A guide to Florida small business taxes

Florida small business taxes start with a 6% state sales tax rate (2026). ^[1]

The state income tax picture

Start with what the state charges on business and personal income.

Florida's constitution bars a state income tax on individuals who are residents or citizens of Florida, beyond amounts that can be credited against or deducted from a similar tax of the United States or another state. ^[2]

Florida's corporate income/franchise tax is 5.5% for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. It applies after a $50,000 exemption and starts from federal taxable income, with Florida adjustments. ^[3]

Florida corporations subtract a $50,000 exemption from Florida net income and pay tax at 5.5% on the rest (taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022). General example for a 2026 tax year: $150,000 of Florida net income less the $50,000 exemption leaves $100,000, and 5.5% of that is $5,500. ^[4]

A corporation doing business both inside and outside Florida usually apportions its income to Florida with a weighted formula: 25% property, 25% payroll and 50% sales (current rule on the Department of Revenue page checked October 27, 2026). ^[4]

Florida's top personal income tax rate for 2026: none, because the state has no personal income tax. ^[2]

Florida splits a corporation's income using a formula that counts sales at 50% and property and payroll at 25% each. ^[3]

Sales tax and what local rules add

Here is how the state sales tax works and where county rules change the math.

Florida's state sales tax rate is 6% (2026). ^[1]

Many Florida counties add a discretionary sales surtax to most sales that are subject to sales or use tax. The surtax that applies is set by the county where the item is delivered. ^[1]

On top of the 6% state rate, Florida counties add a discretionary sales surtax that varies by county. For calendar year 2026 county rates run from .5% to 2%, two counties levy none, and the surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of a sale of tangible personal property. ^[5][6]

Most Florida services are not taxed, but some are: nonresidential cleaning, nonresidential pest control, and detective and protection services must be registered for and taxed (2026 rules). ^[7]

Since July 1, 2021, an out-of-state seller whose taxable remote sales into Florida passed $100,000 in the previous calendar year must collect and electronically remit Florida sales tax plus any county surtax. For 2027, the test is 2026 sales. ^[7]

Florida use tax is due when a business uses taxable goods or services on which no sales tax was paid: for example, an item bought out of state and brought into Florida, or an item bought tax free for resale and then used in the business (rules in force for 2026). ^[7]

Registering to collect Florida sales tax on Form DR-1 has been free since January 1, 2018, when the $5 fee was dropped. A business registers before it starts making taxable sales. ^[8]

Florida sales tax returns are due on the 1st and late after the 20th of the month after each period. Businesses with more than $1,000 a year in tax file monthly, $501 to $1,000 quarterly, $101 to $500 twice a year and $100 or less once a year. ^[1]

Business structures and how the state treats them

The entity you pick shapes which Florida forms and taxes apply.

A Florida corporation files Form F-1120 every year, even when it owes no tax. ^[3]

An LLC taxed as a partnership files Florida Form F-1065 when at least one of its owners is a corporation. That corporate owner also files its own Florida return. ^[3]

Florida documentary stamp tax applies to notes and other written obligations to pay money signed or delivered in Florida, at 35 cents per $100, capped at $2,450 per note. Mortgages, liens and other evidences of debt filed or recorded in Florida are taxed at the same rate with no cap, and when a note is secured by a mortgage recorded in Florida, the tax is paid on the mortgage when it is recorded (rule in force for 2026). General example for 2026: a $100,000 note owes $350 (1,000 x $0.35). ^[9][10]

A business that owns tangible personal property such as equipment on January 1, 2027 files Form DR-405 with the county property appraiser by April 1, 2027, unless the appraiser has waived filing because the property's assessed value is $25,000 or less and an initial return was filed. Filing on time earns an exemption of up to $25,000 of assessed value. Late filing costs 5% of the tax per month, up to 25%, and not filing costs 25%. ^[11]

Deadlines and extensions

These are the dates that keep a filing on track.

Filing Form F-7004 and paying the tentative tax by the original due date gives 6 more months to file (7 months for years ending in June). It does not give more time to pay. ^[3]

A federal extension moves only the filing date, not the payment date. For 2026 individual returns, an extension gives until October 15, 2027 to file, but tax owed is still due April 15, 2027. ^[12][13]

Florida charges a floating interest rate on late and underpaid tax, reset twice a year. The rate is 11% for the second half of 2026 (through December 31, 2026), unchanged from the first half of 2026. The next reset is January 1, 2027. ^[14]

Florida small business taxes at a glance

A quick card for the state's recent tax changes.

Florida's corporate income tax rate went back to 5.5% for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, after 3.535% for 2021. ^[3]

Signed law: HB 7031-E (Chapter 2026-239), approved by the Governor in June 2026 and mostly effective July 1, 2026, moved the yearly back-to-school holiday to a month long window starting in late July (next July 20, 2027 through August 20, 2027) and created a sales tax holiday for hunting, fishing and camping gear that runs through December 31, 2026. ^[15][16]

Signed law: HB 7031 (Chapter 2025-208), approved in 2025, repealed Florida's sales tax on commercial rent (the business rent tax) beginning October 1, 2025. ^[17][18]

Florida now has a permanent back-to-school sales tax holiday that lasts a month each summer. The next one runs July 20, 2027 through August 20, 2027. It covers clothing and shoes priced $100 or less, school supplies $50 or less and personal computers $1,500 or less. HB 7031-E set these dates and the Governor approved it in June 2026. ^[19][16][15]

Questions people ask

Does Florida have a state income tax? Florida's constitution bars a state income tax on individuals who are residents or citizens of Florida, beyond amounts that can be credited against or deducted from a similar tax of the United States or another state. ^[2]

What taxes do small businesses pay in Florida? Florida's corporate income/franchise tax is 5.5% for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. It applies after a $50,000 exemption and starts from federal taxable income, with Florida adjustments. ^[3]

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General information from the official sources listed below, checked October 27, 2026. Not tax or legal advice.