Sales and Use Tax on Flea Markets and Other Temporary Sales Sites

What itinerant merchants and flea market vendors and operators need to know.

Definitions

Itinerant Merchant or Flea Market Vendor (merchant/vendor)

Any person who sells new or used goods from a location in Florida, such as flea markets, carts, vehicles, temporary stands, booths and roadside locations.

Flea Market Operator or Owner (operator/owner)

Any person who provides space to merchants or vendors.

What is Taxable?

Sales

All sales of new or used goods from locations in Florida are subject to sales and use tax.

Fees for Rented Space

All fees charged to merchants/vendors for rented space are subject to sales and use tax.

Who Collects the Tax?

Merchants/Vendors are required to:

• register with the Florida Department of Revenue as sales tax dealers before engaging in business and
• collect tax from the purchasers at the time of sale and remit taxes collected directly to the Department of Revenue

Operators/Owners are required to collect sales tax from the merchants/vendors on charges for space rentals and remit such tax to the Department of Revenue.

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. Failure to properly register may result in a $100 late-registration fee.

Merchants and vendors renting a space on a long-term basis should register at the business location for sales tax purposes where the space is located.

How to File

Registered merchants/vendors and operators/owners remit sales and use tax and applicable county-imposed discretionary surtax following each collection period using a Sales and Use Tax Return (Form DR-15). This form is available by calling Taxpayer Services.

Reference Material

Tax Rules

Call Taxpayer Services to request a copy of Rule 12-A-1.060, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), Sales and Use Tax Registration.

Brochures

Ask for the following brochures, available from your local DOR service center, the DOR Distribution Center, or Taxpayer Services:

• Commercial Real Property Rentals
• Florida's Sales and Use Tax

For Information and Forms

Persons with hearing or speech impairments may call the TDD at 800-367-8331 or 850-922-1115.

• 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