FLORIDA MOTOR VEHICLE SALES TAX RATES BY STATE – TIP 13A01-02
One of the easiest ways for a Florida car dealer to get themselves in trouble with the Florida Department of Revenue is how to handle exempt and partially exempt sales. You would think that an exemption from sales tax would help sell a car. However, as any long term car dealer will tell you, Florida sales tax is a complicated nightmare of rules and regulations with harsh results for seemingly harmless misstep or even a missing record. The outcome is usually that the car dealer becomes liable for any mistakes or miscalculation in tax rates. So please, take it from the law firm that helps defend car dealer missteps in sales tax on a regular basis, this is an area of your business that you want to take very seriously and make sure whoever in your business is handling sales taxes is well trained.
For your convenience, attached blow is a link to the Florida Department of Revenue's TIP 13A01-02, which provides the sales and use tax rates imposed on automobiles in every state. This for can be extremely useful when a customer from outside Florida wants to by a car from you. Under Florida law if an from out-of-state customer swears that they will take the car out of the state within 45 days and signs a Form DR-123, then the dealer only has to charge the customer the sales tax rate in their homes state.
Florida Department of Revenue TIP 13A01-02
If you want to read more about Florida sales and use taxes for car dealers, then below is a more in depth article on the topic.
FL CAR DEALER: WHIS IS A SALE TAX EXEMPT? March 17, 2013, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
About the author: Mr. Sutton is a Florida licensed CPA and Attorney and a shareholder in the law firm the Law Offices of Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, P.A. Mr. Sutton's primary practice is Florida tax controversy, with a almost exclusive focus on Florida sales and use tax. Mr. Sutton worked for in the State and Local Tax department of one of the Big Five accounting firms for a number of years and has been an adjunct professor of law at Stetson University College of Law since 2002 teaching State and Local Tax, Accounting for Lawyers, and Federal Income Tax I. Mr. Sutton is a frequent speaker on Florida sales and use taxes for the FICPA, Lorman Education, and Florida Society of Accountants. Mr. Sutton is also co-author of CCH's Sales and Use Tax Treatise. You can read more about Mr. Sutton in his firm bio.