Florida State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Florida, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Were surveying and mapping services with paper or digital maps taxable under Florida TAA 25A-011?
No. The surveying and mapping work was a nontaxable professional service. Paper maps were inconsequential tangible property, and electronically displayed digital maps were neither tangible personal pr…
How did Florida TAA 25A-003 tax a building-component manufacturer's retail sales and lump-sum contracts?
Retail sales were taxable, while customers on lump-sum real property contracts were not charged sales tax. The manufacturer owed use tax and plant-county surtax on fabricated cost for those contracts.…
Would Florida sales or use tax apply when the aircraft-owning S corporation domesticated to Florida?
No. The corporation had owned and used the aircraft outside Florida for more than six months, creating the statutory presumption that it was not purchased for Florida use.
Did the nonresident operator owe Florida use tax on aircraft and installed upgrades brought into the state exclusively for flight training and modifications?
No. The operator was a nonresident, and the documented aircraft use in Florida was exclusively for contracted flight training and for repairs, alterations, refitting, or modifications.
Which Florida aircraft repair and modification sales-tax exemptions applied to a registered Florida defense contractor?
The taxpayer qualified for the exemptions in Fla. Stat. Sec. 212.08(7)(ee) and (rr) for qualifying aircraft repair labor and replacement engines, parts, and equipment installed in Florida. It did not …
Did a nonresident's Florida-delivered aircraft purchase and limited return use during the first six months qualify for sales- and use-tax exemptions?
Yes. The purchaser qualified for the nonresident aircraft sales-tax exemption by timely removing the aircraft, registering it outside Florida, and supplying the required affidavit and documentation. I…
Did a nonresident aircraft avoid Florida use tax when brought in for an FAA inspection connected to third-party management and a possible sale?
The aircraft did not qualify for the exemption limited to entry exclusively for training, repairs, alterations, refitting, or modification because management and a possible sale were also purposes. Ev…
Does a Florida vehicle-restoration shop owe tax on consumables that do not become part of the restored vehicle?
Yes. Consumables such as masking materials, abrasives, gloves, towels, and tools were taxable to the shop because it used them and they did not become vehicle components. Only incorporated parts and m…
Could a trust-owned aircraft qualify as nonresident property when a Florida resident ultimately managed the trustee?
No nonresident treatment applied. Aircraft owned by the trustee and found in Florida were subject to sales or use tax because a Florida resident ultimately had authority to manage, direct, or control …
Did an out-of-state seller owe Florida sales tax when an out-of-state buyer directed common-carrier delivery to its Florida customer?
No. The sale between the out-of-state seller and out-of-state buyer occurred outside Florida's jurisdiction, although the Florida recipient remained responsible for collecting tax on resale or paying …
Were consignment and loaner fees for surgical instruments and implant sample kits taxable rentals in Florida?
Yes. Transfers of surgical instruments and sample kits for consignment or loaner fees were rentals. Without a valid resale certificate, tax applied to rental proceeds for property located in Florida d…
Did an independent contractor that improved real property and resold furniture to a related company have to register as a Florida dealer?
Yes. The company was an independent contractor, not the related company's agent. It owed use tax on materials consumed in real-property work and had to collect sales tax on furniture and furnishings s…
Was a sale between an out-of-state distributor and out-of-state dealer taxable when goods were drop-shipped to the dealer's Florida customer?
No. The seller-to-dealer transaction occurred outside Florida's jurisdiction. The Florida recipient instead had resale-collection or consumer use-tax duties, and the seller had to retain invoices and …
How did Florida tax custom signs and awnings sold, installed, or repaired by an out-of-state dealer using local contractors?
Permanently attached signs and awnings were real-property improvements: the dealer owed use tax on costs and did not charge customer sales tax. Removable signs were tangible personal property, making …
Could a purchaser relieve a Florida printer from collecting tax on advertising mailers sent both inside and outside Florida, and credit earlier tax payments on its return?
