Final Legislative State Tax Report for 2023 Regular Session

The 2023 Florida Regular Legislative Session concluded May 5, 2023. In total, 320 general bills passed both Chambers.

Please Note: The full text of each bill and any amendments can be found on the legislative web sites: www.flsenate.gov; www.myfloridahouse.com; www.leg.state.fl.us.

Passed Legislation

TAXATION – HB 7063 is the annual legislative tax packages. HB 7063 was approved unanimously by the House and Senate.

Sales Tax

• • Reduces the business rent tax from 5.5% to 4.5% effective December 1, 2023. The business rent tax is still scheduled to be further reduced to 2.0% in Fall 2024 due to the passage of 2021 SB 50 (Wayfair / Marketplace legislation).
  • Creates a permanent exemption for baby and toddler products:
    • • Cribs, playpens, strollers, safety gates, monitors, safety locks, bicycle carriers and trainers, exercisers, jumpers, bouncer seats, swings, breast pumps, bottle sterilizers, baby bottles, pacifiers, teething rings, baby wipes, changing tables, changing pads, children’s diapers, clothing intended and marketed for children age 5 or younger (presumed to be size 5T or smaller).
  • Creates a permanent exemption for adult diapers and incontinence products.
  • Creates a permanent exemption for oral hygiene products: toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, picks, and oral irrigators.
  • Creates a permanent exemption for qualifying machinery and equipment necessary for the production of renewable natural gas.
  • Creates a permanent exemption for certain small private investigative agencies with three or fewer employees.
  • Expands the agricultural fencing exemption passed in 2022 to include permanent or temporary fencing used to contain, confine, or process cattle.
  • Creates an exemption for firearm safety devices.

Sales Tax Distribution – Creates new sales tax distributions to certain tracks that provide thoroughbred breeding and racing.

Back to School Sales Tax Holiday  | Two periods: 7/24/23-8/6/23 & 1/1/24-1/14/24

• • Exempt items:
    • $100 or less: clothing, wallets, bags
    • $50 or less: school supplies
    • $30 or less: learning aides and jigsaw puzzles
    • $1,500 or less: personal computers and accessories
  • Excludes sales within a theme park entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.
  • Provides an opt-out provision for businesses.

Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday  |  Period: 5/27/23-6/9/23 & 8/26/23-9/8/23

• • Exempt items:
    • • $20 or less: reusable ice
      • $40 or less: portable light
      • $50 or less: radios, fuel tanks, batteries
      • $60 or less: nonelectric cooler, portable power bank
      • $70 or less: smoke detector, fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide detector
      • $100 or less: tarps, waterproof sheeting, ground anchor system
      • $3,000 or less: portable generator
  • Exempt pet supplies:
    • • $10 or less: wet food pouches
      • $15 or less: manual can openers, travel sized bowls, pet waste disposal bags, hamster or rabbit substrate
      • $20 or less: leashes, collars, muzzles, pet pads
      • $25 or less: cat litter weighing 25lbs or less
      • $40 or less: pet beds
      • $100 or less: dry food weighing 50lbs or less, pet medications, portable kennels or carriers
  • Common Household Items costing $30 or less: laundry items; toilet paper; paper towels; paper napkins; facial tissues; soap; sunscreen and sunblock; dish soap; cleaning wipes and sprays; hand sanitizer; and trash bags.
  • Excludes sales within a theme park entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.

