Florida Businesses - Do you have out-of-state customers?
If you have a business presence in a state, you must register with that
state for tax purposes. Examples of business presence (sometimes referred
to as nexus) include:
- Owning property in that state.
- Making regular deliveries of your merchandise in that state.
- Providing repair services in that state.
- Sending your representatives to solicit orders in that state.
If you sell items to customers in another state, but do not have nexus in
that state, you do not have to collect sales tax on the items you sell to
them. However, your customers are responsible for paying use tax in their
state on the items when they receive them.
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Use tax is due on the use of items that are brought into the state
untaxed. It complements the state sales tax and is charged at the same
rate. Use tax applies to purchases from sources such as mail order
catalogs, the Internet, television shopping networks, auctions, and
toll-free shopping services. The use tax is also due on taxable items
purchased during out-of-state travel, when the merchandise is shipped to
the individual's home state.
Businesses are encouraged to voluntarily register with their market states
to collect sales tax from out-of-state customers. If you voluntarily
register to collect tax, you can help prevent your customers from
receiving a bill from another state for use tax, penalty, and interest.