A proper certificate could relieve the printer when more than an unsubstantial part of the order was mailed outside Florida, but the purchaser then owed tax directly on Florida-mailed materials. Prior…
How did Florida tax fabricated stairs sold as goods, exported out of state, or installed as real-property improvements?
Uninstalled Florida sales were taxable unless continuously committed to export. Installed stairs were real-property improvements, so the fabricator owed tax on its fabricated cost rather than charging…
Were advertising-space sales and printing costs for a free monthly community newsletter subject to Florida sales or use tax?
Advertising-space sales were not taxable because advertisers received no tangible property. Printing was exempt while the free newsletter circulated regularly, consisted primarily of advertising, and …
Did a registered dealer owe use tax on prepaid hotel rooms purchased for resale that remained unsold?
No. The dealer could buy rooms with a resale certificate and owed no tax merely because some remained unsold, as long as it continuously held them for resale and neither it nor its personnel used them…
Was an aircraft taxable when imported into Florida after more than six months of repair and restoration in California?
Yes. The buyer intended at purchase to base and use the aircraft in Florida, and claimed California treatment premised on use outside California. Repair time did not establish genuine California use.
Were free advertising messages printed on cash-register tape exempt from Florida use tax?
No. The tape was handed to shoppers with receipts, not mailed in envelopes; it was not exclusively advertising; and the company did not establish regular distributions containing ads from at least ten…
Would a yacht be subject to Florida use tax after at least six months of documented use in another state?
No, if the owner proved actual use for six months or longer under conditions creating the other state's taxing jurisdiction and documented payment of any lawfully imposed tax before Florida entry.
Were online and telephone-assisted end-of-life planning services subject to Florida sales tax?
No. The memberships were nontaxable services, and included packets, guides, cards, stickers, and magnets were incidental items supplied without a separate charge. The provider was the consumer of thos…
When and on what cost did a Florida public-works contractor owe use tax on self-fabricated resin-impregnated pipe?
Tax was due when resin impregnation completed the pipe. The taxable fabricated cost included materials, production labor and burdens, and allocated services, but excluded delivery to the job site.
Did Florida use tax apply to a foreign-owned, foreign-flagged pleasure yacht operating in Florida under a federal cruising license?
No, while the vessel complied with a valid federal cruising license and remained a noncommercial pleasure yacht. Offering it for sale or charter, or otherwise violating the license, could trigger Flor…
Did Florida use tax apply when an out-of-state yacht was used in other U.S. states for more than six months before entering Florida?
No, if it was not bought for Florida use and the owner documented six months of use under another U.S. jurisdiction and payment of any lawfully imposed tax before importation.
Did a registered out-of-state dealer owe Florida sales tax when it drop-shipped goods by common carrier for nonresident buyers with no Florida nexus?
No, under the ruling's stated assumptions. When the registered dealer, the unregistered nonresident buyer, and the goods were outside Florida at the time of sale, and the dealer used a common carrier …
Would Florida use tax apply when a yacht was bought and titled outside Florida, then used in other states for more than six months before entering Florida?
No, under the represented facts. The purchase and title transfer occurred outside Florida, and the yacht would be used under other states' taxing jurisdiction for more than six months before entering …
Who handled Florida tax when an out-of-state dealer sold through an unregistered out-of-state buyer and goods were drop-shipped to Florida?
It depended on where the goods were located when purchased. For goods shipped from a Florida facility, the registered dealer had to collect tax from the Florida customer because the unregistered buyer…
Was providing a crane with the owner's operator a taxable equipment rental or a nontaxable lifting service?
It was a nontaxable lifting service under the revised advisement. The owner's employee retained physical control and responsibility for crane operation and safety, while the customer could only specif…
Did brief Florida visits during a yacht's first six months of ownership trigger Florida use tax?
