Do You Need to File a Florida State Tax Return?

Filing a Florida state tax return is not something individuals need to do. Florida’s constitution prohibits a personal income tax, so there is no state version of Form 1040 for wages, interest, dividends, capital gains, or retirement income. Businesses are a different story: corporations, sellers, employers, and property owners each have their own Florida filings, and the rules below cover who owes what and when.

Individuals Do Not File a Florida Income Tax Return

Article VII, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution bars the state from levying an income tax on “natural persons” who are residents or citizens.¹ Because the ban lives in the constitution rather than in a statute, the legislature cannot introduce one without a voter-approved amendment.

If your Florida income is limited to wages, interest, dividends, capital gains, or retirement distributions, you owe the state nothing on that income and have no return to file. Florida also imposes no state-level estate or inheritance tax on individuals. Your federal Form 1040 obligations are unaffected — those still go to the IRS on the usual schedule.

One boundary worth naming: moving to Florida does not automatically end an income-tax obligation to the state you left. If your former state still considers you domiciled there, it can keep taxing your income. Florida allows you to file a Declaration of Domicile with the clerk of the circuit court to formalize your Florida residency,² but the fight over residency is with the old state, not with Florida.

Corporate Income Tax Return (Form F-1120)

The one income-based filing Florida requires is the corporate income tax return. It applies to corporations doing business, earning income, or simply existing in Florida, including S corporations and LLCs that have elected corporate tax treatment for federal purposes.³ Foreign corporations that are partners or members in a Florida partnership file as well.

The rate is 5.5% of Florida net income.⁴ Before applying the rate, subtract a $50,000 exemption from net income.⁵ A corporation with Florida net income at or below $50,000 owes no tax but may still have to file the return.

When Form F-1120 Is Due

Businesses file on Form F-1120.⁶ The deadline depends on the tax year:

For tax years ending June 30, the return is due on or before the first day of the fourth month after the close of the tax year.
For all other tax year endings, it is due on or before the first day of the fifth month after the close. Calendar-year filers file by May 1.

A second rule can push the deadline later. If the related federal return has a later due date, the Florida return is due on the 15th day after that federal deadline.³ The later of the two dates controls.

Who Does Not File F-1120

Homeowners associations that file federal Form 1120-H, single-member LLCs disregarded for both federal and Florida tax purposes, certain federally exempt credit unions, and qualified pension and health plans that are totally exempt from federal income tax are not required to file.⁷ Other entities with a Florida corporate filing obligation should assume they file even if no tax is due.

Late Filing Penalties

When tax is owed, the penalty is 10% of the unpaid tax per month the return is late, up to a maximum of 50%.⁸ A return showing zero tax due still draws $50 per month up to $300 for failure to file on time, provided the corporation is also required to file a federal return.

Sales and Use Tax Return (Form DR-15)

Any business selling taxable goods or services in Florida must register with the Department of Revenue and collect the 6% state sales tax.⁹ Individual counties add a discretionary sales surtax ranging from 0.5% to 1.5%, and some counties impose none.¹⁰

Registered dealers file Form DR-15, the Sales and Use Tax Return, on a schedule set by the Department of Revenue based on collection volume. Most businesses file monthly; lower-volume sellers may be assigned a quarterly or annual schedule.¹¹

Out-of-State Sellers

Remote retailers with more than $100,000 in direct sales into Florida during the previous calendar year have economic nexus and must register, collect, and remit Florida sales tax.¹² Florida uses only the dollar threshold; there is no separate transaction-count trigger. Sales made through a marketplace facilitator that already collects Florida tax generally do not count toward the $100,000 figure, and wholesale sales backed by valid resale certificates are excluded.

Reemployment Tax (Form RT-6)

Every Florida employer pays reemployment tax on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual wages.¹³ Experienced-employer rates run from 0.1% to 5.4% based on the employer’s history of former employees drawing benefits. New employers are assigned a 2.7% rate.

Employers report and remit quarterly on Form RT-6, the Employer’s Quarterly Report. The filing is required every quarter, even when no wages were paid and no tax is due.¹⁴

Documentary Stamp Tax

Florida imposes documentary stamp tax on certain legal documents when they are executed, delivered, or recorded in the state. The two most common triggers are property transfers and written promises to pay money.¹⁵

Deeds and property transfers are taxed at 70 cents per $100 of the total purchase price in every county except Miami-Dade, where the rate is 60 cents per $100 plus a 45-cent surtax that does not apply to single-family homes.
Promissory notes are taxed at 35 cents per $100 of the obligation, capped at $2,450 per note.
Mortgages and liens are taxed at 35 cents per $100 of the amount secured, with no cap.

This is a transactional obligation rather than a periodic return. You pay it at the time of recording or issuance, and buyers, sellers, and borrowers are the parties most likely to encounter it.

Tangible Personal Property Tax (Form DR-405)

Businesses that own equipment, furniture, fixtures, or other tangible personal property in Florida owe an annual ad valorem tax assessed by the county property appraiser. It is separate from real estate property tax.

Each tangible personal property account qualifies for a $25,000 exemption.¹⁶ If your total assessed value is $25,000 or less, file an initial Form DR-405 to claim the exemption; you can then skip filing in future years while the value stays at or below that threshold. If the value exceeds $25,000 in any year, file Form DR-405 by April 1. Missing that deadline loses the exemption for that year, and the property appraiser assesses the full value without the $25,000 reduction.

Electronic Filing Threshold

Florida requires electronic filing and payment for any business that paid $5,000 or more in a given tax type during the most recent state fiscal year, which runs July 1 through June 30.¹⁷ The mandate covers corporate income tax, sales and use tax, documentary stamp tax, and several other tax types. Cross the threshold on your sales tax last fiscal year and your DR-15 returns must be filed electronically from then on. Most filings go through the Department of Revenue’s e-Services portal, and Florida corporate income tax returns can also be filed through the IRS Modernized e-File program.³

1
Justia Law. Florida Constitution
2
Justia Law. Florida Code 222 – 222.17 Manifesting and Evidencing Domicile
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Instructions for Corporate Income/Franchise Tax Return
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 220 – 220.11 Tax Imposed
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 220.14 Exemption
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Corporate Income Tax
7
Cornell Law Institute. Florida Admin Code 12C-1.022 Returns; Filing Requirement
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 220.801 Penalties; Failure to Timely File Returns
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 212
10
Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax
11
Florida Department of Revenue. Instructions for DR-15 Sales and Use Tax Returns
12
Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Information Publication 21A01-03
13
Florida Department of Revenue. Reemployment Tax Rate Information
14
Florida Department of Revenue. Employer’s Quarterly Report RT-6
15
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Department of Revenue – Documentary Stamp Tax
16
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 196.183 Exemption for Tangible Personal Property
17
Florida Department of Revenue. Taxes, Fees, Remittances, and Reports with Electronic File and Pay Requirements