Florida Annual Reports and Taxes

Yes, an annual report must be filed each year for your business entity to maintain an “active status” with the Florida Secretary of State, Division of Corporations. Even if you have no amendments or changes to make, it is still required to submit your annual report.

A Florida LLC Annual Report typically costs $138.75. If your annual report is received by the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations after May 1st, then you will be assessed a $400 late fee, bringing your total filing fee to $538.75.

For more details, the State of Florida Division of Corporations provides a complete list of Florida LLC Annual Report fees.

You can pay your Florida Annual Report Filing fee either online or by check/money order.

Online Payment Options:

• Credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover)
• Debit card (Visa or MasterCard logo)
• Prepaid Sunbiz E-File Account

By Mail:

• You can send a check or money order payable to the Florida Department of State.
• Your check must be payable in US currency drawn from a US bank.
• Your  payment must be submitted with the required payment voucher provided when you select the “Pay by Check” option through your Sunbiz account.

If you choose to send your payment as a check/money order via mail or courier, then keep in mind that your payment voucher and check/money order must be postmarked and mailed on or before May 1st. Otherwise, you may be assessed a $400 late fee.

If you do not file your Florida Annual Report, then you risk having your business entity administratively dissolved or revoked.

While your annual report is due on the first of May, you have until the third Friday of September to submit your annual report (along with the $400 late fee). Otherwise, by the close of business on the fourth Friday of September, your business entity will be dissolved or revoked. At that point, you do have the option to reinstate, but you’ll need to submit a reinstatement application and pay all the associated fees.

Want to avoid late fees? When you hire us to form your Florida business, you get compliance reminders (including annual reports) through your client account.

Yes, you can! When you file your Florida Annual Report, you can do any of the following:

• Add, delete, or change the names and/or addresses principals (e.g., officers, managers, and other authorized members)
• Change the information for your registered agent and their office (if you’re changing registered agents)
• Change the principal office address and/or mailing address for your business entity
• Add (or change) your company’s FEIN

Of course, you are not required to change anything at all, but if you need to amend any of the above, you can do so when submitting your annual report.

The tax advantages of an LLC in Florida are two-fold: (1) LLCs avoid double-taxation, and (2) the state of Florida does not have a state income tax.

Since a Florida LLC is typically taxed as a pass-through entity, taxes on profits are paid on a member’s individual tax return each year. Think of it this way: your tax burden “passes through” your LLC and is assessed only on your individual tax return, avoiding the potential for double-taxation. And since Florida does not impose a state personal income tax, that means each member of a Florida LLC can enjoy not having to pay any state income tax on their Florida profits.

Yes, there is a corporate tax in Florida. Keep in mind, though, that Florida corporation taxes are lower than average corporate income tax.

So while corporations in Florida must pay a 5.5% tax on business income, that’s a favorable percentage compared to other states. And while business owners typically end up paying more Florida corporation taxes than they would in Florida LLC taxes, a Florida corporation offers several legal and investment advantage (e.g., a corporate tax structure allows for re-investment and has a more established legal precedent than LLCs).