Does Florida sales tax apply to chilled, pre-assembled weekly meal-plan food delivered in sealed containers for customers to reheat later?

Plain-English summary

The Florida Department of Revenue ruled that a weekly meal-plan company's pre-assembled meals were exempt food products. The meals were individually packaged in sealed containers, delivered chilled during non-meal times, and intended to be refrigerated and reheated later rather than eaten immediately.

The taxpayer prepared the meals in a commercial kitchen in an industrial warehouse complex where customers could not eat. It held a non-seating food-service license and supplied no utensils, napkins, or serving ware. Those facts supported the Department's conclusion that the taxpayer was not operating as a restaurant and the food was not sold for immediate consumption.

Florida generally exempts food products, but excludes prepared food and meals sold for immediate consumption or by restaurants and similar businesses. The ruling applied the exemption because the sealed, chilled meals were intended for future consumption.

What this means for you

Meal-prep and subscription-food businesses

Packaging, temperature, delivery timing, and expected customer use all mattered. The strongest facts here were sealed containers, chilled delivery, later reheating, no on-premises consumption, and no eating utensils or serving ware.

Restaurant and catering operators

The ruling does not say every prepared meal is exempt. Florida's statute excludes food sold for immediate consumption and food sold by restaurants and similar establishments. A hot meal, ready-to-eat delivery, seating area, or restaurant-style operation can produce a different result.

Accountants and tax professionals

Document how the food is packaged and delivered, whether it is sold during meal times, whether customers can consume it at the seller's premises, and whether the seller supplies tableware. The ruling's conclusion is tied to that full factual package.

Common questions

Q: Does cooking a meal automatically make it taxable in Florida?
A: No. The statute and ruling distinguish food sold for immediate consumption from sealed food intended for later consumption.

Q: Why were these meals exempt?
A: They were sealed, chilled, delivered for later refrigeration and reheating, and not sold from a restaurant or for immediate eating.

Q: Would hot or ready-to-eat meal delivery have the same result?
A: This TAA did not decide that situation. Its conclusion depended on the meals not being sold for immediate consumption.

Q: Did the lack of utensils matter?
A: It was one of the stated facts supporting future rather than immediate consumption, together with chilled delivery and the absence of on-premises dining.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 212.05(1)(a)
• Fla. Stat. § 212.08(1), including § 212.08(1)(c)9. and (d)2.
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 19A-017

Original ruling text

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.
July 17, 2019
XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX
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Technical Assistance Advisement (TAA)
TAA #: 19A- 017
BP Number: XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX: XXXXXXXX
Sales & Use Tax – Pre-Assembled Meals
Section 212.08, Florida Statutes (F.S.)
Dear XXXXXXXX:
This is in response to your letter dated April 9, 2019, requesting this Department’s
issuance of a Technical Assistance Advisement (“TAA”) pursuant to s. 213.22, F.S., and
Chapter 12-11, Florida Administrative Code (Fla. Admin. Code) regarding the taxability of
pre-assembled meals. Your request has been carefully examined, and the Department
finds it to be in compliance with the requisite criteria set forth in Chapter 12-11, Fla. Admin.
Code. This response to your request constitutes a TAA and is issued to you under the
authority of s. 213.22, F.S.
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

xxxxxxxx
July 17, 2019
Florida Department of Revenue
Page 2

Whether sales of pre-assembled meals, packaged in a sealed container and delivered
to customers in a refrigerated bag, are subject to sales tax.

FACTS
Taxpayer sells various individually packaged meals as a part of a weekly meal plan.
The meals require refrigeration and are intended for the customer to heat prior to eating
(not for immediate consumption). The meals, are delivered during non-meal times in a
chilled condition (packed in soft coolers with chilled gel packs) to be refrigerated by the
customer for future consumption, typically the next day. Taxpayer does not provide
customers with eating utensils, napkins or serving ware.
The meals are cooked and prepared at Taxpayer’s commercial kitchen located in an
industrial warehouse complex and cannot be consumed on the premises of the
Taxpayer. Taxpayer is licensed by the Department of Business and Professional
Regulation as a non-seating food service. Taxpayer also sells cold brewed bottled
coffee and natural fruit juices.1
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 and include coffee and coffee products and natural fruit and
vegetable juices.
The exemption does not apply to food cooked or prepared on or off the seller’s
premises and sold for immediate consumption,2 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.

1

2

www.xxxxxxxxxx.com.

The exemption for food products does apply to food products prepared off the premises and sold in the
original sealed container. See s. 212.08(1)(c)9., F.S.

xxxxxxxx
July 17, 2019
Florida Department of Revenue
Page 3

CONCLUSION
Since the pre-assembled meals are prepared off the seller’s premises, packaged in a
sealed container and are not sold for immediate consumption, the meals are exempt
from sales tax as a food product.
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under Section 213.22, Fla.
Stat., which is binding on the Department only under the facts and circumstances
described in the request for this advice, as specified in Section 213.22, Fla. Stat. 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, Fla. Stat., and are subject to disclosure to the
public under the conditions of Section 213.22, Fla. Stat. 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 10 days of the date of this letter.
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
Richard R. Parsons
Tax Law Specialist
Technical Assistance & Dispute Resolution
(850) 717-7202

NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Persons needing an accommodation to participate in any proceeding before the Technical Assistance
and Dispute Resolution Office should contact that office at 850-617-8346, or you may also call via the
Florida Relay System at 800-955-8770, at least five working days before such proceeding.