Florida registration and tax info

Florida Department of Revenue - unemployment tax

Reminder: Florida does not have state individual income tax.

Your company becomes liable for state unemployment insurance tax (called the re-employment tax in Florida) once the company has:

• Paid $1500 in wages during a calendar quarter or;
• Had at least one Florida-employee working for any part of the week, for 20 or more different weeks during a calendar year.

You can find out if you're liable by calling the agency at (850) 717-6623.

Running payroll in Gusto before you're liable for the re-employment tax (SUI)

If you need to run payroll and do not yet meet the above requirements, Gusto allows it—we just suggest you add the "New employer SUI tax rate" specific to Florida in the meantime.

• You can find the new employer rates for each state in this article, along with instructions on how to update the rate once you become liable and receive your company-specific agency assigned rate.

You'll want to make sure during registration that the FL DOR is aware of when you plan to become liable—eventually, Gusto will need:

• Your unemployment account number—required to file and pay taxes on your behalf.
• Your company-specific unemployment tax rate—assigned by the agency.

Register with the Florida Department of Revenue 

The agency should issue you an account number and re-employment rate in 3-5 days by mail. 

1. Head to the Florida Department of Revenue website.
2. New users must create a user profile with a username and password to begin the registration application—click Create User Profile.
3. Enter and confirm your username, email, and password.
4. At the begining of the application, you're asked to enter a mailing address—make sure this is your company's mailing address and no other.
5. Select No when asked the question: "Do you use a payroll agent (such as an accountant or bookkeeper) or firm that will maintain your payroll information?
   
   • The why: Gusto does not receive mail on behalf of our customers—correspondence from the agency should go directly to the business so you can save all the original documentation and provide copies of them to outside stakeholders (like Gusto) as needed.
6.  In the "Enrollment Introduction" section, for the question "Do you wish to file returns or pay tax electronically?":
   • If this is the only tax that you owe in Florida, mark No.
     
     • Gusto will complete your electronic enrollment for unemployment tax (known as Re-employment Tax in Florida). 
   • If you have other taxes you'll be filing for your business, like sales tax, mark Yes.
     
     • Then complete the "Enrollment" section using your business's information (i.e. your company's contact info, your company's banking information, etc).
7. Complete any remaining prompts. 

Enter the tax account information in Gusto

Once a valid Florida work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Florida Tax Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Click edit to enter your re-employment account number (RT number)
   • The reemployment account number (RT number) will be 7 digits.
     • Do not enter the "Florida Business Partner ID". This is a separate account used for sales tax, which is not paid via payroll.
   • If you need to update your account number: contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.
4. Enter the re-employment rate—your final rate will appear as a decimal on the rate notice, convert it to a percentage when adding the rate in Gusto.
   • If you need to update your unemployment rate: follow the steps in this article. 
     • While not company-specific, if you're waiting on your agency assigned re-employment rate, you can enter the FL new employer rate in Gusto until you receive yours.

If you’re unsure of your account number or rate, call the agency at (850) 717-6623.

Some agencies require special authorization for Gusto to pay or file your taxes.

To make sure your company’s enrollment under our unique agent number is a success with the FL DOR, verify that the following information entered into Gusto matches what's on file with the Florida Department of Revenue:

• Official company name/address
• FEIN 
• RT Number (must be active) – re-employment account number
• Reemployment rate 

If you have trouble verifying the information online, call the agency at (850) 488-6800.

Third party access notifications in Gusto

If we've notified you that we're unable to gain third party access to your reemployment account, it could be for a few reasons:

1. Your account is inactive.
   • Reemployment account numbers can be deemed no longer active if the activity of a business ceases over the course of 8 quarters or zero returns are filed for 8 consecutive quarters.
     • If your account has been inactive for less than two years please follow one of these processes:
       • Call the Department of Revenue at (850) 488-6800 and provide your federal identification number (FEIN) and your Reemployment account number to reactivate.
       • Request reactivation on the Florida Department of Revenue website. Fill out all applicable information. Be sure to click reactivate the account in Step 5. You will receive a confirmation that the account is reactivated within 5 business days.
     • If your account has been inactive for more than two years, please reactivate it online with the Florida Department of Revenue. Check the box next to "Are you starting a new taxable business activity at an already registered location?" to begin the process.
       • If you have questions about the process, contact the agency at (850) 488-6800.
2. A previous service provider has third party access to the account.
   • You'll need to ask your previous provider to remove their access as it will override Gusto's attempts to obtain access.
3. The account number you entered in Gusto is not valid.
   • Call the Department of Revenue at (850) 488-6800 to get a valid account number.
4. The FEIN in Gusto does not match the one you used to register for your Reemployment account number.
   • Call the Department of Revenue at (850) 488-6800 to verify the FEIN associated with your account, then check to make sure this is the number you've entered in your Gusto account. 

