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2. Licensing - Local occupational licenses are required for most businesses and are issued by counties and cities. Check with your local city clerk and county tax collector. Many businesses and professions also are licensed by the state. To find out if a state license is required for your particular business, you may call the Florida Business Line at 1-800-342-0771.
3. Corporations/Partnerships & Individual Proprietorships - In a Corporation, control of the business depends on ownership of stock. In a Partnership, control of the business is shared by partners. In an Individual Proprietorship, the owner has absolute authority over all business decisions (and is personally liable for all of its obligations and liabilities). Corporations must file state corporate income tax returns.
4. Business Name - If a business, not incorporated, is named something other than the owner's name, a fictitious name must be registered with the state. A Notice of Intent to Register the fictitious name must be advertised once in a newspaper in the county where the business will be based and the name must then be registered with the state.
5. Federal Employer I.D. Number - A Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) is issued to most businesses. The FEIN is issued by the Internal Revenue Service upon the filing of an application (Form SS-4). Your FEIN is required on the Florida Sales & Use Tax return (DR-15).
Sales & Use Tax Chapter 212, Florida Statutes
When tangible personal property is brought into, stored, sold, or leased
to a consumer in this state, it is taxable, unless specifically exempt.
If your business will involve taxable transactions, you must register as
a Sales & Use Tax dealer before you begin conducting business in this
state. To register, complete an Application for Registration, Sales &
Use Tax (Form DR-1), available from local Department of Revenue Service
Centers or by calling Taxpayer Services. There is a $5 registration fee
for in-state dealers. After the Department approves your application, you
will receive a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) and your first
three tax return forms. Dealers are responsible for collecting Sales &
Use Tax at the time of each sale and for remitting the tax each month to
the Florida Department of Revenue with a Sales & Use Tax Return (Form
DR-15). You must file timely each month, even if no tax is due. The deadline
for your first return is based on the business opening date you list on
your DR-1 application. If your business opening date changes, notify the
Department to avoid being penalized for late filing. For more information,
request a copy of the Sales & Use Tax Brochure (ST-0101), also available
through local Department of Revenue Service Centers or by calling Taxpayer
Services, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., ET, at 1-800-352-3671 (in Florida
only) or 904-488-6800.
Discretionary Surtax Rule 12A-15.002, Florida Administrative Code
Florida counties, under specific conditions, are authorized to levy
a discretionary surtax on all transactions in the county that are subject
to Sales & Use Tax. A dealer who sells and delivers taxable merchandise
or a taxable service to a location within a county imposing a discretionary
surtax, is required to collect the surtax at the rate imposed in the county
where the merchandise or service is delivered. Dealers remit Discretionary
Surtax to the Florida Department of Revenue, along with Sales & Use
Tax, on the Sales & Use Tax Return (Form DR-15). For more information,
request a copy of Discretionary Surtax brochure #LO-0101, from a local
Department of Revenue Service Center or by calling Taxpayer Services, Monday-Friday,
8 a.m.-5 p.m., ET, at 1-800-352-3671 (in Florida only) or 904-488-6800.
Corporate Income Tax, Chapter 220,
Florida Statutes
Florida's Income Tax Code requires a taxpayer, corporation, or company
with Florida nexus to file a Florida Corporate Income/Franchise and Emergency
Excise Tax Return (Florida Form F-1120), available from local Department
of Revenue Service Centers or by calling Taxpayer Services. Click
here for filing dates for corporate income tax returns.
Examples of Florida taxable nexus are: (1) having at least one employee
living and working in Florida in capacities other than sales solicitation;
(2) sending employees or representatives into Florida to perform a service,
e.g., install or repair equipment; (3) owning real estate in Florida; (4)
owning tangible personal property in Florida; (5) leasing real property
or tangible personal property in Florida. For more information about corporate
nexus, request a copy of the Florida Dealer Questionnaire (Form DR-703),
available through local Department of Revenue Service Centers or by calling
Taxpayer Services.
Intangible Personal Property
Tax Chapter 199, F.S.
Every corporation or person who is a legal resident of Florida or who
manages or controls intangible personal property having a taxable situs
in this state, must file an Intangible Personal Property Tax Return (Form
DR-601C), available from local Department of Revenue Service Centers or
by calling Taxpayer Services. Click
here for filing dates for the intangible tax return.
Intangible personal property has a taxable situs if it has a business situs in Florida and/or if it is owned or managed by a person transacting business in Florida. Examples of taxable intangible personal property include, but are not limited to: accounts receivable, stocks, trusts, notes, bonds, leases, repurchase agreements, loans to and from shareholders, and limited partnership interest. Examples not subject to tax include: money, savings accounts, checking accounts, intangibles owned or issued by federal/state credit unions, State of Florida issued bonds or notes, and franchises.
There are two types of intangible personal property taxes: (1) Annual
Tax payable to the Florida Department of Revenue, which applies to natural
persons, corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, and associations;
and (2) Nonrecurring Tax collected by the Clerk of Circuit Court, which
applies to any loan, note, or other obligation secured by a lien on Florida
real property. For more information, call the Department of Revenue Service
Center nearest you or Taxpayer Services.