How to File Business Taxes in Florida: F-1120, DR-15, and RT-6

Filing business taxes in Florida means juggling several separate returns on separate calendars: a corporate income tax return (Form F-1120) if your entity is taxed as a corporation, a sales and use tax return (Form DR-15) if you sell taxable goods or services, a quarterly reemployment tax report (Form RT-6) if you have employees, a tangible personal property return (Form DR-405) with your county if you own business assets, your federal returns, and an annual report with the Division of Corporations. Which ones you owe depends on your entity type and what your business does. The deadlines do not line up, and several of them carry penalties that are disproportionate to the effort of filing on time.

Start by Identifying Which Returns You Owe

Florida has no personal income tax, so there is no state return on your personal 1040 side. Your state obligations come from the business itself, and your entity type decides most of it.

Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs treated as disregarded entities file no Florida corporate income tax return. Business income flows to your personal federal return. You may still owe sales tax, reemployment tax, and tangible personal property tax.
Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships owe no Florida corporate income tax at the entity level, but if any member is a corporation, the LLC must file a Florida Partnership Information Return (Form F-1065).
LLCs that elect corporate taxation federally are treated as corporations by Florida and owe the 5.5% corporate income tax on Form F-1120.
S-corporations are generally exempt from Florida corporate income tax. The exception: if your S-corp pays federal tax on Line 23c of Form 1120-S, you must file a Florida return as well.
C-corporations owe the full 5.5% corporate income tax on Florida net income and file Form F-1120.

Regardless of entity, any business with employees owes federal payroll taxes and Florida reemployment tax, and any business selling taxable products or services must register as a dealer and collect sales tax.¹

Florida Corporate Income Tax: Form F-1120

The Florida corporate income tax rate is 5.5% for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022, which covers tax year 2026.¹ You start with federal taxable income, apply Florida-specific additions and subtractions, subtract the $50,000 exemption, and then apply the 5.5% rate. Businesses with modest net income may owe little or nothing after the exemption.

The return is Form F-1120, the Florida Corporate Income/Franchise Tax Return. You report federal taxable income on line 1, work through the state adjustments, and attach pages 1 through 6 of your federal Form 1120 (or 1120-S if applicable). Without the federal attachment, the return is treated as incomplete.²

For calendar-year filers, the Florida return for tax year ending December 31, 2025 is due May 1, 2026. If you need more time, file Form F-7004 for an automatic extension by that same date.³ An extension buys you more time to file, not more time to pay. Tax owed is still due by the original deadline.

Penalties are steep. A late return with tax owed draws 10% of the tax due for the first month, plus 10% for each additional month, capped at 50%. A late return with zero tax owed still draws $50 per month, up to $300.⁴ A zero-balance return filed a few months late can cost $300 for nothing.

Sales and Use Tax: Form DR-15

If you sell or rent taxable goods, charge admission, or provide taxable services in Florida, you must register as a dealer with the Department of Revenue before collecting any tax. Online registration using Form DR-1 is free. Paper registration costs $5.⁵

The state sales tax rate is 6%. Most counties add a discretionary surtax, so the combined rate depends on where the sale occurs or where the product is delivered. You collect and remit both. Use tax applies to taxable items you buy from an out-of-state vendor that did not charge Florida sales tax; it runs at the same 6% plus any county surtax and is reported on the same return.

Out-of-state sellers with more than $100,000 in gross revenue from Florida sales in the previous calendar year have economic nexus and must register. Sales made through marketplace facilitators like Amazon or Etsy are generally handled by the marketplace and typically do not count toward your individual seller threshold.

One obligation that used to catch commercial landlords off guard is gone: Florida’s state sales tax on commercial real property rentals was repealed effective October 1, 2025. County discretionary surtaxes on commercial rent were eliminated at the same time.⁶

You report sales and use tax on Form DR-15. The form steps through gross sales, exempt sales, taxable amount, and the tax collected at both state and county levels.⁷ How often you file depends on your annual tax collected:⁸

More than $1,000 per year: monthly
$501 to $1,000: quarterly
$101 to $500: semiannual
$100 or less: annual

File and pay electronically on time and Florida gives you a collection allowance of 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due, up to $30 per reporting location.⁸ Small on any one return, but worth claiming every month.

Reemployment Tax: Form RT-6

Florida’s state unemployment insurance equivalent is called reemployment tax. It is paid entirely by the employer under Chapter 443 of the Florida Statutes.⁹ New employers start at 2.7%. After you build claims history, your rate is set annually; for 2026, rates range from 0.1% to 5.4%, applied only to the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages per calendar year.¹⁰ Once a worker’s cumulative wages pass $7,000, no further tax is owed on that worker until the next year.

File the Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) each quarter listing every employee by name and Social Security number along with gross and taxable wages. You file every quarter regardless of whether any wages were paid or any tax is due.¹¹ Deadlines:¹²

Q1 (January–March): April 30
Q2 (April–June): July 31
Q3 (July–September): October 31
Q4 (October–December): January 31

Intentionally failing to report employees is classified as a felony under Florida law.

