Blog Posts in Florida Tax Audit

On February 25, 2021, the Florida Supreme Court struct down Hillsborough County’s 1% surtax earmarked for transportation originally enacted in 2018. Business owners have been in a state of limbo ...

Capital leases are an excellent way to plan for the future as well as take advantage of unique Florida sales and use tax benefits. However, the Florida Department of Revenue sees a capital lease and ...

The taxability of gratuities depends on whether the gratuity is part of the sale of the good or service. The answer is not a simple yes or no, it’s more situational. Let’s look at two different ...

Businesses across the board have taken a huge hit as a result of COVID. This pandemic was and still continues to be something no one could have planned for that’s for sure. As restaurants reopen or ...

Understanding settlement authority of the Department of Revenue when there is doubt as to liability Part I of 2 The statutory framework for compromise of taxes, interest and associated penalties . ...

A real property contractor is defined as someone who supply and affix, or install, goods that become part of real property. As a real property contactor in the state of Florida you do not charge sales ...

Things to know before starting a Florida sales and use tax audit A Florida sales and use tax audit can be a very stressful and complicated event. I would like to go over some basic facts you should be ...

Everyone is aware that the recent pandemic has impacted businesses and the overall economy. This necessarily has impacted the amount of tax revenue going to the state of Florida and its counties. What ...

If you get chosen to be audited by the Florida Department of Revenue you should understand how most auditors think and operate. Auditors are taught two main concepts that drive most audits. ALL ...

The state of Florida imposes a tax rate of 6% plus any local discretionary sales tax rate. It is commonly known that tangible personal property is taxable in Florida. Tangible personal property is ...

The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) has traditionally issued two different types of sales and use tax audit notices. These are the DR-840 “full” audit notice that was traditionally issued from a ...

Florida car dealers have a powerful sales and use tax tool at their disposal to lure customers to Florida. Some dealers are unaware of this provision. Other dealers might misapply it. Car dealers need ...

Amusement machines have a unique approach to calculating Florida sales tax on the sales price of each “play.” Failure to calculate the correct amount of Florida sales tax could lead to the machine ...

Sales from concession stands of food, drinks, tobacco products, and various other items generally are subject to Florida sales tax. Florida sales tax will be imposed at the rate where the concession ...

The Florida Department of Revenue is governed by certain statutes and rules on how they are supposed to conduct a Florida sales and use tax audit. I would like to go over some of these basic rights so ...

The coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives. Included in this, it has impacted Florida tax revenue and its businesses significantly. Tourism and the hospitality industry provide a ...

There are a lot of firms out there claiming to be able to help you with your sales tax audit. Hiring someone to represent your company during a sales tax audit is a serious decision. You should ...

Going through a Florida sales tax audit is about as much fun as getting an abscessed tooth drilled into, but there is now a silver lining to going through a Florida sales tax audit. During the 2020 ...

If you or your client collect Florida sales tax and do not know about the “bracket system,” then you may have a potential costly problem waiting to be discovered during your next Florida sales and use ...

If you operate a tow truck company in Florida, then chances are you received a notice from the Florida Department of Revenue (“Department”) wanting to do a Florida sales and use tax audit of your ...

As many businesses are forced to close while others are forced to scale back hours or types of operations (e.g. take out only for restaurants), many business owners are worried about how to pay their ...

If you run a bakery, you already know you work hard. You have to ensure your goods are baked and kept fresh for customers. Health code inspections come frequently. Vendors must be timely paid. And ...

The Florida Department of Revenue often engages in what they have politely coined “campaigns.” A “campaign” really means that they will be conducting a disproportionate number of audits in a ...

Florida sales and use tax laws are very confusing, especially in the construction industry. To make matters even more confusing, the industry is filled with people that “think” they know the right way ...

Throughout my time both with the Florida Department of Revenue and after, I have seen that gas stations and convenience stores are a common target of Florida sales tax audits. As we are rapidly ...

Florida sales and use tax laws are very confusing, especially in the construction industry. HVAC companies fall into this category of confusion as well, but the issues are a little more clear cut if ...

In a modern economy, virtually everything is purchased and sold over the internet. Even groceries can now be ordered on demand from local Whole Foods. While sales tax has always been a charge ...