No, under the stated limits. The out-of-state-purchased, federally documented, Delaware-registered yacht could enter Florida during the first six months without use tax if its presence did not exceed …
Would Florida use tax apply when an out-of-state-purchased yacht entered Florida after more than six months of use in other states?
No, on the stated facts and conditions. The yacht was purchased and titled outside Florida, was not bought for Florida use, and would be used for more than six months under conditions giving other sta…
Did a registered out-of-state drop shipper have to collect Florida tax from an out-of-state dealer when goods went by common carrier to Florida?
No, under the stated three-party facts. Both the vendor and purchasing dealer were outside Florida, the goods were outside Florida when sold, and a common carrier delivered them to the dealer's Florid…
Could a yacht enter Florida without use tax solely to be offered for sale by a registered Florida broker?
Yes, under strict conditions. The yacht had to be listed with a registered Florida broker, remain under the broker's care, custody, and control, and be used in Florida solely for retail-sale activitie…
Was a yacht used outside Florida for more than six months subject to use tax when brought into Florida?
No, with the required proof. The yacht was bought outside Florida and used in another U.S. taxing jurisdiction for more than six months under conditions allowing that jurisdiction to impose tax. The o…
Was a mobile PET-scanner arrangement a taxable equipment lease or a nontaxable operated service?
The healthcare-provider agreement was a nontaxable service because the taxpayer supplied the technologists and retained possession, direction, and operating control. The scanner itself did not qualify…
Did one annual customer visit or the described drop shipments create Florida sales-tax nexus?
No, under the facts and 2005 analysis. One annual 12-hour visit to one customer, with no orders taken, was inconsequential. The described out-of-state shipments to Florida customers, including a vendo…
Did the county's proposed public-works material purchases qualify as exempt direct purchases?
No. Although the county would pay vendors, hold title, and maintain builder's-risk insurance, the contract did not clearly require the county to issue its purchase orders directly to vendors or requir…
How did Florida tax lump-sum contracts to furnish and install built-in cabinetry and millwork?
The installed built-in cabinetry, countertops, and millwork were real-property improvements. Under the lump-sum furnish-and-install contract, the subcontractor should not charge sales tax to the homeb…
Were the listed facilities, equipment, machinery, materials, and chemicals used for pollution control in a Florida phosphate operation exempt from sales and use tax?
Yes. The listed items qualified under the 2005 version of section 212.051 because the company represented that they were used more than 50% to control pollution as required by Florida DEP at a phospha…
Did Florida sales or use tax apply to materials received briefly in Florida for packaging and shipment to foreign installation sites?
No, on the documented facts. Although taking possession in Florida created a presumption of taxability, the taxpayer rebutted it by tying each purchase to a foreign installation contract, briefly pack…
Did a property manager resell goods to its clients when it ordered items that vendors delivered directly to them?
No. Under the described arrangements, the Florida Department of Revenue treated the property manager as ordering goods and services as agent for its clients rather than buying and reselling them. Vend…
Were two regularly published, free, primarily advertising magazines exempt from Florida sales and use tax?
Yes, on the facts and samples reviewed. The Florida Department of Revenue concluded that the publisher's two publications qualified under section 212.08(7)(w) because they were published regularly, di…
How did Florida tax a cultured-marble fabricator's retail sales versus its lump-sum fabrication-and-installation contracts?
For retail sales without installation, the company had to collect sales tax on the full sales price of the fabricated tangible personal property, including cutting or shaping services. For lump-sum co…
Are consulting and training services taxable when a Florida vendor sells them together with a taxable software license?
Yes. Because the consulting and training services were an integral, essential part of the software license agreement, their charges were part of the taxable sales price. This held true whether the ser…
How should a Florida contractor tax a construction contract containing both permanent and removable hurricane shutters?
The result depended on the mixed contract. If the job was predominantly a real-property improvement, the contractor paid tax on all materials and charged no tax to the customer. If it was predominantl…
Could a boat owner buy a vessel tax-free for a bareboat-charter program while using it personally without paying a charter fee?
