9 Actions Florida Should Take to Help Taxpayers Impacted by Hurricane Ian

1.     Postpone tax notices and waive penalties or interest for late tax filings in affected areas

2.     Extend the date for residents to take advantage of the tax discounts they would normally receive for paying property taxes and special assessments in November and postpone or defer the deadline for property tax installment payments

3.     Protect individual and business taxpayers from the risks for notices that they will likely not receive because their home or business addresses is not accessible anymore

4.     Issue no new audits in severely impacted areas, extend the statute of limitations and postpone existing audits that haven’t reached the assessment stage because these can’t be responded to while entire communities are still recovering

5.     Create procedures for fairly estimating taxes which can’t be calculated because records have been destroyed by the storm, moving away from the current method which significantly overestimates activity if no records are available

6.     Initiate procedures to offer payment plan assistance for late taxes, rather than resorting to the standard collection methods, like liens, levies, or bank freezes

7.     Retroactively apply the recently passed law that provides property tax refunds for residential property rendered uninhabitable as a result of a catastrophic event

8.     Provide tangible personal property relief and allow n on-residential properties rendered uninhabitable to receive property tax refunds

9.     Get Congress to pass a Disaster Tax Relief Act that includes provisions from past packages, including elements such as an Employee Retention Credit, an enhanced casualty loss deduction, and other relief provisions

Other Resources

Florida TaxWatch Statement on Hurricane Ian Recovery

Community Involvement

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Tax Free Turkey?

The Taxation of Groceries in Florida

As Thanksgiving nears and we think about the many blessings we have to be thankful for, here’s another one to add to the list: groceries are exempt from the Florida sales tax. So when you are racking up that big grocery bill in preparation for the holiday feast, be thankful that you don’t live in one the 13 states that taxes groceries, and six additional states only levy local sales taxes on groceries.

You can buy the turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and most everything else that will be on the Thanksgiving table without having to pay Florida’s state and local sales taxes, which range from 6 to 8.5 percent. But it’s not always cut and dried. Generally, food is exempt as long as you prepare it yourself. If you buy a turkey, ham, or sweet potato casserole that has already been prepared by your market, you will have to pay sales tax on the purchase.

Your market’s delicatessen may sell food that has been prepared on- or off-site. Food prepared elsewhere is exempt if it is sold in the original sealed container that is was delivered to the store in. If the grocer breaks it up into smaller packages, it becomes taxable. If prepared on-site, even if the store only added ingredients like sugar or onions, it is taxable. Hot food, such as rotisserie or fried chicken and hot side dishes are taxable as prepared food ready for immediate consumption. Deli meats and cheeses, even if sliced to order, are not taxable; but if it is arranged as a party platter, it is taxable. Cut up fruit or a pre-made salad is exempt, unless it is packaged with eating utensils.

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