Technology and Florida’s sales and use tax laws have been playing a game of cat and mouse for decades. As new technology enters the market, Florida tries to capture that new technology under its ...

Did you know you can take sales tax credits for bad debts in your business? Quite often, businesses do not collect the total balance of their sales. These bad debts are kept track of, and at the end ...

There is not much worse of a feeling than opening mail with a sales and use tax audit notice from the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR). Barring exceptional facts and circumstances, you or your ...

Florida taxpayers are often surprised to discover that labor is subject to sales and use tax. However, it is not all labor that is subject to tax. Instead, it is only certain types of labor. To make ...

For many years, the Florida Department of Revenue has issued notices to taxpayers for “limited scope audits” or “self-audits.” Generally, these notices indicate a lead number which references some ...

Florida exempts both occasional sales and isolated sales from sales and use tax. While, most people are familiar with the principle that sales of tangible personal property at retail are subject to ...

The purpose of this article is to discuss the Florida sales and use tax treatment for rent between (1) the nursing home and its landlord and (2) the nursing home and its tenants. A popular state for ...

We have seen a growing trend of Florida sales and use tax audits on ESCAPE ROOMS. The purpose of this article to discuss the Florida sales and use tax issues surrounding escape rooms. If you are ...

UPDATE: The FL DOR filed a notice of appeal in the GBR case. Stay tuned! The Florida Department of Revenue promulgates many administrative rules interpreting Florida’s Chapter 212 sales and use tax ...

The Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) loves to send out mailings to taxpayers. In many cases, the FDOR’s computer system sends out the “good” news automatically when there is an amount that is due. ...

If you are here reading about your right to file a FLORIDA SALES TAX INFORMAL WRITTEN PROTEST , then you have just been through a Florida sales and use tax audit, a mind numbing experience in which a ...

In June 2018, the United States Supreme Court decided South Dakota v. Wayfair . The Court tossed aside the old requirement a business had to be physically located in a state before the state could ...

Business owners should be aware that the Florida Department of Revenue is getting very aggressive in their approach to sales and use tax audits as well as reemployment tax audits. By using a wide ...

Au·dit : /ˈôdət/ A word designed to strike fear into the heart of business owners. It is a taxable privilege to sell items of tangible personal property in Florida [1] . This privilege is bestowed on ...

For consumers, the difference between a coupon or a discount does not make much of a difference most of the time. As far as a consumer is concerned, both reduce the amount paid for an item or a ...

Florida provides a property tax exemption for properties used for educational purposes. While state schools and universities would seem to fall very clearly under this category, they only represent a ...

The Florida Department of Revenue has been focused on auditing florists for sales and use tax audits. I remember being told at an early age that sending flowers says “I love you” to the recipient. As ...

As there are so many moving parts to running a business, especially a restaurant, proper sales tax collection is oftentimes overlooked. When restaurant owners call us and tell us they need help with ...

If you are a convenience store owner, then you are most likely aware that the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) has been auditing your industry aggressively the last six or seven years. ...

Drop shipments are great ways for sellers to take advantage of avoiding the costs of inventory storage when selling to customers. For a drop shipment to occur, normally an individual buys from a ...

Does your business make donations to help fund scholarships? Does your business also pay sales tax on commercial rent? As of October 1, 2018, Florida businesses can apply to reduce the sales tax on ...

The purpose of this article is to discuss one of the most beneficial areas of Florida sales tax law – The Florida Voluntary Disclosure Program. Florida’s sales tax laws are endlessly complicated. ...

An Employer’s Perspective: Florida “Reemployment Tax” aka, Unemployment Tax, Part II By James F. McAuley, Esq. BCS. Introduction Part I of this article focused on how an employer can distinguish ...

Tangible personal property imported, produced, or manufactured in this state for export are not subject to Florida sales tax when the importer, producer, or manufacturer delivers the property to a ...

An Employer’s Perspective: Florida “Reemployment tax” aka, Unemployment Tax. Part I of II by James F. McAuley, Esq. Who must pay Florida Reemployment tax? Generally, speaking it’s the difference ...

