Florida Local Business Tax Exemption for Veterans and Military Spouses

Section 205.055 of the Florida Statutes, enacted in 2018, entitles these people to an exemption from a local business tax and "any fees imposed under this chapter": - a veteran of the United States Armed Forces honorably discharged on separation, or the spouse or unremarried surviving spouse of such a veteran; - the spouse of an active duty service member who has relocated to the county or city under a permanent change of station order; - a person receiving public assistance, or whose household income is below 130% of the federal poverty level. A business with fewer than 100 employees is exempt too if an exempt person owns a majority interest in it. There is no disability, wartime or income test for the veteran, and no dollar cap. Apply to the county tax collector, or the city that issues the receipt, on its Request for Fee Exemption, signed under penalty of perjury, with written proof such as the DD-214. The exemption is from the tax and its fees; it does not replace a state professional licence, and a county may still issue the exempt person a receipt. The older rule. Chapters 2018-80 and 2018-118 created section 205.055 and repealed section 205.171, the older veterans' exemption, as section 205.044 records. Some county codes still print the older, narrower terms (Hillsborough's limits it to a disabled wartime veteran and $50); where a county ordinance and section 205.055 differ, the statute governs.