The Florida Department of Revenue website has been less than forthcoming, so I'll ask you guys. I will be doing 2 or 3 shows in FL next month, and don't have any plans to make this an annual trek, so I don't really want to have to register and file every year. Many states don't require a transient business to actually register in order to pay their sales taxes, but I can't seem to find out one way or the other with Florida. Is is necessary? I will if I have to.
Thanks!
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I finally relented and registered for a number, at least in theory. I will have to call to get my number since I am leaving home this weekend and won't get any mail. I have already decided to have them cancel my account after these shows, since I don't plan on making this trip a habit!
Nebraska is still the best state with a sales tax; you don't need to register and the state PAYS YOU to collect the sales tax for them! You get a little discount on the amount you need to send them if you file in a timely fashion.
I know this is an older post, but I was refrencing it for 2011 and it helped me. I thought I would add what I found out today concerning Florida DOR for those of us who are not going to do many shows in Florida.
I am going to do 2 shows in Florida in 2011, I think. 1 for sure. Anyway I contacted DOR in Florida and they told me to contact the service center in the county I was doing the show in. They even gave me the direct phone numbers. When I called the county service centers DOR I was to ask for a Special Event #. This will be a temporary # that only last for the time of the show. They are mailing me the form with the number already filled out. When the show is over I will mail it back to them. After the dates of the show, the number is cancelled automatically. The main DOR told me that was best to do for 1 show, and even if I did a couple more then I should just contact each county service center individually. The county service center wanted to make sure it would only be one show in their county for the year.
I did one show in Florida last year and went through the laborious process of getting a tax ID. I immediately sent them the sales tax money from the show and asked them to suspend my account. That way I can start it up again without all the hassle of getting a new tax ID if I ever do any shows down there again. I agree that their web site is very difficult to navigate. But if you phone a human being, they are helpful.
Signing up for a Florida taxpayer # online is a pain and takes several days. You sign up for the taxpayer ID and then get a certificate after a couple of days. Then you register your routing # and checking account number, and after two days receive your user name & password to pay online. The online screens were not all that straight forward. Wow, who designed that system? Maybe I'm slow, but I had to call the help line three times.
I've received sales tax forms from two of the four shows I've done so far in Florida this year. Each was different. One of the forms indicated "if your organization is involved in three or more events within a twelve month period, you are required to register with the Department of Revenue, and report tax as a a registered dealer" -- hence my endeavour to sign up online. That form required payment by the 20th of the month following the event by personal check for vendors submitting a written form. The other form required response within 48 hours of a show along with a certified check or money order for payment (what the @#!?). I'm submitting my tax form and payment online, but I still have to send in these paper forms per one of the agents I spoke with on the phone, plus the forms indicate someone will track you down if you don't. At one of the shows a rep from the Florida Dept of Rev was personally handing out the forms. If you need a job, maybe apply to the Florida Dept of Revenue -- they must have gazillions of employees.
Could they make it any more difficult for somebody who just wants to pay sales tax.
Thank you Patty! This is just the sort of information I needed.
Patty said:
I know they want you to sign up for a number if you do more than one show in Florida- I've done one, sometimes 2 in the past without a number. Most of the shows I've done have provided me with a sheet to file my taxes to Florida after the show. I have had a FL number in the past and it was a major hassle when they didn't credit my money and charged me 50 bucks for not filing- which they removed after I mailed in a copy of the cashed check. If I were you, if you aren't planning to come back, I'd wing it. Just don't tell Florida I said so. You are on the borderline doing one or two shows- if they get their money, they're happy- it's the purpose of getting the number, after all.
I know they want you to sign up for a number if you do more than one show in Florida- I've done one, sometimes 2 in the past without a number. Most of the shows I've done have provided me with a sheet to file my taxes to Florida after the show. I have had a FL number in the past and it was a major hassle when they didn't credit my money and charged me 50 bucks for not filing- which they removed after I mailed in a copy of the cashed check. If I were you, if you aren't planning to come back, I'd wing it. Just don't tell Florida I said so. You are on the borderline doing one or two shows- if they get their money, they're happy- it's the purpose of getting the number, after all.
I got mine, it took awhile to figure out how to do it though, it seems like every state has a different process. This is where you go : http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/registration.html . Then just look down the page and it will say "Start a New Registration"...... it doesn't specifically say 'transient vendor license' or anything like that but as you go through the process of registering it will ask you specific questions so it can determine exactly what type of license you need. It's free which is nice and I think you get your number online if I remember correctly....then they send all your info in the mail a few weeks later, quarterly tax forms, etc.
Replies
Nebraska is still the best state with a sales tax; you don't need to register and the state PAYS YOU to collect the sales tax for them! You get a little discount on the amount you need to send them if you file in a timely fashion.
I am going to do 2 shows in Florida in 2011, I think. 1 for sure. Anyway I contacted DOR in Florida and they told me to contact the service center in the county I was doing the show in. They even gave me the direct phone numbers. When I called the county service centers DOR I was to ask for a Special Event #. This will be a temporary # that only last for the time of the show. They are mailing me the form with the number already filled out. When the show is over I will mail it back to them. After the dates of the show, the number is cancelled automatically. The main DOR told me that was best to do for 1 show, and even if I did a couple more then I should just contact each county service center individually. The county service center wanted to make sure it would only be one show in their county for the year.
I've received sales tax forms from two of the four shows I've done so far in Florida this year. Each was different. One of the forms indicated "if your organization is involved in three or more events within a twelve month period, you are required to register with the Department of Revenue, and report tax as a a registered dealer" -- hence my endeavour to sign up online. That form required payment by the 20th of the month following the event by personal check for vendors submitting a written form. The other form required response within 48 hours of a show along with a certified check or money order for payment (what the @#!?). I'm submitting my tax form and payment online, but I still have to send in these paper forms per one of the agents I spoke with on the phone, plus the forms indicate someone will track you down if you don't. At one of the shows a rep from the Florida Dept of Rev was personally handing out the forms. If you need a job, maybe apply to the Florida Dept of Revenue -- they must have gazillions of employees.
Could they make it any more difficult for somebody who just wants to pay sales tax.
Patty said: