Florida's state 6% sales tax rate is the starting point for businesses and consumers to determine the proper sales tax rate to charge for the sale of tangible personal property in Florida. A majority of counties in Florida also impose a local sales tax rate, referred to as the discretionary sales surtax. For your convenience, below is a link to Form DR-15DSS - Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar the beginning of 2018, which gives you a breakdown of the local sales surtax rates county by county for the year. You can download a copy of the rates effective 1/1/18 in the link below:
FLORIDA DISCRETIONARY SALES SURTAX RATES FOR 2018
Please note, these rates (along with the state 6% rate) only apply to the sale of tangible personal property and the few services subject to sales and use tax in Florida. Other types of sales, such as hotel accommodations or communication services, are subject to other types of taxes.
Finally – The DISCRETIONARY SALES SURTAX ONLY APPLIES TO THE 1ST $5,000 of tangible personal property sales. For large purchases, this can be a significant savings, but not all vendors know if the > $5,000 exemption. If you have overpaid the discretionary sales surtax, then you might have a refund opportunity.
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 is in charge of the Tampa office of the firm and his primary practice area is Florida sales and use tax controversy. Mr. Sutton worked in the State and Local Tax department of a "big five" accounting firm for a number of years and has been an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law since 2002 teaching State and Local Taxation, Accounting for Lawyers, and Federal Income Tax I. You can read more about Mr. Sutton in his firm BIO.
At the Law Office of Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, PA, our primary practice area is Florida taxes, with a very heavy emphasis in Florida sales and use tax. We have defended Florida businesses against the Florida Department of Revenue since 1991 and have over 100 years of cumulative sales tax experience within our firm. Our partners are both CPAs/Accountants and Attorneys, so we understand both the accounting side of the situation as well as the legal side. We represent taxpayers and business owners from the entire state of Florida. Call our offices today for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION to confidentially discuss how we can help put this nightmare behind you.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
RESTAURANT FLORIDA SALES TAX HANDBOOK, published January 4, 2018, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq, & David Brennan, Esq.
FLORIDA SALES TAX ATTORNEYS and CPA'S - Moffa Sutton Donnini, published December 14, 2017, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
WHAT SERVICES ARE SUBJECT TO SALES TAX IN FLORIDA?, published May 1, 2012, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
GOING TO JAIL FOR NOT PAYING FLORIDA SALES TAX?, published November 3, 2013, by James Sutton, CPA, Esq.
© 2018 - copyright to James H Sutton, Jr. – all rights reserved