At a glance
- Corporate tax
- 5.5% after $50,000 exemption
- Tax on wages
- None
- Sales tax
- 6% + county surtax
- Economic nexus
- $100,000 in taxable remote sales
- Minimum wage
- $15.00/hr (from Sep 30, 2026)
- UI wage base
- $7,000
- New-employer UI rate
- 2.7%
- Paid leave program
- None
- Annual report
- Jan 1–May 1, $150 ($400 late fee)
2026 figures, each explained with its source on the area’s page. On top of the federal baseline.
Setup, in order
Qualify the corporation with Sunbiz
Before doing business in Florida, usually the first Florida hire or officeFile Form CR2E007 with the Division of Corporations ($70), with a Florida registered agent and a recent certificate of good standing from Delaware.
Register for corporate income tax
When the company starts doing business in FloridaRegister with the Department of Revenue for corporate income tax; the company files Form F-1120 every year once it is subject to the tax.
Open a reemployment tax account
Before the first Florida payrollRegister with the Department of Revenue for reemployment tax and file Form RT-6 each quarter; new employers start at 2.7% on $7,000.
Set up new-hire reporting
Within 20 days of each hire or contractReport each new employee, and each individual contractor paid $600 or more in a year, to the Florida New Hire Reporting Center.
Arrange workers’ compensation
At four employeesBuy a workers’ compensation policy once you have four employees, counting corporate officers who have not filed an exemption.
Register for sales tax if you have nexus
When taxable Florida sales start or the threshold is crossedRegister for sales and use tax if you sell taxable goods or services into Florida, or once taxable remote sales pass $100,000 in a calendar year.
Get local business tax receipts
When you open a Florida locationGet a local business tax receipt from the county and, where it levies one, the city where your office is.
Calendar the annual report
The year after qualifyingFile the annual report on Sunbiz between January 1 and May 1 each year, $150.
The six areas
- AccountingAccounting and state tax in FloridaFlorida taxes C-corporations at 5.5% after a $50,000 exemption, apportions with double-weighted sales, and in 2026 decoupled again from federal bonus depreciation and domestic R&E expensing.Corporate income tax rate5.5%
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in FloridaFlorida’s rate is 6% plus county surtax, remote sellers register after $100,000 of taxable sales, and SaaS delivered electronically has generally been ruled not taxable.State sales tax rate6%
- PayablesPayables and contractors in FloridaFlorida has no state 1099 filing but requires contractors paid $600 or more to be reported to the new hire registry; commercial rent stopped being taxed on October 1, 2025.State 1099 filingNone
- PayrollPayroll taxes and employer rules in FloridaFlorida payroll has no state income tax withholding; the obligations are reemployment tax at 2.7% on $7,000 for new employers, new-hire reporting, a $15.00 minimum wage, and workers’ comp from four employees.State income tax withholdingNone
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in FloridaFlorida compliance is a $70 foreign qualification, a $150 annual report due by May 1 with a $400 late fee, the F-1120, and local business tax receipts where you have an office.Foreign qualification fee$70
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in FloridaFlorida’s draw is no personal income tax; its catches are a corporate tax that still applies to C-corps, a documentary stamp tax on promissory notes, and a capped, application-based R&D credit.R&D credit10%
Who you register with
- Florida Department of RevenueCorporate income tax, sales tax, reemployment tax and new-hire reporting
- Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)Foreign qualification and the annual report
- FloridaCommerceMinimum wage notice and reemployment assistance claims
- Florida Division of Workers’ CompensationCoverage requirements and officer exemptions
- Florida Department of Financial Services — Unclaimed PropertyAnnual unclaimed property report
Hiring across the border
An employee who lives in one state and works in another is the most common way a startup ends up registered in two. These are Florida’s neighbors.
Common questions
We’re a Delaware C-corp with a Florida office and a loss. Do we still file?
Yes, if it is doing business or earning income in Florida. Every corporation subject to the tax files Form F-1120 each year even when no tax is due, and the $50,000 exemption means a small company often owes nothing while still having to file.
Is our SaaS subscription taxable in Florida?
Generally not. The Department of Revenue has ruled in technical assistance advisements that electronically accessed software subscriptions and cloud services, with nothing tangible delivered, are not subject to Florida sales tax. Those rulings bind only the company that asked, and software delivered on a physical medium, or services bundled into a taxable sale, can be taxable.
Do we still pay sales tax on our Florida office rent?
No, not for rental periods beginning on or after October 1, 2025. HB 7031 (2025), the 2025 tax package, repealed the state sales tax and discretionary surtax on commercial real property rent for office, retail and warehouse space. Rent for periods through September 30, 2025 stays taxable even if paid later, and parking and transient rentals are still taxed.
What does Florida payroll involve if there’s no income tax?
Florida has no wage tax and no state withholding form. The state payroll obligations are the reemployment tax (Florida’s name for unemployment insurance) on Form RT-6, new-hire reporting within 20 days, the state minimum wage, and workers’ compensation once you have four employees.
Is the Florida annual report late fee really $400?
Yes. Sunbiz charges a $400 late fee on a profit corporation annual report filed after May 1, and the Division of Corporations says there is no provision to waive it. A company that does not file is eventually administratively dissolved or, for a foreign corporation, has its authority revoked.
Can a Florida startup use the state R&D credit?
Only if it is a qualified target industry business, such as information technology or cloud information technology, has a certification letter from FloridaCommerce, is allowed the federal research credit, and has Florida corporate tax to offset. The credit is nonrefundable, capped at half of the remaining liability, and has no transfer provision, so a pre-profit startup usually has nothing to use it against.
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
- Florida Department of Revenue — Corporate Income Tax
- Florida Legislature — HB 7031 (2026), IRC conformity
- Florida Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax
- Florida DOR — TIP 25A01-04, repeal of tax on commercial rentals
- Florida DOR — Technical Assistance Advisement 16A-014 (software subscriptions)
- Florida Department of Revenue — Reemployment Tax rate information
- Florida Department of Revenue — Reemployment Tax
- Florida DOR — New Hire Reporting
- Florida Statutes s. 409.2576 — new hire and contractor reporting
- FloridaCommerce — required posters, Florida minimum wage
- Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation — coverage requirements
- Florida Division of Corporations — Form CR2E007, foreign corporation authorization
- Florida Division of Corporations (Sunbiz)
- Florida Department of Financial Services — Reporting Unclaimed Property
- Florida Department of Revenue — Documentary Stamp Tax
- Florida DOR — Corporate Income Tax Research and Development Credit
- Florida Statutes s. 220.196 — research and development credit
General information for US companies, not tax, legal or accounting advice for yours. Rules and thresholds change; confirm the specifics with a CPA or the agency before you act on them.