Florida Payroll Tax Guide (2026)
Florida has no personal income tax, so the only state payroll line is reemployment tax on the first $7,000 of each worker’s wages, starting at 2.7% for new employers, while the minimum wage climbs to $15.00 on September 30, 2026.[1]
Florida payroll at a glance
Florida imposes just one state payroll tax: reemployment tax, funded entirely by employers, with no state income tax withholding and no employee paid disability or leave contribution.[1]
What changed for Florida payroll in 2026
Five items moved for Florida employers this year. Anything below is what have changed since the 2025 tables, so a rate card carried over from last year will be wrong in at least one place.
2026 Florida payroll tax calculator
Enter one employee’s annual gross wages to see what the employer owes, what comes out of the paycheque, and the true cost of employment.
Employer pays
Withheld from the employee
Florida does not withhold state income tax from wages, so there is nothing to add here.
Payroll tax rates & the nexus question
Florida runs one state payroll tax. The table below is the whole state layer for 2026.[1]
The state payroll taxes
| Tax | Paid by | 2026 rate | Wage base |
|---|---|---|---|
| UI | Employer | 0.10%–5.40%; 2.70% new | $7,000 |
Florida does not publish named rate schedules. For 2026 the minimum rate of 0.1% works out to $7 per employee and the maximum of 5.4% to $378 per employee on the $7,000 base. New employers keep the 2.7% initial rate until they have reported for 10 quarters, after which the Department computes an experience rate from the first seven of the last nine quarters.[1]
Who has to register
Having at least one quarterly payroll totaling $1,500 or more in a calendar year, employing one or more workers for a day or part of a day in any 20 weeks in a calendar year, or having been previously liable for Florida reemployment tax. Register by the end of the month following the quarter in which you become an employer.[1]
Multistate and remote employees
When an employee works in more than one state, the four-part test below decides which state the wages are reported to. The tests run in order: you stop at the first one that gives an answer.
- 1. Localisation of service→
- 2. Base of operations→
- 3. Place of direction & control→
- 4. Employee’s residence
One remote employee is usually enough. A single person working from home in Florida generally creates an obligation to register and report wages here, even if the business has no office, property or customers in the state.
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Ask a Payroll SpecialistRegistration & return filing
Registration is online and free. The unemployment account and, where one exists, the withholding account are opened separately and carry different numbers.[1]
How to register
- Cross the wage threshold→
- Florida Department of Revenue eFile and Pay application, with registration through the online Florida Business Tax Application or paper Form DR-1→
- Receive account number→
- Reemployment Tax Rate Notice, Form RT-20, mailed in mid December with a 20 day protest window→
- File & deposit online
Having at least one quarterly payroll totaling $1,500 or more in a calendar year, employing one or more workers for a day or part of a day in any 20 weeks in a calendar year, or having been previously liable for Florida reemployment tax. Register by the end of the month following the quarter in which you become an employer.[1]
Returns, reports & due dates
| Form | What it is | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Form RT-6, Employer’s Quarterly Report | Quarterly unemployment return | April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31 |
| Form 941 | Federal quarterly return | Last day of the month after quarter end |
| Form 940 | Federal unemployment, annual | January 31 |
| New hire report | Report of newly hired employees | Within 20 days of start date |
Quarterly unemployment returns are due April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31. A return filed one day late is delinquent, and in most states the penalty attaches to the return, not the payment.[1]
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Subject wages vs. exempt payments
Not every dollar an employee receives is a taxable wage. The split below governs what goes into the unemployment wage base and what is reported at year end.[1]
Subject wages
- Salaries, hourly pay, overtime and piece rates
- Commissions, bonuses and incentive pay
- Most cash tips reported by the employee
- Vacation, holiday and paid sick leave when taken as wages
- Severance and payments in lieu of notice
- The cash value of meals and lodging provided as compensation
- Employer contributions to a non-qualified deferred compensation plan
Not subject
- Reimbursements of genuine business expenses under an accountable plan
- Employer contributions to a qualified retirement plan
- Employer-paid premiums for accident and health insurance
- Most third-party sick pay after the sixth calendar month
- Payments to a genuine independent contractor
- Workers compensation benefits
The wage base is per employer, per year, not per job. If you hire someone in August who already earned $7,000 elsewhere, your unemployment clock still starts at zero. The one exception is a successor employer taking over an existing payroll, who inherits the wages already paid.
Glossary of key terms
- Taxable wage base
- The slice of each employee’s annual pay that unemployment tax is calculated on. In Florida that is $7,000 for 2026. Earnings above it are still wages, they are simply no longer taxed for unemployment.
- Experience rating
- The method Florida Department of Revenue uses to set each employer’s own unemployment rate from its history of claims. Employers with fewer charged claims move down the schedule; those with more move up.
- New employer rate
- The rate assigned before an employer has enough history to be experience rated. It normally applies for two to three years, then the account moves onto the experience schedule.
- Reserve account
- The running balance of contributions an employer has paid in, less the benefits charged against it. The ratio of that balance to taxable payroll is what drives the assigned rate.
