Sales and Use Tax on Concession Stands
What concession stand owners and operators need to know.
What is Taxable?
Sales of food, drinks, tobacco products, and other items of tangible property with a sale price of 10 cents or more are taxable when made from concession stands at arenas, auditoriums, carnivals, fairs, stadiums, theaters, street corners, and similar places of business. Concession stand examples include hot dog stands, ice cream and yogurt stands, snow cone stands, and tobacco stands. All concession stand operators must collect sales tax and applicable discretionary sales surtax, unless exempt.
What is Exempt?
Sales and use tax does not apply to the lease, sublease, license, or rental of real property to a person providing food and drink services within the premises of a convention hall, exhibition hall, auditorium, stadium, theater, arena, civic center, performing arts center, publicly owned recreational facility, or pari-mutuel facility.
A person who sells souvenirs, novelties, or other event-related products at a convention hall, exhibition hall, auditorium, stadium, theater, arena, civic center, performing arts center, or public recreation, during an event; and whose lease applies only to the portion of the rental, lease, or license payment based on a percentage of sales (not on a fixed price), is exempt from sales tax.
A roadside stand does not collect tax on the sales of natural fruit and vegetable juices if the Department of Business and Professional Regulation does not require it to have a license. However, if you sell soft drinks or other taxable items, you must collect sales tax and applicable discretionary sales surtax on the taxable items.
Religious institutions that regularly conduct nonprofit religious services at established places of worship do not collect tax on the taxable items sold at their concession stands.
Fund-raising events, held no more than two times in a 12-month period, that meet all the requirements provided in Rule 12A-1.037, Florida Administrative Code, are not required to charge tax. However, you must pay the applicable taxes to the supplier for items used by the concession stand.
Food sold as part of a school lunch to students, teachers, school employees, or school guests in public, parochial, or nonprofit schools (grades K through 12) is not taxable.
How Tax is Calculated on Concession Sales
When it is impractical to state separately the tax, the following rate may be used:
| County Sales Tax Rate |
Concession Stand Effective Tax Rate |
|---|---|
| 6.0% | 1.0659 |
| 6.25% | 1.0678 |
| 6.5% | 1.0697 |
| 6.75% | 1.0724 |
| 7.0% | 1.0751 |
| 7.25% | 1.0773 |
| 7.5% | 1.0795 |
| 7.75% | 1.0817 |
| 8.0% | 1.0839 |
Gross receipts divided by the effective tax rate equals gross sales. Gross receipts minus gross sales equal the tax due.
Example:
| $100.00 | ÷ | 1.0659 | = | $93.82 |
 |
|
|
||
| gross receipts | effective tax rate | gross sales |
|---|
− $93.82 gross sales
$6.18 TAX DUE
Which Rentals are Taxable?
Rental of Stand
The lease, rental, or license to use a concession stand is taxable unless specifically exempt. The concession stand owner (lessor) collects the tax (sales and surtax) from the operator (lessee). The tax is on the lease amount that the lessor receives from the lessee.
Real Property Rentals
If the concession stand owner is also the operator and places the stand at another person's location, the arrangement between the operator and the location owner is a taxable lease or license to use real property. The location owner (lessor) collects the tax (sales and surtax) from the concession stand operator (lessee). The tax is on the lease amount that the lessor receives from the lessee.
Who Must Register to Collect Tax?
Owners leasing concession stands to an operator are required to register and collect sales tax at the rate of 6 percent plus any local discretionary sales surtax from the operator on the lease amount they receive.
Location owners, if not already registered for some other purpose, are required to register and collect sales tax at the rate of 6 percent plus any local discretionary sales surtax on the commission they receive from the operator for the license to use real property.
Operators selling taxable items from a concession stand are required to register, collect, and remit sales tax and the applicable discretionary sales surtax.
How to Register
You can register to collect and/or report tax via the Department's Internet site. Go to www.myflorida.com/dor and click on e-Services. If you do not have Internet access, you can complete a paper Application to Collect and/or Report Tax in Florida (Form DR-1). Obtain Form DR-1 from your local DOR service center or one of the contacts listed below.
Reference Material
Tax Laws
Call Taxpayer Services to request a copy of Rules 12A-1.011, 12A-1.037, 12A-1.070, 12A-1.080, and 12A-15.010, Florida Administrative Code. Tax laws are also available on the Department's Florida Tax Law Library.
Brochures
The following brochures are available from your local DOR service center, the DOR Distribution Center, or Taxpayer Services:
- Tangible Personal Property Rentals
- Commercial Real Property Rentals
- Amusement Machines
- Vending Machines
For Information and Forms
To speak with a Department of Revenue representative, call Taxpayer Services, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., ET, at 800-352-3671, or call the service center nearest you.
Persons with hearing or speech impairments may call our TDD at 800-367-8331 or 850-922-1115.
To receive forms by mail:- Order multiple copies of forms from our Internet site, or
- Mail form requests to:
Distribution Center
Florida Department of Revenue
168A Blountstown Hwy
Tallahassee FL 32304-3761
Department of Revenue service centers host educational seminars about Florida’s taxes. Visit our Taxpayer Education internet page to get a schedule of upcoming seminars and to register.