Florida Payroll Tax Guide for Employers (2026)

Last updated: September 2026. Rates verified for the 2026 tax year.

Florida is one of the easier states in the country to run payroll in. There is no state income tax, which removes an entire category of withholding, filing, and year-end reconciliation. What remains is federal payroll tax, one state tax, and a short list of reporting obligations — but the penalties for getting those wrong are real, and Florida is unusually willing to pursue officers personally for unpaid reemployment tax.

This is the full picture for 2026: what you owe, what you file, and when.

What Florida employers owe: the short version

Florida reemployment tax, in detail

Reemployment tax is Florida’s unemployment insurance tax — the state renamed it from “unemployment compensation tax” in 2012. It is employer-paid only. You may not deduct any portion of it from an employee’s wages.

Who has to register

You generally become liable for reemployment tax if either of the following is true:

• You paid $1,500 or more in gross wages in any calendar quarter, or
• You had at least one employee for any portion of a day in 20 or more different weeks in a calendar year

Different thresholds apply to agricultural and domestic employers and to nonprofits. Register with the Florida Department of Revenue as soon as you meet the test — registering late does not push back the liability date.

2026 rates

After roughly ten quarters of reporting history, the Department of Revenue assigns you an experience rate based on benefit charges against your account relative to your taxable payroll. The spread matters more than it looks: an employer with 40 employees pays $280 a year at the minimum rate and $15,120 at the maximum. Managing layoffs and responding to claims promptly is worth real money.

Filing: Form RT-6

The Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6) reports wages and remits tax. It is due by the last day of the month following each quarter’s end. Employers meeting the electronic filing threshold must file and pay electronically.

Late filing draws penalties and interest, and unresolved balances can result in a tax warrant filed against the business — and, under Florida law, potentially against responsible officers personally. This is not a filing to let slide.

Federal obligations

FICA

Social Security is 6.2% from the employee and 6.2% from you, on wages up to $184,500 for 2026 (up from $176,100 in 2025). The maximum employee contribution is $11,439. Once an employee crosses the wage base, stop withholding Social Security for the rest of the year.

Medicare is 1.45% each side with no wage cap. An additional 0.9% applies to employee wages above $200,000 — withheld from the employee only, with no employer match. The threshold for withholding purposes is $200,000 regardless of the employee’s filing status; the employee reconciles any difference on their own return.

FUTA

FUTA is 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages, but employers who pay their state unemployment tax in full and on time receive a credit of up to 5.4%, bringing the effective rate to 0.6% — a maximum of $42 per employee per year. Florida’s unemployment trust fund is solvent, so Florida is not a credit reduction state for 2026 and employers receive the full credit.

Deposit FUTA quarterly if your accumulated liability exceeds $500; file Form 940 annually by January 31.

Federal income tax withholding and deposits

Withhold according to each employee’s Form W-4 using the IRS Publication 15-T tables. Your deposit schedule — monthly or semiweekly — is determined by your total tax liability during a lookback period, and the IRS notifies you which applies. If you ever accumulate $100,000 or more in liability on a single day, it must be deposited by the next business day, regardless of your normal schedule.

Report quarterly on Form 941, due the last day of the month following each quarter.

2026 deadline calendar

New hire reporting

Florida employers must report every newly hired or rehired employee to the Florida New Hire Reporting Center within the required window after the hire date. Since October 2021, Florida also requires reporting of independent contractors paid $600 or more in a calendar year — a requirement that catches employers who assume the obligation applies to W-2 staff only.

Report the employee’s name, address, Social Security number, and date of hire, along with your business name, address, and FEIN.

E-Verify and Form I-9

Every employer completes Form I-9 for every new employee, verifying identity and employment authorization within the required timeframe after the start date. Retain I-9s separately from personnel files.

In addition, Florida requires private employers with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify for new hires. If your headcount is near that threshold, monitor it — crossing it triggers the obligation, and the requirement is enforceable.

Minimum wage: the September 30, 2026 increase

This is the change most likely to affect your payroll this year.

The tip credit remains $3.02 per hour. If an employee’s tips do not bring total hourly compensation to the full minimum wage, you must make up the difference.

Three action items before September 30:

1. Update pay rates in your payroll system, including anyone currently between $14.00 and $15.00 — not just employees exactly at the floor.
2. Replace the required minimum wage poster with the current version, displayed where employees can see it.
3. Issue the tip credit notice to tipped employees on or before the effective date, as required federally when the rate changes.

Also check compression: raising the floor without adjusting the band just above it is a reliable source of morale problems in restaurants and retail.

What Florida does not require

Worth knowing, particularly if you are comparing against another state or arriving from abroad:

• No state income tax withholding
• No local or municipal income taxes
• No state-mandated paid sick leave
• No state disability insurance or paid family leave program
• No state-required severance; employment is at-will

Federal rules still apply in full — FLSA overtime, FMLA at 50+ employees, ACA employer mandate at 50+ full-time equivalents, and COBRA at 20+ employees. Florida’s own mini-COBRA extends similar continuation rights to smaller employers.

Note also that C corporations owe Florida corporate income tax at 5.5% on Florida-source income, subject to an exemption. That is a business tax, not a payroll tax, but it is frequently confused with one.

The five most common Florida payroll mistakes

1. Registering for reemployment tax late. Liability starts when you meet the threshold, not when you register. Back tax, penalty, and interest follow.
2. Assuming last year’s RT rate carries over. It changes annually. Check the RT-20.
3. Misclassifying employees as contractors. The most expensive mistake on this list, and the most commonly enforced.
4. Missing new hire reporting for contractors. The $600 contractor rule is widely overlooked.
5. Ignoring an agency notice. Reemployment tax notices escalate to tax warrants, with potential personal liability for officers.

Related reading

• PEO vs. payroll service for Florida businesses — including what happens to your reemployment tax experience rating inside a PEO
• U.S. payroll for companies headquartered in Latin America — the full entity, EIN, and registration sequence
• What payroll services cost in South Florida — pricing models and the fees that don’t appear in quotes

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rates, thresholds, and requirements change. Verify current figures with the Florida Department of Revenue and the IRS, or speak with a qualified advisor about your situation.