Reemployment account number (RT number)

Your account number and rate can be found on your Florida Quarterly Tax Return (form RT-6).

• The account number will be 7 digits.
  • Do not enter the "Florida Business Partner ID". This is a separate account used for sales tax, which is not paid via payroll.

Reemployment unemployment tax rate

You can find your current tax rate on your most recent "Reemployment Tax Rate Notice (Form RT-20)".

• The rate will appear as a decimal on the rate notice—convert it to a percentage to enter it in your Gusto account. 

If you can't locate your account number or rate, call the Florida Department of Revenue Account Management department at (850) 717-6628.

While not company-specific, if you're waiting on your agency assigned re-employment rate, you can enter the FL new employer rate in Gusto until you receive yours.

Some agencies require special authorization for Gusto to pay or file your taxes.

To make sure your company’s enrollment under our unique agent number is a success with the FL DOR, verify that the following information entered into Gusto matches what's on file with the Florida Department of Revenue:

• Official company name/address
• FEIN 
• RT Number (must be active) – re-employment account number
• Reemployment rate 

If you have trouble verifying the information online, call the agency at (850) 488-6800.

Third party access notifications in Gusto

If we've notified you that we're unable to gain third party access to your reemployment account, it could be for a few reasons:

1. Your account is inactive.
   • Reemployment account numbers can be deemed no longer active if the activity of a business ceases over the course of 8 quarters or zero returns are filed for 8 consecutive quarters.
     • If your account has been inactive for less than two years please follow one of these processes:
       • Call the Department of Revenue at (850) 488-6800 and provide your federal identification number (FEIN) and your Reemployment account number to reactivate.
       • Request reactivation on the Florida Department of Revenue website. Fill out all applicable information. Be sure to click reactivate the account in Step 5. You will receive a confirmation that the account is reactivated within 5 business days.
     • If your account has been inactive for more than two years, please reactivate it online with the Florida Department of Revenue. Check the box next to "Are you starting a new taxable business activity at an already registered location?" to begin the process.
       • If you have questions about the process, contact the agency at (850) 488-6800.
2. A previous service provider has third party access to the account.
   • You'll need to ask your previous provider to remove their access as it will override Gusto's attempts to obtain access.
3. The account number you entered in Gusto is not valid.
   • Call the Department of Revenue at (850) 488-6800 to get a valid account number.
4. The FEIN in Gusto does not match the one you used to register for your Reemployment account number.
   • Call the Department of Revenue at (850) 488-6800 to verify the FEIN associated with your account, then check to make sure this is the number you've entered in your Gusto account. 

Once a valid Florida work address has been added in Gusto for one or more employee(s), you can add your tax account information:

1. Click the Taxes & compliance section and select Tax setup.
2. Scroll to the "Florida Tax Setup" headline and select Manage taxes.
3. Click edit to enter your re-employment account number (RT number)
   • The reemployment account number (RT number) will be 7 digits.
     • Do not enter the "Florida Business Partner ID". This is a separate account used for sales tax, which is not paid via payroll.
   • If you need to update your account number: contact us from the Help or Priority support section of your account—there may be tax implications if taxes have already been paid or filed to an incorrect account number.
4. Enter the re-employment rate—your final rate will appear as a decimal on the rate notice, convert it to a percentage when adding the rate in Gusto.
   • If you need to update your unemployment rate: follow the steps in this article. 
     • While not company-specific, if you're waiting on your agency assigned re-employment rate, you can enter the FL new employer rate in Gusto until you receive yours.

If you’re unsure of your account number or rate, call the agency at (850) 717-6623.