Key figures
Florida accounting
2026, with sources
A corporate tax in a state with no income tax
Florida has no personal income tax, but it does tax C-corporations: 5.5% of Florida net income after a $50,000 exemption, filed on Form F-1120. The exemption is applied once across a controlled group, so a parent and its subsidiaries share one.
The return starts from federal taxable income, adds and subtracts Florida’s adjustments, and apportions what is left using a three-factor formula: property 25%, payroll 25% and sales 50%. A remote-first company with its people in Florida but customers everywhere apportions more income here than it would in a single-sales-factor state.
Conformity: January 1, 2026, with the big exceptions
Florida updates its Internal Revenue Code conformity date by statute each year. HB 7031, signed June 11, 2026, moved it to January 1, 2026, retroactively, but kept the January 1, 2025 version of Sections 168(k), 174, 163(j), 179 and 274 and decoupled from Sections 168(n) and 174A.
In practice that means three recurring book-tax differences on the Florida return: bonus depreciation added back and recovered over seven years, domestic research costs capitalized and amortized even though they are expensed federally, and an interest limitation computed the pre-2025 way. Each one is a state deferred tax item in the provision.
Sourcing services and SaaS receipts
The statute does not spell out how to source receipts from services, and the Department of Revenue has filled the gap in technical assistance advisements, sourcing them to where the customer receives the service. Taxpayers have challenged that position in court, so the method used on the return is worth documenting.
Deadlines
- 1st day of the 5th month after year end (May 1), or 15 days after the federal due date if laterFlorida corporate income/franchise tax return (calendar-year filers)Form F-1120
- The original due dateSix-month extension to file, with a tentative paymentForm F-7004
- Quarterly through the tax yearEstimated payments, when annual Florida tax is more than $2,500Form F-1120ES
The federal baseline
This page covers what Florida adds. The federal rules underneath it apply here too.
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.
Does Florida let us expense domestic R&D the way the federal return now does?
No. Florida updated to the January 1, 2026 Code in June 2026 but kept Section 174 as it stood on January 1, 2025 and decoupled from Section 174A entirely, so domestic research costs you expense federally are still capitalized and amortized for Florida.
Accounting next door
- ALAlabama accountingAlabama taxes corporations at 6.5% with a deduction for federal income tax, apportions on a single sales factor, and conforms to federal changes automatically, so it follows federal R&D expensing and bonus depreciation.
- GAGeorgia accountingGeorgia taxes C-corporations at a flat 4.99% for 2026, apportions on gross receipts alone, adds a net worth tax capped at $5,000, and decouples from bonus depreciation and Section 174A.
Founder guides on this
- R&D taxThe R&D tax credit and Section 174A for startupsEngineering salaries can earn a federal R&D credit against payroll tax, and Section 174A lets you deduct US research again. What qualifies, what to track.
- US GAAPUS GAAP for early-stage startups, in plain EnglishAccrual accounting, revenue recognition (ASC 606), leases (ASC 842), stock compensation and capitalized software: what each means for a small company.
- The closeWhy startups should close their books every monthA monthly close turns a bank balance into numbers an investor, an auditor or a 409A firm will accept. What it is, and why it gets expensive to skip.
More of the Florida guide
- ReceivablesReceivables and sales tax in FloridaSales tax registration, economic nexus, whether SaaS is taxable, and collecting from customers
- PayablesPayables and contractors in FloridaPaying vendors and contractors: 1099 filing, use tax, contractor tests and withholding
- PayrollPayroll taxes and employer rules in FloridaWithholding, unemployment insurance, paid leave, minimum wage and the rules on paydays
- ComplianceCompliance and filings in FloridaRegistering to do business, annual reports, franchise tax and the filing calendar
- AdvisoryAdvisory: credits and decisions in FloridaCredits, incentives and the decisions that are cheaper to get right the first time
Sources
Checked against each agency’s own page on . Rates and thresholds change, usually on January 1.
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.