How to Fill Out the DR-15 Florida Sales and Use Tax Return

To fill out the Florida DR-15, pull three figures from your books for the reporting period (gross sales, exempt sales, and taxable purchases you weren’t charged Florida tax on), then work the form top to bottom: sales totals on Lines 1–3, tax by category on Lines 4A–4E using the 6% state rate plus any county surtax, adjustments and the dealer’s collection allowance on Lines 5–11, and the surtax breakdown on the back at Lines 15(a)–15(d). The return is due on the 1st of the month after each reporting period and is late after the 20th.¹²³

Three Numbers to Have Ready

Before you open the form, get these totals for the reporting period from your accounting records.

Gross sales. Every transaction during the period, taxable or not, cash or card or online. This goes on Line 1 and anchors the whole return.

Exempt sales. Every transaction you can legally exclude. The common ones are sales for resale, sales to government agencies holding a Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption, and sales to qualifying nonprofits.⁴ This total goes on Line 2.

Use tax liability. If you bought something taxable for the business and the seller didn’t charge Florida tax (typical with out-of-state online vendors), and you used the item in Florida, you owe use tax on that purchase.⁵ This reports separately on Line 4B, not inside your sales figures.

Lines 1 Through 3: Sales Totals

Line 1 is gross sales. Line 2 is total exempt sales. Line 3 is Line 1 minus Line 2, which is the taxable amount everything downstream is computed against. If you’re e-filing, Line 3 calculates automatically.⁶

Also confirm the pre-printed header at the top of the form: Taxpayer Certificate Number, reporting period, and due date. A mismatch here is how payments get applied to the wrong period.

Lines 4A Through 4E: Tax by Category

Line 4 splits into five sub-lines. Each carries both the taxable amount (Column 3) and the total tax due, state plus surtax combined (Column 4).⁶

Line 4A — Sales, Services, and Electricity. Tax on your standard taxable sales at the applicable rate.
Line 4B — Taxable Purchases. Use tax on items you bought without paying Florida sales tax and consumed in the business.
Line 4C — Commercial Rentals. The state sales tax on commercial real property rentals was repealed effective October 1, 2025, so this line will be zero for most dealers going forward.⁷
Line 4D — Transient Rentals. Tax on short-term lodging of six months or less.
Line 4E — Food and Beverage Vending. Tax on vending machine sales.

Applying the Right Rate

Florida’s general state rate is 6%. A few categories carry different rates: 3% on retail sales of new mobile homes, 4% on amusement machine receipts, and 6.95% on electricity.⁵

On top of the state rate, most counties impose a discretionary sales surtax. For 2026, county rates range from 0.5% to 2%, and a few counties impose none.⁸ The surtax applies based on the county where the item is delivered or where the sale occurs.

There’s a limit that trips people up: the surtax only applies to the first $5,000 of the sales price on any single item of tangible personal property.⁹ On a $10,000 piece of equipment sold in a 1% surtax county, you charge surtax on the first $5,000 ($50) but not the remaining $5,000. The 6% state tax still applies to the full $10,000. Track the excess amount because it gets reported on Line 15(a).

Lines 5 Through 10: Adjustments

Line 5 sums the tax from Lines 4A through 4E. Line 6 is for lawful deductions, such as credits for tax previously paid on returned merchandise or bad debts. Line 7 is net tax due, Line 5 minus Line 6. Lines 8 and 9 handle estimated tax: Line 8 subtracts any estimated tax already paid or DOR credit memos, and Line 9 adds any estimated tax due for the current month. Line 10 is the running subtotal.⁶

Lines 11 Through 14: Allowance, Penalty, Interest, Final Due

Line 11 is the Dealer’s Collection Allowance, a credit for collecting and remitting the tax. It equals 2.5% of the first $1,200 of tax due, capped at $30 per return. To claim it, both the return and the payment must be filed electronically and on time. Paper filers cannot claim it, and if either the filing or the payment is late, the DOR can deny it entirely.²