Only if the owner registered as a dealer and used the boat exclusively for taxable bareboat rentals. Rental receipts would be taxable. The proposed agreement let the owner use the vessel without payin…
Was a free booklet mailed to local consumers exempt from Florida use tax as a publication whose content was primarily advertising?
No. Although the booklet was published regularly, mailed free to consumers, and carried local-merchant advertising, Florida found it was not primarily advertising because its address-book and gift-cer…
Which parts of a new Florida slag-manufacturing plant—and which fuel, electricity, and repair purchases—qualified for sales-tax exemptions?
Mixed. Production-integral systems, specialized foundations, movable production equipment, monitoring and laboratory equipment qualified; ordinary buildings, furniture, paving, a fuel tank, and most u…
Did a Florida resident owe use tax when bringing in a yacht bought outside Florida and used for more than six months in other taxing jurisdictions?
No on the documented 2004 facts. The yacht was purchased and titled outside Florida and used for more than six months in jurisdictions that had authority to tax it before its first Florida entry. Alth…
Did a nonresident owner owe Florida use tax when a yacht entered Florida solely to be sold through a registered Florida yacht broker?
No, if the yacht entered Florida solely for retail sale under the specified listing arrangement, immediately passed into a registered Florida yacht broker's care, custody, and control, and had no pers…
Should a water-submeter installer charge customers sales tax when meters became permanent plumbing improvements under a mixed lump-sum and cost-plus contract?
No customer sales tax was due under the described contracts. The plumbed-in submeters became real-property improvements, and the agreement did not itemize every material in advance as required for a r…
Were fabricated variable message signs installed for FDOT tangible personal property or real-property improvements, and who owed tax?
They were real-property improvements under the attachment-focused law discussed in the ruling. The contractor, not FDOT, owed tax on materials and manufactured cost and did not collect sales tax from …
Were lease-to-own security-system contracts true leases, and when was Florida sales or use tax due?
They were financed sales, not true leases. For a system predominantly treated as tangible personal property, tax was due on the full sales price when the agreement began, not on each monthly payment. …
Was software sold and delivered only through an internet download subject to Florida sales tax?
No. On the documented 2003 transaction, the seller emailed an unlock code and the customer downloaded the software from a web server, with no physical product delivered. Florida therefore found no tax…
Was equipment sold below the seller's cost taxed on cost or on the separately stated customer price?
Florida treated a below-cost equipment transfer as a retail sale and calculated sales tax from the separately stated customer price, not the seller's higher cost. If the equipment was given away for n…
Which dinner-cruise meal costs had to be included when computing Florida use tax?
The dinner-cruise operator had to compute use tax on production costs attributable to the meals, including food, paper products, and kitchen labor. Indirect electricity, gas, and water overhead was ex…
Which public-works materials could the owner buy tax-free, and when did the contractor owe use tax?
Owner-direct purchases could be exempt when the owner ordered, paid vendors, took title, and bore the risk of loss. But the owner's exemption did not cover materials the contractor fabricated in its o…
Was a Florida-built vessel used only outside Florida in interstate commerce subject to use tax?
No. Although self-fabrication normally creates use tax on full fabricated cost, the vessel qualified for interstate-commerce apportionment and had no Florida mileage. Its Florida apportionment ratio w…
When could a cabinet manufacturer buy natural gas under Florida's boiler-fuels exemption?
The natural gas was exempt from sales and use tax only if used exclusively as combustible fuel in the manufacturing process. Any nonmanufacturing use made the entire purchase taxable; the manufacturer…
Could a county buy office-building materials tax-free under its owner-direct purchase procedure?
Yes. The county's procedure qualified when it issued purchase orders and exemption documents, received vendor invoices, paid vendors directly, took title and liability at delivery, and bore the insure…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Florida's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.