Freedom Summer Sales Tax Holiday  |  Period: 5/29/23-9/4/23

• • Exempt Admissions:
    • • Live music and sporting events, movies, ballet, play, or musical theatre performance, fair, festival, or cultural event scheduled to be held between 5/29/23 and 12/31/23.
      • Season tickets for ballets, plays, music events, or musical theatre performances.
      • Museums and state parks including annual passes sold during the Holiday.
      • Clubs providing physical fitness facilities from 5/29/23 through 12/31/23.
      • If an admission is subsequently resold, the tax shall be collected on the full price of the resold admission.
  • Exempt Items:
    • • Boating and water activity supplies
        • • $25 or less: snorkels, goggles, swimming masks
          • $35 or less: recreational pool tubes, pool floats, inflatable chairs, pool toys
          • $50 or less: safety flares
          • $75 or less: life jackets, coolers, paddles, oars
          • $150 or less: water skis, wakeboards, kneeboards, towable tubes or floats
          • $300 or less: paddleboards, surfboards
          • $500 or less: canoes and kayaks
      • Camping supplies
        • • $30 or less: camping lanterns and flashlights
          • $50 or less: sleeping bags, portable hammocks, camping stoves, collapsible camping chairs
          • $200 or less: tents
      • Fishing supplies
        • • $5 or less if sold individually or $10 or less if multiple items are sold together: bait, fishing tackle
          • $30 or less: tackle boxes or bags
          • $75 or less if sold individually or $150 or less if sold as a set: rods, reels
          • Excludes supplies used for commercial fishing purposes.
      • General Outdoor supplies
        • • $15 or less: sunscreen, insect repellant
          • $30 or less: water bottles
          • $50 or less: hydration packs, bicycle helmets for adults (youth permanently exempt)
          • $100 or less: sunglasses
          • $200 or less: binoculars
          • $250 or less: outdoor gas or charcoal grills
          • $500 or less: bicycles
      • Residential pool supplies
        • • $100 or less: residential pool and spa replacement parts, nets, filters, lights, covers
          • $150 or less: residential pool and spa chemicals purchased by an individual
      • Children’s toys
        • • A toy with a price of $75 or less designed or intended by the manufacture for use by a child 12 years of age or younger as evidenced by the manufacturer’s labeling or advertising.
      • Children’s athletic equipment
        • • Athletic equipment with a price of $100 or less designed or intended by the manufacture for use by a child 12 years of age or younger as evidenced by the manufacturer’s labeling or advertising.
  • Excludes sales within a theme park entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.

Tool Time Sales Tax Holiday  |  Period: 9/2/23-9/8/23

• • Exempt Items:
    • $25 or less: work gloves
    • $30 or less: high visibility vests
    • $50 or less: hand tools, safety glasses, coveralls, duffle bags, LED flashlights, shovels, rakes, fuel cans
    • $75 or less: hearing protection
    • $100 or less: tool belts, electrical equipment, shop lights, hard hats
    • $125 or less: industry textbooks and code books
    • $150 or less: power tool batteries, pipe cutters, plumbing inspection equipment
    • $175 or less: work boots
    • $250 or less: ladders
    • $300 or less: power tools, vehicle tool boxes
  • Excludes sales within a theme park entertainment complex, public lodging establishment, or airport.

ENERGY STAR Appliances Sales Tax Holidays  |  Period: 7/1/23-6/30/24

• • $1,500 or less: washing machine, clothes dryer, water heater
  • $4,500 or less: refrigerator, combination refrigerator and freezer

Gas Ranges and Cooktops Sales Tax Holiday  |  Period: 7/1/23-6/30/24

• • Excludes outdoor gas grills, camping stoves, and portable stoves.

Property Tax

• • Makes several changes to expand, clarify, or correct provisions related to homestead benefits for permanently and totally disabled veterans, first responders, and surviving spouses.
  • Expanding veteran’s exemption to federal law enforcement officers.
  • Allows an educational facility to qualify for an exemption if they have a bona fide 98-year lease with nominal payments.
  • Revisions to refund of taxes associated with residential destruction after a catastrophic event.

Corporate Income Tax

• • Piggyback – Adopts the IRC effective January 1, 2023.
  • Creates a tax credit for the installation of residential graywater systems. The credit is limited to $2M per developer.
  • Creates a tax credit for the manufacturing of human breast milk fortifiers.
  • Increases the contaminated site rehabilitation tax credit to $35M annually.
  • Amends tentative tax and penalty provisions so the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, Strong Families Program, and New Worlds Reading Program are included as tax paid.