- Successor employer
- A business that acquires another’s payroll may inherit both its experience rate and the wages already paid toward the wage base for the year. Getting this wrong is a common acquisition error.
- Localisation of service
- The first of four tests deciding which state a multistate employee’s wages are reported to. If substantially all the work is in one state, that state wins and the remaining tests are never reached.
- FUTA credit reduction
- A reduction in the 5.4% federal unemployment credit applied to states that have carried an outstanding federal loan for two or more consecutive Januaries. It raises the effective FUTA rate and is settled each November.
- Supplemental wages
- Bonuses, commissions, awards and similar payments made outside the regular payroll cycle. Many states set a separate flat withholding rate for them.
Florida payroll tax, layer by layer
Federal tax applies everywhere and is the larger number. The state layer is what changes when you cross a border.
Layer 1: Federal
| Tax | Rate | 2026 base |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% each side | $184,500 |
| Medicare | 1.45% each side | No limit |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% employee only | Over $200,000 |
| FUTA, standard | 0.6% net | $7,000 |
| Federal income tax | Per Form W-4 | No limit |
Florida has no FUTA credit reduction for 2026, so the standard 0.6% net rate applies, $42 per employee. The final list is not published until 10 November 2026.[10]
Layer 2: State
| Tax | Rate | 2026 base |
|---|---|---|
| UI, new employer | 2.70% | $7,000 |
| UI, experienced | 0.10%–5.40% | $7,000 |
| Income tax | None on wages | n/a |
Layer 3, county & city: no payroll tax, but a wage floor
No county or city in Florida levies its own payroll or income tax withheld by employers. The local layer shows up as minimum wage, not as tax.[7]
The state minimum wage is $14.00 an hour, effective 2025-09-30. The tipped cash wage is $10.98. No local ordinance sets a higher floor. Florida law preempts local minimum wage ordinances for private employers, so the state rate applies statewide. Rises to $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026, the last dollar step of the voter approved schedule, taking the tipped cash wage to $11.98 with the tip credit unchanged at $3.02. Annual inflation adjustments each September 30 continue after that.[7]
Overtime exemption is a separate test. A salaried employee is exempt from overtime only above $35,568 a year ($684.00 a week) federal FLSA standard salary level, and only if the duties test is also met. Paying a salary is not by itself enough.[8]
Florida payroll FAQs
No. The Florida Department of Revenue administers corporate income tax, sales tax and reemployment tax, but no personal income tax on wages. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare are the only tax deductions on a Florida paycheck, and there is no state W-4 equivalent or annual state withholding reconciliation.
Reemployment tax is Florida’s name for state unemployment tax. It is paid entirely by employers on the first $7,000 of each employee’s annual wages. The Department of Revenue states plainly that workers do not pay reemployment tax and that employers must not make payroll deductions for this purpose.
New employers start at 2.7% and keep that initial rate until they have reported for 10 quarters. After that the Department computes an experience rate using the first seven of the last nine quarters. For 2026 the minimum rate is 0.1%, which is $7 per employee, and the maximum is 5.4%, which is $378 per employee.
The Employer’s Quarterly Report is due April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. Electronic filing and payment are mandatory if you employed 10 or more employees in any quarter during the preceding state fiscal year running July 1 through June 30. Late reports carry a $25 penalty for each 30 day period of delinquency.
Register by the end of the month following the calendar quarter in which you become an employer. You become liable once a quarterly payroll reaches $1,500 in a calendar year, or you have one or more employees for a day or part of a day in any 20 weeks in a calendar year, or you were previously liable in Florida. Use the online Florida Business Tax Application or paper Form DR-1.
It is $14.00 an hour, in effect since September 30, 2025, with a tipped cash wage of $10.98 after the $3.02 tip credit. It rises to $15.00 on September 30, 2026, which takes the tipped cash wage to $11.98. After that, Florida adjusts the rate for inflation each September 30.
$7,000 per employee per calendar year. Once an employee reaches that in wages from you, no further unemployment tax is due on that employee for the rest of the year. The count restarts on 1 January and does not carry over from a previous employer.
No. Florida does not impose an income tax on wages, so there is no state withholding certificate, no deposit schedule and no annual reconciliation. Federal withholding still applies in full.
$14.00 an hour. No local ordinance sets a higher rate. The tipped cash wage is $10.98.
April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31. A return is delinquent the day after the deadline even if the tax itself was paid on time, so file the return whether or not you can pay.
Sources & methodology
- Florida Department of Revenue – Reemployment Tax Rate Information
- Florida Department of Revenue – Reemployment Tax
- Florida Department of Revenue – Reemployment Tax Return and Payment Information
- Florida Department of Revenue – Taxes and Fees or Refunds (list of taxes administered)
- Florida Department of Commerce – Display Posters and Required Notices: Florida Minimum Wage
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division – Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division – Consolidated State Minimum Wage Update Table
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division – Overtime Pay: Salary Levels
- Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine – Florida Statutes section 448.110, Florida Minimum Wage Act
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration – FUTA Credit Reductions
Need help with Florida payroll compliance?
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Running payroll in more than one state?
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