Issues Newsletter

Corporations and LLC’s: Time is Running Out to File Your 2018 Annual Report

If your business is a Florida corporation (INC) or limited liability company (LLC), this is your last reminder from FUBA that the deadline to file your company’s Annual Report with the State of Florida is rapidly approaching.  All Florida corporations and LLC’s must file an Annual Report by May 1st with the State of Florida’s Department of State at sunbiz.org.

The only exception to this requirement is for corporations and LLC’s that were initially formed in 2018; these entities will not have to file an Annual Report until 2019.

If you have already filed your Annual Report for 2018, you can disregard this reminder.

Not sure if you have already filed it and want to double-check?  Go to the state Division of Corporations’ website at sunbiz.org and click on “Look Up a Business.”  To search by your company’s name, click on “Name.”  Enter your company’s name, and a list will pop up.  Find your company’s name in the list and click on it.  You will see the information about your company that the state of Florida has on file.  If you scroll down towards the bottom of the screen, you will see a section called “Annual Reports” which lists all the Annual Reports your company has filed with the State of Florida.  If you see an Annual Report filed for 2018, you are all set.

If there isn’t an Annual Report listed for 2018, you need to file your Annual Report by May 1st.  To file your Annual Report, go to sunbiz.org and click on the “Annual Report” under the “Filing Services” tab.”

To complete your Annual Report, you will need the following:

• Your company’s document number.  This is a 6 or 12-digit number that was assigned to your company by the Division of Corporations when you first created your business entity. It will be in the email notice you should have already received from the Division of Corporations, or you can find it by clicking on the “Forgot Number?” tab on the Annual Report screen.  This allows you to search for your company and find the document number.
• Your company’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), if applicable.
• A valid email address that is regularly monitored.
• A major credit card.

For corporations, the cost to file an Annual Report is $150, if filed by May 1st.  For LLC’s, the filing fee is $138.75, if filed by May 1st.  Payment can be made online using Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover, and Visa and MasterCard debit cards are also accepted.

If you do not file your Annual Report by May 1st, the State of Florida will charge you a mandatory $400 late fee.  The state cannot waive this late fee.

If you have any questions about your Annual Report, you can email the Florida Division of Corporations at corphelp@dos.state.fl.us or call them at 850-245-6052.  Or, you can call the FUBA offices at 800-262-4483 and ask for Karen, Lance or Erin.  Even though the Annual Report and filing fees are a State of Florida requirement, we can try to answer any questions you may have.

Contractors: Do You Use the Construction Database to Track Your Subcontractors?

In Florida, everyone working on a construction job site is required to be covered by workers’ compensation insurance or have a valid workers’ compensation exemption issued by the state Division of Workers’ Compensation.  If a contractor in the construction industry hires a subcontractor whose workers’ compensation coverage gets cancelled and one of the sub’s employees gets hurt, the responsibility for that injury can fall to the contractor and their workers’ compensation insurance company.  The contractor will also owe premium to their insurance company for that exposure.

It’s the same situation if the construction contractor hires an exemption holder.  If that exemption expires and the subcontractor does not renew it timely, that sub is no longer exempt.   If he/she is hurt on the job after the exemption expires, a claim can be filed against the contractor’s workers’ compensation insurance to cover the injury.

How can contractors in the construction industry protect themselves? One way is to use the State of Florida’s Construction Policy Tracking Database.  This is a free service offered by the Division of Workers’ Compensation that will notify contractors if their subcontractors’ insurance coverage or exemptions expire or are cancelled.

Contractors simply enter the workers’ comp policy number or exemption information for all their subcontractors, and the database will track the subs’ policies and/or exemptions and alert contractors by email if a subcontractor’s policy is cancelled or if an exemption expires.  The link to the Construction Policy Tracking Database is: myfloridacfo.com/WCAPPS/Contractor/logon.asp.

If you have any questions concerning the policy information on the website, you can contact the Division of Workers’ Compensation’s Customer Service at 850-413-1609 or email them at ContractorTracking@myfloridacfo.com.

Newsletter Available via Email

This newsletter, ISSUES, is published every month by the Florida United Businesses Association (FUBA) to educate our members on topics that may affect their business.  If you would like to receive it by email, please email FUBA@fuba.org with “newsletter” in the subject line and include your FUBA membership number (if you know it), your business name, and the  contact person’s name and email address.  You can provide up to 3 email addresses at your business to receive the newsletter.