You’re painting a residential interior, and the homeowner asks for your invoice. You know you need to charge sales tax—but on what, exactly? Is labor taxable? What about the paint itself? The primer? Drop cloths? If you’ve wondered whether your painter business owes Florida sales tax on services, materials, or both, you’re not alone. Many painters in Florida get this wrong, leading to underpayment, audit risk, or overpayment that cuts into your margin. The rule sounds simple but requires attention to detail: your labor isn’t taxable, but your materials are. Yet the line between them isn’t always obvious on your work order. This guide walks you through what actually gets taxed, how to calculate the right amount, and how to file your sales tax return with the state.
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Does this apply to your business in Florida?
If you’re a painter working in Florida and charging customers for your services and supplies, you must collect and remit sales tax on the tangible goods you provide—paint, stain, primer, caulk, brushes, and materials—but not on labor. The Florida Department of Revenue treats painting as a service-based profession where the labor component is exempt from tax, but the materials you supply are subject to the state rate plus your county’s local surtax.
How the rate works
Florida imposes a state sales tax rate of 6% on taxable goods. On top of that, each county adds a local surtax that varies by location—some counties have a lower surtax, others higher. Your combined rate is always the 6% state rate plus your specific county’s surtax. For example, if you operate in a county with a 1% surtax, your combined rate is 7%; if that county has a 1.5% surtax, you charge 7.5%. Because county surtax rates change and vary widely across Florida, don’t rely on memory or a rough estimate. Check the current rate for your county on the Florida Department of Revenue website or use their sales tax rate lookup tool before you quote a job or prepare an invoice. Getting the rate wrong—even by a fraction of a percent—creates discrepancies when you file.
How to file step by step
You file your Florida sales tax return using the DR-15 form, which you submit to the Florida Department of Revenue by the 20th of the month following your reporting period. Here’s the process:
Step 1: Gather your sales records. Pull together all invoices and receipts from your reporting period—typically a month, but this can vary. You need to know your total taxable sales (materials and supplies you charged the customer for) and your nontaxable sales (labor and any services).
Step 2: Calculate taxable materials. Add up all the paint, primer, stain, sealants, tape, drop cloths, and other tangible goods you billed customers for during the period. This is your taxable sales base. Do not include your labor hours, consultation fees, or travel time—those stay off the calculation.
Step 3: Apply your county’s combined rate. Multiply your total taxable materials by your state rate (6%) plus your county surtax. If you’re unsure of your county surtax, confirm it on the Florida Department of Revenue website before you file. This product is the tax you collected (or should have collected) from your customers.
Step 4: Enter the figures on DR-15. On the DR-15 form (available on the Department of Revenue site), you’ll enter your gross sales, exempt sales, taxable sales, and the tax amount. The form walks you through line by line. This is walked through step by step in the Florida Department of Revenue module if you want to see the exact fields mapped out.
Step 5: File and pay. You can file electronically through the Department of Revenue’s online system or by mail. Pay the tax amount due by the 20th of the following month. If you owe tax and miss the deadline, you’ll owe interest on the unpaid amount, so plan to file and pay on time each month.
Common mistakes
Mistake 1: Charging tax on labor. Some painters add a percentage of labor to their material line item and try to tax the whole thing. This is incorrect. Labor—whether you charge hourly or as part of a flat fee—is not subject to sales tax in Florida. Separate your labor from your material costs on your invoice, tax only the material component, and remit tax only on that portion. If your customer can see the breakdown, there’s also less risk of confusion or dispute later.
Mistake 2: Using an outdated county surtax rate. County surtax rates don’t change often, but they do change. A painter who hasn’t updated their rate in two years might be collecting too little or, in rare cases, too much. Each time you file, confirm your county surtax is still correct. This takes two minutes on the Department of Revenue website and prevents a mismatch between what you collected and what you owe.
Mistake 3: Forgetting to separate materials from labor on invoices. If your invoice bundles labor and materials without showing which part is taxable, your records become a headache when you reconcile for the DR-15. You’ll have to go back and estimate or guess which portion was material. Instead, list materials and labor separately on every invoice from the start. It clarifies the customer’s receipt and makes your own compliance audit trail clean and defensible.
Mistake 4: Not tracking sales by location. If you paint in multiple Florida counties, you may operate in different surtax zones. A job in Duval County might have a different combined rate than one in Hillsborough County. Track which county each job is in, apply the correct rate for that county, and when you file your DR-15, ensure you’re reporting all sales under the right jurisdiction. This matters especially if you’re registered in one county and take work in another.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Florida tax painting labor?
No. Under Florida law, the service of painting—your time, skill, and expertise—is not taxable. You only charge and remit sales tax on the tangible goods you supply: paint, primer, sealants, caulk, brushes, tape, and similar materials. Labor is always exempt, whether you bill it as an hourly rate, per-job fee, or as part of a package price.
What about drop cloths and supplies that stay with the customer?
If a drop cloth, tape, or applicator is consumed or left at the customer’s property as part of the job, treat it as a material and charge tax on it. If you reuse it on future jobs, it’s a tool you’ve already taxed once and don’t re-tax. The key is whether the customer receives ownership of the tangible good at the end of the job. If yes, it’s taxable when you sell it.
Do I have to register for a sales tax permit even if I’m a sole painter?
Yes. If you charge customers for materials in Florida, you must register for a Florida sales tax permit with the Department of Revenue and file a DR-15 return every month (or as specified by your filing frequency). Registration is free, and you can do it online on the Department of Revenue website. Operating without a permit when you owe tax is a compliance violation.
What if I bill a customer labor-only and they buy their own paint?
If the customer buys and supplies the paint themselves, and you only bill them for your labor, you don’t collect or remit sales tax on that transaction. Your invoice shows labor only, which is non-taxable. This is common for jobs where a customer provides existing materials or special finishes. Just be clear on the invoice that the customer supplied the materials.
How do I know if my county’s surtax rate has changed?
Check the Florida Department of Revenue website for the current sales tax rates by county. Many painters find it helpful to bookmark this page and check it quarterly or before a busy job season. If you use accounting software or a sales tax platform, it may auto-update your county rate—but always verify that the software reflects the current rate before you file.
This article is for general educational purposes and isn’t a substitute for advice from a licensed CPA or tax attorney. Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time—always confirm current requirements with the Florida Department of Revenue or your advisor.
Staying on top of your painter business’s sales tax starts with one simple habit: separating labor from materials on every invoice. Once that line is clear in your records, the rest—tracking taxable sales, applying the right county rate, and filing your DR-15 on time—becomes routine. If you want a deeper walkthrough of the DR-15 process, our Florida sales tax guide covers the full filing cycle. The investment in clarity now saves time and stress later.
This article is for general educational purposes and isn’t a substitute for advice from a licensed CPA or tax attorney. Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time — always confirm current requirements with the Florida Department of Revenue or your advisor.
For the Florida-specific rules behind this, our Florida sales tax guide breaks down rates, deadlines, and filing steps county by county.