Line 12 is penalty if the return is late. Line 13 is interest, calculated daily. Line 14 is what you actually remit: Line 10, minus the allowance on Line 11, plus penalty and interest.⁶

Lines 15(a) Through 15(d): Surtax Detail on the Back

The back of the form breaks out discretionary sales surtax. The amounts are already inside your Line 5 total, but the DOR needs them separated to allocate funds to the correct counties.⁶

Line 15(a). The dollar amount above $5,000 on each single item of tangible personal property, the portion exempt from surtax.
Line 15(b). Taxable amounts not subject to any surtax, such as goods delivered into a no-surtax county.
Line 15(c). Sales where the surtax rate differs from your home county’s rate because the item was delivered to a different county.
Line 15(d). Total discretionary sales surtax due. Surtax only. Do not include state sales tax here.

If you sell across multiple counties, Line 15(c) is where most of the work goes. Every sale needs to be tracked by delivery county and taxed at that county’s surtax rate.

Filing and Paying

Electronic filing through the DOR’s e-services portal is the standard method and the only way to claim the collection allowance. Dealers who paid $20,000 or more in sales and use tax during the most recent state fiscal year are required to file and pay electronically the following calendar year.

The DOR accepts ACH Debit (e-check) and credit card payments through its online portal.¹⁰ Electronic banking takes one business day to complete, so submit the payment and get a confirmation number by 5:00 p.m. ET on the business day before the due date. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the electronic payment deadline moves back to the previous business day, not forward.¹¹ Save the confirmation number as proof of timely payment.

Paper filing is still available. Mail the signed return and payment to the Florida Department of Revenue, 5050 W Tennessee St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0120. A paper return is timely if postmarked by the due date, but paper filers cannot claim the collection allowance.⁶

File a return for every reporting period even if you made no sales and owe no tax.⁶ Skipping a zero return still triggers the $50 minimum penalty. For no-tax periods with no deductions to claim, the DOR offers a toll-free telephone filing option.

What Happens if You File or Pay Late

The penalty for a late return or late payment is 10% of the tax due, with a $50 minimum. That $50 applies even when you owe zero tax. Filing late and paying late still yields one 10% penalty, not two.²

Underreporting caught by the DOR escalates: 10% of the undisclosed tax for the first 30 days, plus an additional 10% for each subsequent 30-day period, up to a maximum of 50%.²

Interest is separate. Florida uses a floating rate that adjusts twice a year, set at 11% annually for January 1 through June 30, 2026.³ It’s calculated daily on unpaid tax using the daily rate factor published in the DOR’s Tax Information Publication for the period, and runs from the day after the return becomes late until you postmark or electronically submit payment.

Documentation to Keep

Every figure on your DR-15 needs supporting records: sales receipts, exemption certificates, resale authorization numbers, purchase invoices for use tax, and bank records showing remittances. Florida generally requires keeping these for at least three years, and the DOR can audit any return within that window. Resale certificates you accept on file must be kept for three years specifically.¹² A selling dealer who accepts a valid resale certificate in good faith won’t be held liable for the tax if the buyer turns out not to have been properly registered at the time of sale.¹³

One boundary worth flagging on government exemptions: if a government employee pays with personal funds and gets reimbursed later, the sale is taxable. The exemption only applies when the entity’s own funds are used at the point of purchase.⁴ Consumer’s Certificates of Exemption also expire after five years, so check the date before accepting one.

If the DOR has issued a notice of tax liability for any period, hold the records until the dispute is fully resolved, even past the three-year mark.

1
Florida Department of Revenue. Instructions for DR-15
2
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 212.12
3
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Tax and Interest Rates
4
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Exemption Certificates
5
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Sales and Use Tax
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Instructions for Sales and Use Tax Returns
7
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax on Commercial Rentals Repealed Effective October 1, 2025
8
Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for Calendar Year 2026
9
Florida Department of Revenue. Discretionary Sales Surtax
10
Florida Department of Revenue. Pay Using the Payment Only Website
11
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida eServices Calendar of Electronic Payment Deadlines for Calendar Year 2026
12
Florida Department of Revenue. Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax
13
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax