Tax Services for Tallahassee and Leon County Businesses

Florida charges no personal income tax — but a Tallahassee business still has the DR-15, a quarterly reemployment return, a tangible personal property return with the county, and an annual report due May 1. No state income tax is not the same as no state filings.

 

Collins Income Tax Solutions, LLC
3652 Shamrock St W
Tallahassee, FL 32309
(850) 391-7659
Se habla español.

What Florida Actually Asks of a Tallahassee Business, in Order

Florida imposes no personal income tax, so an individual living and working here files a federal return and nothing at the state level. That part is true. Where it goes wrong is the assumption that a business gets the same treatment. It does not, and the filings it does have run on their own calendar.

 

The sections below cover Florida sales and use tax, payroll, and the returns that sit outside income tax and get missed most often. If you are already current on all of it, the service blocks at the bottom are where to go next. If something here is not current, that is the work.

Sales Tax in Leon County, Without the Guesswork

Florida's state sales tax rate is 6 percent. Leon County adds a discretionary sales surtax of 1.5 percent, which brings the combined rate in Leon County to 7.5 percent on most taxable sales.

 

The surtax has a cap. It applies only to the first $5,000 of a single item of tangible personal property. The 6 percent state rate applies to the full amount regardless of price — the cap is on the county portion only. A $12,000 piece of equipment sold in Leon County carries the 1.5 percent surtax on the first $5,000 and the 6 percent state rate on all $12,000.

 

The surtax that applies follows the county where the item is delivered, not where the seller is located. A Tallahassee business shipping into Gadsden County charges Gadsden County's surtax rate on that transaction, not Leon County's 1.5 percent. This is the piece that catches sellers who deliver across county lines.

DR-15 Filing Mechanics

The DR-15 is due the first day of the month after the collection period and is late after the 20th. When the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Filing frequency — monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual — is assigned by the state based on how much tax the business collects, and the state can change it as the business grows.

 

There is a collection allowance of 2.5 percent of the first $1,200 of tax due, capped at $30, available only when the return is filed and paid electronically. Purchases for resale run on the Annual Resale Certificate. Use tax is owed on out-of-state purchases where no Florida tax was collected at the time of sale — this catches contractors buying materials online more than any other single category.

The Commercial Rent Change That Affects Nearly Every Tallahassee Business Tenant

Florida's sales tax on commercial rent ended on October 1, 2025. Rent on a commercial lease signed after that date is no longer subject to Florida sales tax. Occupancy periods before October 1, 2025 still carry the tax, which matters for anyone reconciling older books or working through a late filing.

 

Once a Tallahassee business starts shipping into other states, the question stops being the DR-15 and becomes where it has crossed a registration threshold in those states. That is a different problem, and our sales tax services page covers it.

Florida Payroll Is Simpler Than Most States — With One Return Owners Miss

Florida has no state income tax withholding on wages. A Florida payroll runs on federal income tax withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and Florida reemployment tax. That is fewer moving parts than most states, and it is genuinely simpler.

 

The piece owners most often miss is the reemployment return. The RT-6 is filed quarterly with the Florida Department of Revenue and covers reemployment tax on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages for the year. New employers start at an initial rate before the state assigns an experience rate based on the business's claims history. Nothing else in the quarter reminds an owner the RT-6 exists, which is why it gets missed.

The Florida Filings That Sit Outside Income Tax

Tangible Personal Property Return — Form DR-405

Form DR-405 is filed with the Leon County Property Appraiser by April 1 and covers the furniture, equipment, and tools a business owns as of January 1. There is a $25,000 exemption. Once a business has filed and been granted the exemption, it may not need to file again unless the value of its property rises above that threshold. Businesses that have never filed and have property worth less than $25,000 should still file once to establish the exemption.

Florida Annual Report — Due May 1

The Florida annual report is filed with the Division of Corporations, not the Department of Revenue. It is a corporate filing, not a tax return, but it carries a substantial late penalty and the two get confused regularly. The deadline is May 1 each year.

Florida Corporate Income Tax — Form F-1120

Corporations and entities taxed as corporations file Form F-1120 at a 5.5 percent rate, generally due the first day of the fifth month after the tax year ends. Most Florida small businesses are organized as pass-throughs — sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, and LLCs — and do not file the F-1120. If your business income flows through to your personal return, this is not your return.

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What We Do for Tallahassee Businesses and Individuals

Tax Preparation and Tax Planning

We prepare individual and business returns for Tallahassee clients and work through the year on planning that affects the next return. Construction contractors, retailers, and professional service firms make up a large part of the practice. Craig Collins works directly with owners and goes through the return rather than handing it over. Learn more about our tax preparation and planning work.

Bookkeeping and Outsourced Accounting

Monthly books that are closed and reconciled rather than reconstructed in March. We handle the transaction coding, bank reconciliations, and financial statements so an owner can see where the business stands without waiting until tax season. Learn more about our bookkeeping and write-up services.

Payroll Services

We handle payroll processing and the filings that go with it, including the RT-6 that Florida employers file each quarter. If you are running payroll yourself and the reemployment return has gotten behind, that is recoverable work. Learn more about our payroll services.

Tax Resolution and IRS Problem Help

IRS notices, unfiled returns, and back taxes are a regular part of the work here. If you have received a notice or have returns that have not been filed, the first step is finding out exactly what is open. We handle the correspondence and representation from there. Learn more about our tax resolution and IRS problem help.

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A Tallahassee Office, and a Person Who Explains the Return

The office is at 3652 Shamrock St W in Tallahassee. You can bring a box of receipts and sit down with us, and we will go through it with you. The same engagement is available entirely through the client portal for anyone who would rather not make the drive — document upload, return delivery, and communication all run through it.

 

We have worked with roofing, painting, framing, concrete, and remodeling contractors in this market for years. That means job costing, cash flow by project, and material purchases where use tax gets missed — the kind of detail that comes from doing this work repeatedly, not from reading about it. Seventeen years of individual and business tax work, fifteen years in business, and roughly sixty years of combined experience across the office. Crawfordville, Havana, Monticello, and Quincy are all within an easy drive of the office.

 

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If Your Books or Returns Are Behind

Unfiled returns and books that stopped a year ago are ordinary work here. The sequence is straightforward: find out what is actually missing, file what is open, and get current. There is no judgment attached to how it got here. We do not make promises about penalties or what the IRS will or will not do, because no one can make those promises honestly.

Questions Tallahassee Business Owners Ask Us

  • Does Florida have a state income tax, and does that affect my paycheck?

    Florida does not impose a personal income tax. An individual living and working in Florida files a federal return and nothing at the state level. There is no state withholding taken out of a Florida paycheck. For a business owner, that does not mean there are no state filings — it means the filings you have are different ones, covered above.

  • What is the sales tax rate in Leon County?

    The combined rate in Leon County is 7.5 percent — the 6 percent Florida state rate plus a 1.5 percent discretionary surtax. The surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of a single item of tangible personal property. The state rate applies to the full amount.

  • How often does a Florida business have to file the DR-15?

    Filing frequency is assigned by the Florida Department of Revenue based on how much tax the business collects. A business that collects a small amount may file annually; a larger business files monthly. The state can change your assigned frequency as the business grows. Regardless of frequency, the return is late after the 20th of the month it is due.

  • Does my business owe anything to Leon County on its equipment and tools?

    Possibly. Florida requires businesses to report tangible personal property — furniture, equipment, tools, and similar assets — on Form DR-405, filed with the Leon County Property Appraiser by April 1. There is a $25,000 exemption. If the value of your business property is below that threshold and you have already filed to establish the exemption, you may not need to file again. If you have never filed, it is worth doing once to get the exemption on record.

  • What payroll filings does a Florida employer have each quarter?

    A Florida employer files federal payroll returns quarterly on Form 941, plus the Florida reemployment return on Form RT-6. The RT-6 covers reemployment tax on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages for the year and is due quarterly. There is no Florida state income tax withholding return because Florida does not withhold state income tax on wages.

  • Can you work with a Tallahassee client entirely remotely?

    Yes. The same engagement that runs in the office runs through the client portal. You upload documents, we prepare the return or handle the books, and everything comes back through the portal. Some clients prefer to come in; others have never been to the office. Either way works.

  • What should I bring to a first appointment?

    For a tax return, bring last year's return if you have it, your income documents for the current year, any IRS or state notices you have received, and a list of anything that changed — new business, new property, new employees. For bookkeeping or payroll, bring your bank statements and whatever records you have been keeping, even if they are incomplete. We will sort out what is there and what is missing.

  • I have not filed in a couple of years. Is that something you can help with?

    Yes. Unfiled returns are a regular part of the work here. The first step is pulling transcripts to see exactly what the IRS has on record and what years are open. From there, we prepare and file what is missing and address any notices that have come in. We do not make predictions about what the IRS will do, but we can tell you where things stand and what the options are.

Questions before you book? Call us at (850) 391-7659.