Florida taxpayers generally are all in agreement. Not about who the next president should be but rather hurricane season needs to end immediately. With three hurricane impacts to the state of Florida since early August, Florida residents and businesses have had more than their fair share of damage, inconvenience and difficulty. Fortunately, the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) is offering some help for some filers for the September tax returns that would otherwise be due this week.
In response to Hurricane Helene, The FDOR issued Order #24-002 which is an Order of Emergency Waiver/Deviation that applies to sales and use tax and related taxes. The Order was issued on October 2, 2024 following executive orders issued by Governor DeSantis days ahead of landfall by Hurricane Helene. While not impacting every county in Florida, the Order does provide relief for taxpayers in a number of counties along the coast that experienced surge flooding from Helene’s path that skimmed up the western coast of Florida before landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region on September 27th. The order needs to be carefully reviewed so that only applicable taxpayers take advantage of the available relief. The relief is a delayed filing/payment deadline for taxpayers for a limited time period in only specific counties.
The Order details the following specification for the provided relief:
This Order applies to the counties of Charlotte, Citrus, Dixie, Franklin, Hernando, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Taylor and Wakulla and is for returns, reports, and payments due for the September 2024 and October 2024 reporting periods or due between September 23, 2024 and November 22, 2024.
The Order subsequently identifies the taxes and fees affected which specifically listed: sales and use tax (including discretionary sales surtax), reemployment tax, Communications Services Tax, documentary stamp tax (unrecorded documents), government leasehold intangible personal property tax (GLIPPT), gross receipts tax on utility services, lead-acid battery fees (solid waste and surtax), insurance premium tax, motor fuels taxes, motor vehicle warranty fee, new tire fees (solid waste and surcharge), prepaid wireless fee, rental car surcharge (sold waste and surcharge), severance tax, and tourist development tax.
It is important to first confirm that you are in one of the specifically included counties the Order applies to. Polk County residents have had serious impacts from rain and related Helene issues. However, the Order does not apply to those taxpayers. It is also important to note, for those included counties and taxpayers, the October filing deadline is modified only slightly and allows for “joint” filing of both the September and October returns by the deadline. The Order specifically mentions that e-filers need to make sure the returns are “initiated” no later than 5 p.m. on November 21st. Complying with this deadline will not only help avoid penalty and interest (assuming the payment goes through as scheduled for November 22nd) but it will still entitle the taxpayer to receive the collection allowance that would be available for these timely filed and fully paid returns. Note that the Order does not provide any relief for late filed August returns as those tax returns should not fall into the “due” period running from September 23, 2024 and November 22, 2204 that would only encompass September and October returns – including quarterly return filers.
While possibly not as widely used, those who might need to see refunds for motor fuels taxes can take use of the extension for the due date for fling a refund for motor fuel tax. You should note that there is no mention of an extension for the filing of a refund for sales tax. This might not be an omission as that filing would impact the start of the applicable refund period and the later filing date for September/October returns could be corrected so as not to need inclusion in any claimed refund.
Businesses and individuals were dealing with a declining economy when the summer started. The recent hurricanes have only made their pain worse. However, the Department is at least trying to help out during the difficult time when recovery includes unexpected out of pocket costs that further tighten decreasing bottom lines in most, if not all, Florida counties. So make sure to verify if you or your client’s business can take advantage of the relief that allows for later timely filing and payment of September and October tax returns.
And, stay tuned. I presume the Department is working on additional relief following Hurricane Milton and the swath of destruction spread across the middle of the State in early October. The Department should issue any applicable order for relief in the next few days to a week. It is unclear if this will further extend the deadlines for Helene’s impact or provide separate relief for specific counties “impacted” by Milton’s immediate path through Florida.
About the author: Mr. Parker is a partner in the Law Offices of Moffa, Sutton, & Donnini, P.A., based in the firm's Tampa office. Mr. Parker's practice concentrates on sales and use tax and includes criminal defense of sales tax cases and state tax audits/controversies proceeding from audit through administrative litigation involving sales and use tax and all other state taxes including reemployment tax, communication service tax, and cigarette & tobacco tax. Mr. Parker also handles matters involving the Department of Business and Personal Regulation and Office of Financial Regulation and the industries they oversee. Mr. Parker received his accounting degree, law degree, and L.L.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida. You can learn more about Matthew on his firm bio.