Free guide for contractors
Do contractors charge sales tax in Florida?
General information, not tax advice. Tax rules change and depend on the details of each job. Confirm how they apply to your business with your accountant or the state's revenue department before relying on them.
FL Florida
Usually no tax on the invoiceNo, for most construction contracts. Florida contractors are the final consumers of their materials, with exceptions for retail-plus-installation contracts and movable items.
Under lump-sum, cost-plus, fixed-fee, guaranteed-price and time-and-materials contracts for real property, the Florida contractor is the final consumer of materials and supplies and should not charge tax to the customer.
A retail sale plus installation contract is the exception. When the materials are listed and priced in advance and the customer takes title as they are delivered, the contractor charges tax on all materials.
Selling and installing items that remain tangible personal property (not attached to the real property) is taxable on the full price, installation included. Hard-wired or permanently installed residential appliances are real property, with no tax on the appliance or the labor; freestanding appliances are taxable.
Nonresidential cleaning and nonresidential building pest control are taxable services at 6%.
It turns on: the type of contract (lump sum, cost plus, time and materials, or retail sale plus installation); whether the item becomes real property or stays tangible personal property; for cleaning and pest control, whether the property is nonresidential.
Watch out for
- A contractor cannot use an exempt customer's tax-exempt status to buy materials for that customer's construction contract (FDOR GT-800067; Rule 12A-1.094, F.A.C.).
“the contractor is the final consumer of materials and supplies”FDOR GT-800067