Florida: Sales Tax Handbook

What constitutes sales tax nexus in Florida?

One of the more complicated aspects of Florida sales tax law is sales tax nexus, the determination of whether a particular sale took place within the taxation jurisdiction of Florida, and is thus subject to state (and possibly local) sales taxes.

If a vendor's transactions are determined to have nexus in Florida, the vendor must register for a Florida sales tax license and collect appropriate sales taxes from the buyer for all transactions with nexus in the state. On this page, we have compiled some of the most commonly needed facts about what constitutes sales tax nexus in Florida.

Sales Tax Nexus in Florida

According to the law in the state of Florida, retailers who have tax nexus can be defined in several distinct ways. To have tax nexus, the business must meet a minimum of one of the following requirements:

Any employee or other representative who is present in the state, the sales of taxable items at retail in Florida, the ownership of any property in the state, providing any taxable service within the state's boundaries, repairing or altering tangible personal property in the state, any rentals, licenses or leases to utilize real property, rentals intended for short term accommodation in Florida, manufacturing or producing goods intended for sale at retail in the state, rental or lease of any personal property, and importing goods from any state or foreign country, intended for sale at retail or for use for pleasure or in business.

For additional details on sales tax nexus law in Florida, see the nexus information page from the Department of Revenue at http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/sales_tax.html

Taxation of Internet-Based Sales in Florida

Depending on the situation, Florida may or may not charge sales tax on Internet-based transactions. In the state of Florida, it must be noted that any dealer who makes a sale through the mail is made subject to the state's power to both collect and levy sales and use tax when the seller, deliberately or methodically exploiting Florida's market by any means created by the media, including but not limited to utilizing the computer for shopping, can create sales nexus in the state

The nexus status and taxability of Internet-based sales, by vendors and/or consumers within Florida, have been the subject of hot debate in recent years. You can learn more on our introduction to Internet-based sales taxes.

Does my business have tax nexus in Florida?

The folks at the sales tax compliance company Avalara are an approved Florida sales tax partner, and you can use their free Florida nexus wizard tool to determine whether or not your business has nexus, and is therefore required to pay Florida sales taxes. If you're interested in automating your sales tax collection and filing process, click here to get more information.

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Tired of manually handling sales taxes? Avalara can automate your multi-state sales tax returns, let you know when you've triggered nexus, and more. Request a free demo of Avalara today.

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