2018 TIP 18A01-01 Florida Sales Tax Rates on Cars for Nonresident Purchasers When a non-resident buys a car from a Florida car dealer, then there is a way to limit the sales tax charged to the ...

Dear John (Business Owner): I am writing this letter to you to follow up on your recent Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) sales and use tax audit. If you have already received the Notice of Intent ...

FLORIDA SALES TAX ON RESTAURANTS Restaurant owners and managers know the challenges of daily operations. From the stresses of employees being unable to make a shift to ensuring you have enough product ...

If your business has a sales tax problem with the Florida Department of Revenue, then you DON’T want to hire a “tax resolution” firm that specializes in IRS collections work. You want a law firm whose ...

SALES TAX ON AIRCRAFT PARTS AND REPAIRS IN FLORIDA The general rule is aircraft parts are considered to be tangible personal property, which are subject to tax when purchased or used in Florida. ...

It happens more often then I’d like. Despite a long day at the office, a last minute phone call or email has kept me at work until my car is the only one I see in the parking lot when I leave. But ...

Imagine owning an online business. The business has inventory in several states via Amazon’s Fulfillment By Amazon (“FBA”) services. This inventory is stored in warehouses across the country base on ...

When an audit is initiated against a car dealer, it can send owners scrambling for records of all kinds. From bad debts to out-of-state sales, there are countless documents from the three-year period ...

WHEN A TAX ASSESSMENT IS UNENFORCEABLE UNDER FLORIDA LAW BY JAMES F.McAULEY [1] Florida law has a specific definition for the term “rule”. In the context of administrative law and state tax rulings, ...

Florida County Property Appraisers take hard line on the rental of property through the popular Airbnb service. It is a longstanding tradition for technology and law to be at odds. Technology moves at ...

After nearly 10 years in limbo, the Florida Department of Revenue (“Department”) issued a Final Order resolving a taxpayer’s litigated tax liability issuing a final order in March 2017 finally ...

Are you a hotel owner/operator facing a Florida sales tax audit? Did you try to handle the audit yourself thinking nothing was wrong? Or have you heard enough horror stories about sales tax audits ...

FL Taxation of Florists Case Denied Cert by US Sp Ct I remember when one could understand the limits of a state’s ability to subject transactions to sales tax. But that understanding has been ...

2017 Florida Sales Tax Car Exemption for Nonresident Purchasers Florida Car Dealers – the publication for 2017 sales tax rates on vehicle sales throughout the United States has arrived! Florida ...

FL TAXABLE RENTAL VS NONTAXABLE SERVICE We have been getting an usually high number of calls from companies that are being audited and assessed Florida sales tax when using equipment to provide a ...

ARE CLEANING SERVICES TAXABLE IN FLORIDA? I get calls several times a month from nervous owners of cleaning companies and suspicious customers of cleaning companies, both asking the same question: Are ...

Part 2 - Documents, Documents, Documents Florida sale tax auditors love documents. One of the first things presented to the taxpayer during a Florida sales tax audit is a list of documents they wish ...

Part 1 – The Initial Contact The Florida department of revenue has a publication titled “What to expect from a Florida tax audit” (GT-800042 – if you are that interested), that states an audit “should ...

Whether your client is obsessive about taxes, remits every penny of tax collected, or doesn’t even sell tangible personal property – I guarantee you that your client missed something that should have ...

Florida’s hotel reservation industry claimed another victory this week against the county Tourist Development Tax and Florida Sales Tax. This time we were dealing with Sarasota County trying to impose ...

The biometric fingerprint industry in Florida has been in shock over the last year regarding a revelation that their services might be subject to Florida sales tax. Considering that almost no one in ...

The Florida Department of Revenue... "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." ** This is a parody for comedic purposes only. We do not own any rights to Star Wars or its ...

FICPA / DOR LIASON MEETING – DECEMBER 11, 2015 [If there are any misspelled names or incorrect titles provided herein, then please email HERE so corrections can be made immediately. Thank you!] Kevin ...

Few understand or even bring up sales tax issues when they order pizza. The next time you order pizza, take a look at the receipt and see if the pizza shop charges you for the delivery. Does the ...

