​

Florida Sales and Use Tax

The following information and the below web links are provided as a convenience for reference to our members and is not meant to take the place of  professional tax advice.  Contact your own accountant or tax advisor for further information.  Artist members are responsible for researching, collecting and filing their own Florida sales tax forms.
 
Sales Tax tips and Procedures
Submitted by Leslie Jordan, SRAC Treasurer
 
All sales are subject to collecting & reporting to the Florida State Department of Revenue.
All sales taxes, whether included in the sale or charged on top of the sale must be reported and paid.
For the 1st year of filing, you must file a quarterly sales tax return, which can be done by mail or online.

WARNING: Even if you have no sales for the period, you must file or be fined $50 for delinquency of filing.

Below are the steps and links required to apply and register to collect and report Sales Tax.
 
1 – You should set up a business name and apply for a Tax Id number. Do a name search to confirm the name you want  for your business has not been taken. Refer to the Florida Department of State and do a name search there. https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/search/

The reason for this is to protect your personal SS#, which should not be used for anything business related. (Yes, selling your art is a business.)
I recommend setting your name of business up as “Your Name” DBA (Doing Business As) “Name of your business. Example: Jane Smith DBA Paintings-R-Us.
After you confirm the business name is available, you can then apply for your Tax ID number using the SS-4 form. I recommend doing this online, it will go faster. There are no fees for this.  Go to IRS.GOV, in the search box type “SS-4”, this will take you to the form to apply online.
 
2-After you receive your new Tax ID # (keep this somewhere safe), you can then fill your application out to file your Florida Business Tax Application. https://taxapps.floridarevenue.com/taxregistration
 
           A – Setup a login for access. Please save this information for easy future access.
           B - Fill out the “Florida Business Tax Application” chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/dr1.pdf

• Side note: I believe you can also register at the Tax Office in town and apply in person. From what I understand, the staff there are friendly and helpful and can guide you through this process.

  

1. – Several things will happen once your application is submitted…

            A – You will get a resale certificate number that can be used when purchasing materials to create your art.

        ** WARNING: Do not abuse this privilege and only use where applicable. 

​

• Be aware that you are assigned a new resale certificate to use in the current year. Previous certificates will not be honored. You have access to your resale certificate through your account on the Florida Dept of Revenue sight.

• ​

            B – You MUST file your Sales Tax return quarterly until approved for an annual filing. Your 1st year is always quarterly because the government has to see your frequency on collecting and filing to determine your future filing dates and frequencies.
 
Quarterly due dates: Periods Jan 1-Mar 30 / April 1–June 30 /July 1–Sept 30 / Oct 1–Dec 31. Sales and use tax returns and payments are due on the 1st and late after the 20th day of the month following each reporting period.