total to the sales account in the general ledger for the period. Separate exempt and nontaxable sales first, such as sales for resale backed by a certificate, so they do not carry tax.
Compute state tax at 6%, county surtax at each county's rate in the current DR-15DSS table, and the collection allowance at 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due, capped at $30. Tie the total tax due on the DR-15 back to the county schedule before filing.
Send the client a specific request, such as “Please send your taxable sales by county for October 2026, the POS export for the same month, and any resale certificates for sales not taxed, by the 10th of the month after the period.” Keep the e-file acknowledgement, the payment confirmation and the county schedule together for each period.