Tangible Personal Property Tax: Form DR-405

This one does not go to the Department of Revenue. Every Florida business that owns physical assets used for commercial purposes files Form DR-405 with the county property appraiser where the assets are located. Reportable property includes office furniture, computers, tools, machinery, and leasehold improvements.¹³

A common mistake: inventory held for sale as part of your regular business is not reported on this form. Inventory held for lease, such as rental equipment or furniture, is reported.¹³

For each asset you list original cost and year of acquisition. The appraiser uses that to determine assessed value. A $25,000 exemption is available, but you only get it if you file on time. File late and you forfeit the exemption entirely.¹³

The deadline is April 1 each year. Late returns draw a penalty of 5% of the total tax levied per month (or partial month) overdue, capping at 25%. Losing the $25,000 exemption and stacking monthly penalties makes a late DR-405 one of the costliest oversights a Florida business owner can commit relative to the small effort of filing.

Federal Returns You Still Owe

No state income tax does not reduce your federal bill by a dollar. The federal filing form and deadline follow your entity type:

C-corporations file Form 1120. Calendar-year 2025 returns are due April 15, 2026.
S-corporations file Form 1120-S. The 2025 deadline is March 16, 2026, because March 15 falls on a Sunday.¹⁴
Partnerships and multi-member LLCs file Form 1065, due March 16, 2026 for calendar-year 2025.
Sole proprietors and single-member LLCs report on Schedule C attached to Form 1040, due April 15, 2026.

The federal corporate income tax rate is a flat 21%, established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and is permanent.

If your business expects to owe $500 or more in federal tax ($1,000 for sole proprietors filing Form 1040), you generally must make quarterly estimated payments. For 2026 the dates are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15, 2027.¹⁵

If you have employees, you also owe federal payroll taxes. Withholdings for federal income tax, Social Security (6.2% on wages up to $184,500 in 2026), and Medicare (1.45% on all wages, plus 0.9% on wages above $200,000) are reported quarterly on Form 941, due the last day of the month after each quarter ends.¹⁶¹⁷ Federal unemployment tax (FUTA) is reported annually on Form 940 at a 6.0% rate on the first $7,000 of wages, with most employers receiving a 5.4% credit for an effective rate of 0.6%.¹⁸

If you pay independent contractors $2,000 or more in a tax year, you file Form 1099-NEC. The threshold rose from $600 to $2,000 for tax years beginning after 2025 and will adjust for inflation starting 2027. Recipient copies are due January 31; the IRS copy is due March 31 if filed electronically.¹⁹

Your Sunbiz Annual Report (Not a Tax, but Same Cliff)

Every Florida corporation and LLC must file an annual report with the Division of Corporations (Sunbiz). It is not technically a tax, but the deadline runs with your corporate return and the late fee is brutal. For 2026:²⁰

For-profit corporations: $150 by May 1; $550 after
LLCs: $138.75 by May 1; $538.75 after

The $400 late fee applies regardless of entity type. Fail to file at all and the state can administratively dissolve your corporation or revoke your LLC, which cascades into problems with banking, contracts, and liability protection. May 1 is the date.

Get Your EIN First

Before you can file most of these returns you need a federal Employer Identification Number. Apply directly through the IRS online tool at no cost; the number is issued immediately on approval. The application must be completed in one session and expires after 15 minutes of inactivity.²¹ If you are forming a new entity, register it with the Florida Division of Corporations before applying for the EIN. Third-party sites charge for this service. The IRS does not.

How to Submit Returns and Payments

The Florida Department of Revenue’s e-Services portal handles electronic filing and payment for corporate income tax, sales and use tax, and reemployment tax.²² You create an account, link it to your tax registration numbers, and file through the system. Payment is by eCheck (ACH debit) or credit card. Credit card payments carry a convenience fee, so eCheck is cheaper for larger payments.

Paper returns can be mailed to the Florida Department of Revenue at 5050 West Tennessee Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399.¹¹ Electronic filings generally process within a few business days; paper returns can take weeks to appear in the state’s system. Given the penalty exposure on late filings, an electronic submission with immediate confirmation is the safer route.

Tangible personal property returns (Form DR-405) go to your county property appraiser, not the Department of Revenue. Check with your county for their preferred submission method and any local instructions.¹³

1
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Corporate Income Tax
2
Florida Department of Revenue. F-1120 Florida Corporate Income/Franchise Tax Return
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Corporate Income Tax Due Dates
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 220 – Section 220.801
5
Justia Law. Florida Code Title XIV Chapter 212 – Tax on Sales, Use, and Other Transactions
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax on Commercial Rentals Repealed Effective October 1, 2025
7
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax Return – DR-15
8
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
9
Justia Law. Florida Statutes Title XXXI Chapter 443 – Reemployment Assistance
10
Florida Department of Revenue. Reemployment Tax Rate Information
11
Florida Department of Revenue. RT-6 Employer’s Quarterly Report
12
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Reemployment Tax
13
Florida Department of Revenue. Tangible Personal Property Tax Return DR-405
14
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1120-S
15
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Making Estimated Payments
16
Social Security Administration. Maximum Taxable Earnings Each Year
17
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941
18
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 940
19
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Publication 1099 General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
20
Florida Department of State. Division of Corporations – Fees
21
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
22
Florida Department of Revenue. eFile and Pay Taxes, Fees, and Remittances