FLORIDA REEMPLOYMENT TAX RATES FOR 2023 NOW AVAILABLE

Most Florida employers are required to pay Florida reemployment tax (it used to be called unemployment tax) to the State of Florida every quarter. This tax is assessed on the wages you pay your employees and is paid each quarter to the Florida Department of Revenue using the form RT-6 (the Employers Quarterly Report).

The minimum and maximum reemployment tax rates for 2023 are:

  • Minimum rate:  .1% or $7.00 per employee
  • Maximum rate:  5.4% or $378 per employee

Your company’s tax rate may be in between the minimum and maximum rates, depending on how many of your former employees received reemployment benefits during the last 3 years. Your business should have already received a notice from the Florida Department of Revenue with your 2023 reemployment tax rate. Apply this rate to the wages paid to your employees to calculate how much reemployment tax you owe each quarter.

Remember that reemployment taxes are charged only on the first $7,000 of wages paid to each employee in a year. Once you have paid taxes on the first $7,000 of an employee’s wages for that year, you will not owe any reemployment tax for that employee for the rest of the year.

Unless you hire new employees during the year, your business will probably pay most of the tax due for the year in the first quarter and have little to no tax due in the later quarters of the year.

Employers must file a reemployment tax return (RT-6) every quarter, even if no tax is due. Returns are due by the end of the month following each calendar quarter: April 30th, July 31st, October 31st, and January 31st. The first RT-6 for 2023 is due April 30th and will be for wages paid to employees in January, February, and March 2023.

If your business has 10 or more employees, you must file these reports and pay your taxes online using the Florida Department of Revenue’s secure portal.

FUBA members who have questions about their company’s reemployment taxes can call the FUBA offices at 800-262-4483 and ask for Karen or Mallory.



IRS WARNS ABOUT SOLICITATIONS FOR EMPLOYEE RETENTION CREDIT

Has your business received emails from companies offering to help you get $7,000 in tax credits for each of your employees under the Employee Retention Credit (ERC)? The Internal Revenue Service is warning employers to be cautious of these direct solicitations promising tax savings that are too good to be true.

The ERC is a tax credit for businesses that continued to pay its employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives qualifying employers a credit against their employee wages paid through 9/30/21.

To be eligible for the ERC, employers must have:

  • Fully or partially suspended their operations under an order from a governmental entity during 2020 or during the first 3 quarters of 2021;
  • Experienced a significant decline in gross receipts from 3/15/20 – 9/30/21; or
  • Qualified as a recovery startup business for the third or fourth quarters of 2021.

Employers that qualify for the ERC but have not claimed it can file an amended 941 before 4/15/2024.

The IRS has detailed and complex rules about how businesses can qualify and claim the ERC. Improperly claiming the ERC could result in taxpayers being required to repay the credit along with penalties and interest.

Most small businesses will need a tax professional to help them apply for the credit and file the required amended tax forms. If you think your business may qualify, it is definitely worth asking your accountant or tax professional for assistance.

While these email solicitations may make it seem easy to qualify, not all businesses are eligible to claim the tax credit. If you are considering using one of these services, do your due diligence and make sure that the company is reputable before hiring them. Make sure to understand how they are compensated and how much of your tax credit they will take.



ANNUAL REPORT DEADLINE IS 5/1/23

All Florida corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) are required by state law to file an online update called an Annual Report every year with the State of Florida to keep the company’s status active.

The Annual Report is just a way for you to verify that the information about your company on file with the state is current. It’s a chance to update your information if anything has changed in the last year, like a new mailing address or a new officer for the company.

The report is also a money-maker for the State of Florida– the state charges corporations $150 to file their Annual Report and charges LLCs $138.75. Companies have to file an Annual Report every year even if there have been no changes to the company’s information.

The deadline to file your company’s 2023 Annual Report is May 1st, but the state’s filing portal at Sunbiz.org is open now so businesses can file early. Make sure to file your report before the deadline – if you miss the May 1st deadline, the state will charge you an additional $400 for your Annual Report.

Be cautious about emails you get from private companies with names like “Business Filings Depot” or “Reminder Department.” These emails look like they are from the government and have a link for you to file your company’s Annual Report. Before clicking on the link, know that these companies charge a lot of money to file your company’s Annual Report, usually about $100 more than you actually need to pay. If you pay one of these companies to file your Annual Report, it could be much more expensive than filing it yourself on Sunbiz.org.

FUBA members with questions can call our offices at 800-262-4483 and ask for Karen or Mallory.