Posted in Business & Corporate Law,Tax Law & IRS Defense

Last summer, Florida passed new legislation requiring all Florida corporate income tax filers to provide certain additional information online with the Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR). The new online information disclosure relates to how certain areas of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act impact a company’s Florida income tax. Note that the state has limited this additional online reporting to only those companies required to file a Florida corporate income/franchise tax returns (Form F-1120 or F-1120-A). Other entity types such as partnerships are not affected by this legislation.

Florida placed a very tight deadline for reporting this information given the timing of passing the legislation and the notice to taxpayers.  Many corporations were unaware of this new requirement despite the FDOR mailing a notice to all Florida corporate taxpayers. Companies cannot afford to ignore this new online reporting since late filing carries a minimum of $1,000 penalty or 1% of tax, whichever is greater.  The Florida Statutes do provide a framework to settle or compromise those penalties.