Were refrigerated pre-assembled meals sold through a weekly plan for later reheating subject to Florida sales tax?

Plain-English summary

The Florida Department of Revenue concluded that this seller's pre-assembled weekly meal-plan meals were exempt from sales tax as food products.

The meals were individually packaged, required refrigeration, and were intended for customers to heat before eating. They were delivered during non-meal times or picked up from a kitchen processing center without napkins, utensils, or serving materials.

The facility was not licensed as a restaurant and provided no seating or accommodations for eating on site. On those facts, the meals were not sold for immediate consumption and were not restaurant meals.

What this means for you

Meal-prep businesses

Document refrigeration, reheating expectations, pickup or delivery timing, packaging, and the absence of on-site dining accommodations.

Customers and business owners

Prepared food is not automatically taxable. The ruling distinguished food sold for later consumption from food sold for immediate consumption or by a restaurant-like business.

Accountants and tax professionals

Apply the customary-consumption test at the selling facility. Small operational facts such as utensils, seating, and meal-time delivery can matter.

Common questions

Q: Were the meals ready for immediate consumption?
A: No. They required refrigeration and customer reheating.

Q: Did the kitchen offer seating or utensils?
A: No.

Q: Were the meal-plan sales taxable?
A: No.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. §§ 212.05(1)(a), 212.08(1), 212.08(1)(d)2., and 213.22(1)

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 16A-017

Original ruling text

Executive
Director
Leon M. Biegalski

QUESTION: WHETHER SALES OF PRE-ASSEMBLED MEALS (NOT SOLD FOR IMMEDIATE
CONSUMPTION) AS PART OF A WEEKLY MEAL PLAN ARE SUBJECT TO SALES TAX.
ANSWER: SINCE THE PRE-ASSEMBLED MEALS ARE NOT SOLD FOR IMMEDIATE
CONSUMPTION, AND TAXPAYER IS NOT OPERATING AS A RESTAURANT, THE MEALS ARE
EXEMPT FROM SALES TAX AS A FOOD PRODUCT.
November 7, 2016
Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement 16A-017
Pre-Assembled Meals for Consumption off the Premises of Seller
Taxpayer Name: XXXX (“Taxpayer”)
Sales and Use Tax
Section 212.08(1), Florida Statutes (F.S.)

Dear XXXX:
This response is in reply to your letter to the Department, dated July 22, 2016, in which you are requesting
the Department's issuance of a Technical Assistance Advisement ("TAA") pursuant to s. 213.22, F.S., and
Chapter 12-11, F.A.C., regarding whether the sale of pre-assembled meals is exempt from sales tax under
section 212.08(1), F.S. An examination of your petition has established that you have complied with the
statutory and regulatory requirements for issuance of a TAA. Therefore, the Department is hereby
granting your request for issuance of a TAA.
As provided in s. 213.22(1), F.S., a technical assistance advisement may be issued to a taxpayer who
requests an advisement relating to the exemptions in s. 212.08(1) or (2), F.S., at any time. “Technical
assistance advisements shall have no precedential value except to the taxpayer who requests the
advisement and then only for the specific transaction addressed in the technical assistance advisement,
unless specifically stated otherwise in the advisement.”
REQUESTED RULING
Whether sales of pre-assembled meals as part of a weekly meal plan are subject to sales tax.

Child Support – Ann Coffin, Director  General Tax Administration – Maria Johnson, Director
Property Tax Oversight – Dr. Maurice Gogarty, Director  Information Services – Damu Kuttikrishnan, Director

http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/
Florida Department of Revenue
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0100

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 2 of 3

FACTS
Taxpayer sells various individually packaged meals as a part of weekly meal plans to its customers. The
meals require refrigeration and are intended for the customer to heat prior to eating and are not sold for
immediate consumption. The meals, delivered during non-meal times or picked up directly by the
customer at the kitchen processing center in XXXX, do not include napkins, utensils, or other serving
materials. The kitchen facility is not licensed as a restaurant by the XXXX and XXXX and does not
provide seating or other accommodations to allow customers to eat on the premises.
LAW
Pursuant to Section 212.05(1)(a), F.S., sales tax is imposed at the rate of 6 percent of the sales price of
each item or article of tangible personal property when sold at retail in this state. As provided in Section
212.08(1), F.S., there are exempted from sales tax, food products for human consumption. The term "food
products" means edible commodities, whether processed, cooked, raw, canned, or in any other form,
which are generally regarded as food.
The exemption does not apply to food cooked or prepared on or off the seller’s premises and sold for
immediate consumption, to meals for consumption on or off the seller’s premises, or to food products
cooked, prepared, or sold in or by restaurants, lunch counters, cafeterias, hotels, taverns, or other like
places of business. In determining whether an item is sold for immediate consumption, there shall be
considered the customary consumption practices prevailing at the selling facility. Section 212.08(1)(d)2.,
F.S.
CONCLUSION
Since the pre-assembled meals are not sold for immediate consumption, and Taxpayer is not operating as
a restaurant, the meals are exempt from sales tax as a food product.
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under s. 213.22, F.S. which is binding on the
department only under facts and circumstances described in the request for this advice, as specified in s.
213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated on those facts and the specific situation summarized above. You
are advised that subsequent statutory or administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the
statutes or rules upon which this advice is based may subject similar future transactions to a different
treatment than expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response, your request and related backup documents are public records
under Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public under the conditions of s. 213.22, F.S.
Confidential information must be deleted before public disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality,
we request you provide the undersigned with an edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance
Advisement, the backup material and this response, deleting names, addresses and any other details which
might lead to identification of the taxpayer. Your response should be received by the Department within
15 days of the date of this letter.

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 3 of 3

If you have any further questions with regard to this matter and wish to discuss them, you may contact me
directly at (850) 717-7202.
Sincerely,

Richard R. Parsons
Tax Law Specialist
Technical Assistance & Dispute Resolution
(850) 717-7202