DIRECT ANSWER
What to know first
Florida sales and use tax returns and payments are due on the first day of the month after the reporting period and generally become late after the 20th. A dealer must file for every assigned reporting period even when no tax is due. For an electronic payment due in 2026, the Florida Department of Revenue requires the transaction and confirmation number by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the applicable date in its 2026 DR-659 calendar. Filing frequency, a weekend or holiday, and whether you file and pay together can change the action date.
Confirm the filing frequency assigned to the account
The Florida Department of Revenue assigns monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual filing based generally on annual sales and use tax collections. Its current thresholds are more than $1,000 for monthly filing, $501 through $1,000 for quarterly filing, $101 through $500 for semiannual filing, and $100 or less for annual filing. Most new businesses begin as quarterly filers.
Do not infer the account's frequency from sales volume alone. Confirm it in the Florida account record or filing notice, because the threshold uses tax collections and the Department can change an assigned frequency.
Use the 2026 electronic-payment cutoff calendar
DR-659 lists the last date in each month to complete an electronic sales and use tax payment and receive a confirmation number by 5 p.m. Eastern Time. These dates account for weekends and holidays. They are payment-transmission cutoffs, not a replacement for the return instructions.
| Payment month | Electronic cutoff by 5 p.m. ET | Quarterly filing month |
|---|---|---|
| January | January 16, 2026 | Yes — October through December 2025 |
| February | February 19, 2026 | No |
| March | March 19, 2026 | No |
| April | April 17, 2026 | Yes — January through March 2026 |
| May | May 19, 2026 | No |
| June | June 18, 2026 | No |
| July | July 17, 2026 | Yes — April through June 2026 |
| August | August 19, 2026 | No |
| September | September 18, 2026 | No |
| October | October 19, 2026 | Yes — July through September 2026 |
| November | November 19, 2026 | No |
| December | December 18, 2026 | No |
Separate the return deadline from the electronic-payment deadline
Florida states that return deadlines falling on a weekend or holiday move forward to the next business day, while electronic-payment deadlines move back to the previous business day so funds can arrive on time. A dealer filing electronically without paying electronically should follow the filing instructions that apply to that submission method.
A December 2026 reporting period ordinarily feeds a payment due in January 2027. The 2026 DR-659 calendar does not provide the January 2027 electronic cutoff, so verify the 2027 calendar rather than carrying forward the January 2026 date.
File zero returns and address late periods promptly
A registered dealer must file each assigned period even when there were no taxable sales and no tax is due. The Department states that a late sales and use tax return can carry a penalty equal to 10% of tax due, with a $50 minimum that can apply even to a zero return.
If a period is already late, first confirm the account, frequency, return type, taxable sales, exempt sales, surtax, payments, and notices. Filing a current period does not automatically resolve an older missing period.
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AUTHOR
Stefano Tavella, CPA
Stefano Tavella, CPA leads Tavella CPA Group, a cloud-based CPA firm serving individuals and small businesses with tax preparation, planning, notice assistance, and related services.
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