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If your business is a corporation (INC) or a limited liability company (LLC), you should have already received an email message from the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. In the subject line of the email, it will say “Notice to File 2012 Annual Report for:” and list the name of your business.
This is not junk or spam email. This is your official notice from the State of Florida (and the only one you will get), reminding you to file your 2012 Annual Report with the Division of Corporations.
The Annual Report is used to confirm that the information the state has on file about your business is still accurate and up-to-date. It is also your opportunity to report any changes with your business to the state, like a change in address or adding a corporate officer. Please note: You file your Annual Report with the State of Florida’s Division of Corporations; it is not filed with our office.
Annual reports have to be filed online at www.sunbiz.org by May 1, 2012. There is a link to this website in the email you should have received from the state Division of Corporations. All business entities must file their Annual Report with the state by May 1st to maintain “active” status (the annual report requirement does not apply to sole proprietors or general partnerships). Payment can be made by credit card, check or sunbiz account.
If you do not file your Annual Report by May 1st, you will be charged a $400 late fee. This late fee cannot be waived, so please make sure to file this report now.
When you go to www.sunbiz.org to file your Annual Report, please make sure there is a banner at the top of the screen that says “Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations.” If not, you are not on the official state website and could be the victim of a scam. Also, please be very skeptical of mail or emails you get from companies offering to file your corporate minutes with the State of Florida. A company called Compliance Services has sent out notices called “Annual Minutes Requirement Statement Directors and Shareholders” and wants $125 to satisfy your annual minutes requirements. These notices are not fromthe State of Florida, and corporate minutes are not required to be filed with the state.
Federal Unemployment Tax: Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA tax) is figured quarterly, but the FUTA tax return (IRS Form 940) is filed only once a year. The deadline for filing this form for the 2011 tax year is January 31, 2012. However, if you have deposited all your FUTA tax when it was due, this deadline is extended to February 10, 2012.
Even though Form 940 covers a calendar year, you may have to deposit your FUTA tax before you file your return. You determine when to deposit your taxes based on the amount of your FUTA tax due each quarter. If your FUTA tax is $500 or less in a quarter, you can carry it over to the next quarter and make no tax payment for that quarter. You continue carrying your tax liability over until your cumulative tax is more than $500. At that point, you must pay the quarterly tax that is due.
If your FUTA tax for the fourth quarter of 2011 (plus any undeposited amounts from earlier quarters in 2011) is more than $500, you should deposit the entire amount by January 31, 2012. If it is $500 or less, you can either deposit the amount or pay it with your Form 940 by January 31, 2012. You must also include any additional taxes owed for credit reduction with your fourth quarter deposit (please see below for more details).
Because Florida still has loans from the federal government that we haven’t paid back, Florida is a “credit reduction state” which means that Florida businesses lost .3% of their federal credit for the 2011 tax year. This means you may have to pay more FUTA tax when you file your Form 940 for 2011. Check the box on line 2 of the Form 940 and fill out Schedule A (Form 940) to determine how much additional tax you owe due to the credit reduction. If you have already filed your Form 940 and need to file an amended return to include the additional taxes owed, you can use the form you already filed. Please see the instructions for filing an amended return on page 4 of the 2011 Instructions for Filing Form 940, available from www.IRS.gov.
State of Florida Unemployment Tax: State Unemployment Tax (SUTA) is calculated and paid on a quarterly basis. Most businesses pay a tax rate that is determined in large part by their own experience. The maximum tax rate is capped by state law at 5.4%.
Because the state unemployment trust fund continues to borrow from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits, Florida businesses are going to see their unemployment taxes for calendar year 2012 increase dramatically. For 2011, the tax per employee for those employers at the minimum tax rate was $72.10 per employee; for 2012, it is going up to $171.70 per employee.
In addition to this increase of around $100 per employee, Florida employers will again pay a special assessment of approximately $13 per employee to make payments on the interest owed to the federal government for money loaned to Florida’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.
You should have received your 2012 unemployment tax rate notice in the mail from the Florida Department of Revenue in December. The notifications of the interest payments will be sent in February 2012. The first quarterly unemployment tax payment will be due April 30th. The special interest assessment will be due June 30th.