Despite Florida's rainy and occasionally cloudy summers, the Sunshine State provides residents the opportunity to "go green" with its abundantly available sunshine for alternative energy purposes. To ...

CHALLENGING AGENCY STATEMENTS DEFINED AS A RULE Florida law has a specific definition for the term "rule". In the context of administrative law and state tax rulings, the term is defined as follows: ...

FL DOR ABUSES CONVENIENCE STORE INDUSTRY Around 2009, the major players in the Florida gas station industry approached the Department of Revenue (FL DOR) complaining about the small, single owner ...

Airplane/Aircraft vs Florida Sales Tax – The Basics On the surface, Florida sales tax seems like an incredibly dull and simple subject. If someone sells tangible personal property at retail in ...

Florida Reemployment Tax Audit The Big Question: Employee or Independent Contractor? Many employers classify employees as independent contractors to receive economic and business benefits, one of them ...

FL Sales Tax – Like Texas, FL's DOAH Getting Flooded This article is a nice follow up to a prior article which talked about the lack of protection from the FL Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the lack of ...

INTERIOR DESIGNERS: FL SALES TAX PLANNING The sales tax rules in Florida are, in whole, founded on a fairly simple notion—tax is imposed at a rate of 6% on the sale of tangible personal property (plus ...

FL Sales & Use Tax Audits – Is the FL DOR using the best available information? If you or your client has gone through an audit, then you have received the Notice of Intent to Make Audit Changes ...

Way back in 2011, I co-authorized a piece entitled "When is an assessment an assessment" in the Florida CPA Magazine. In that article, we highlighted a potential flaw with Florida sales tax audits. We ...

Rhinehart Equipment on to the Appellate Courts Just when the Florida Department of Revenue ("Department") thinks they have finally chalked up a sales tax legal victory, Rhinehart Equipment comes back ...

FL 1 ST DCA: VERIZON APPEALS PROPOSED ASSESSMENT NOT FINAL On May 12, 2015, there was yet another riveting display of legal arguments in the sales tax arena over a very simple, yet relevant issue: ...

FL Tax Audits – Taxpayer Bill of Rights Protects No Rights I have seen a lot of information and discussions about the IRS mistreating taxpayers. Being in Florida, this made me think of protections ...

FL Sales Tax vs DMV – Boat with Outboard Motor As a firm that deals with Florida sales and use tax controversy almost every day of the week, it is not too often that we bump into FL sales and use tax ...

Florida Use Tax Audit Letter? Many people in Florida are not aware that if a business does not charge you sales tax on an item then you owe use tax to the state of Florida. They are many legal reasons ...

WHEN SALES TAX AUDITORS MAY NOT PICK AND CHOOSE RECORDS TO USE On April 17, 2015, an administrative law judge handed the Florida Department of Revenue a major setback when he ruled on what records ...

Over the past few years, we have been writing updates dealing with tax issues in connection with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and ...

Grocery products for people are generally exempt from sales tax in Florida. The food for our furry friends is not extended the same courtesy. A new TIP released on February 6, 2015 by the Department ...

FLORIDA SALES TAX ON RENT Many corporate attorneys advise their clients that own real estate, to segregate the business operations into its own legal entity separate from the real estate. The reason ...

As has been noted by our firm and in other comments in articles and message boards, the FL DOR has experienced much attrition in its auditor ranks over the last few years. There are a number of ...

2014 FICPA DOR LIAISON MEETING For more than 30 years, the FICPA and the Florida Department of Revenue have meet once a year to discuss that state of affairs between our state's taxing authority and ...

FL DOR – THE MAGIC BEHIND THE CURTAIN Have you ever seen a magic show on TV or been lucky enough to watch a live magic show and wondered just how each of those seemingly miraculous feats of wonder are ...

FL SALES TAX – TAA 14A-020 - NAICS CODES VERSUS NONRESIDENTIAL CLEANING SERVICES Ever since the Department of Revenue began taxing "non-residential cleaning services" in the 1990's under Sec. ...

FL DOR SALES TAX EXEMPTION CERTIFICATE MOBILE APP What do Angry Birds, Wonderlists, Starbucks, Groupon and the Florida Department of Revenue all have in common? As of a few weeks ago, they all have ...