Other

• • Special Assessments – prohibiting special assessments on certain lands classified agricultural.
  • Documentary Stamp Tax and Intangibles Tax – creates an exemption for 504 loans made by the United States Small Business Administration.
  • Communications Services Tax – prohibits local governments from increasing local rates before January 1, 2026.
  • Natural Gas Fuel Tax – further delays the state date of the tax until January 1, 2026.
  • Strong Families Tax Credit Program – increases the credit cap from $10M to $20M.
  • Pari-mutual Tax – creates a tax credit for certain thoroughbred racing.
  • Tourist Development Taxes – increases the population thresholds for Gulf Coast counties that currently allow the use of taxes for public safety purposes. Also expands the uses for fiscally constrained counties.
  • Local Tax Referendum – requiring approvals during a general election.

ECONOMIC PROGRAMS – HB 5 by Representative Esposito (R) eliminates the public-private Enterprise Florida (EFI), renames the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) to the Department of Commerce, and repeals the following economic development programs: Entertainment Industry Corporate Income Tax Credit; Corporate Income Tax Credits for Spaceflight Projects; Qualified Defense Contractor and Space Flight Business; Qualified Target Industry; Economic Gardening Loan and Technical Assistance Programs; Quick Action Closing Fund; Innovation Incentive Program; Motorsports Entertainment Complex; Small Business Technology Growth; Scripps Florida Funding; New Markets Tax Credit; and Microfinance Loan Program. HB 5 was approved by the House and Senate.

HOUSING – SB 102 by Senator Calatayud (R) and HB 627 by Representative Busatta Cabrera (R) – This legislation would make changes to affordable housing related programs. Within the Florida Housing Finance Corporation the bill:

• • Provides up to $150 million annually to the SAIL program for certain specified uses such as infill and projects near military installations. These funds are to be redirected from the General Revenue service charge, and this provision sunsets 2033.
  • Provides up to a $5,000 refund for sales tax paid on building materials used to construct an affordable housing unit funded through the FHFC.
  • Creates a new tax donation program to allow corporate taxpayers to direct certain tax payments to FHFC, up to $100 million annually, to fund the SAIL program.
  • Codifies the Florida Hometown Hero down payment assistance program, retaining the structure as it exists while increasing the monetary limit per loan and the scope of eligibility.
  • Adds two members to the FHFC Board of Directors, one appointed by the leader of each chamber of the Legislature.

The legislation also:

• • Raises tax credits available through the Community Contribution Tax Credit Program for affordable housing from $14.5 to $25 million.
  • Removes a local government’s ability to approve affordable housing on residential parcels by bypassing state and local laws that may otherwise preclude such development, while retaining such right for commercial and industrial parcels.

The bill also introduces three ad valorem property tax exemptions:

• • An ad valorem tax exemption for land owned by a nonprofit entity that is leased for a minimum of 99 years for the purpose of providing affordable housing.
  • An ad valorem tax exemption that applies to rent-restricted units within newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated developments setting aside at least 70 units for affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.
  • Authorizes counties and municipalities to offer, through ordinance, an ad valorem tax exemption to property owners who dedicate units for affordable housing at extremely-low income, very-low income, or both.

The bill was approved by the Governor Chapter No. 2023-17.

SPACE FLORIDA – HB 7041 by the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee make various changes to Space Florida and creates a Board independent from Enterprise Florida (see HB 5, which eliminates EFI). HB 7041 was approved unanimously by the House and Senate.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES – HB 1279 by Representative Alvarez (R) authorizes farmers to apply to the Department of Revenue for a Florida farm tax exempt agricultural materials (TEAM) card to validate current sales tax exemptions. House Bill 1279 unanimously passed the House and Senate.

ESTATE TAX – HB 619 by Representative Tant (D) Provides applicability of ch.198, F.S., with respect to certain estates. The legislation narrows the suspension of the estate tax to the requirement to file an affidavit and to wait for an IRS closing. House Bill 619 was approved unanimously by the House and Senate.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT – HB 1209 by Representative Shoaf (R) amends provisions related to the Rural Infrastructure Fund program and eases the ability for rural counties to accept federal and state funds. HB 1209 was approved unanimously by the House and Senate.

SCHOOL CHOICE – HB 1 by Representative Tuck (R) and Plasencia (R) and SB 202 by Senator Simon (R) increases school choice opportunities and expands eligibility under the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) program. HB 1 has been approved by the Governor Chapter No. 2023-16.