Effective October 1, ALL Florida businesses must report services received from employees and independent contractors.
Specifically, Senate Bill 1532 amends Fla. Stat. § 409.2576 to mandate that any “service recipient” report contractors making $600 or more per calendar year to the Florida Department of Revenue. The bill broadly defines “service recipient” as “a person engaged in a trade or business who pays an individual for services rendered in the course of such trade or business.” Therefore, independent contractors who are paid $600 or more in the calendar year are included.
The new law includes a provision that exempts businesses from reporting employees and individuals by or under contract with a federal or state agency performing intelligence or counterintelligence functions, as the legislators realize that mandating reporting pursuant to this section could endanger the safety of the employee or individual.
This new legislation was implemented to improve Florida’s child-support collection system by making reporting requirements substantially the same for contractors as they are for employees. In doing so, this should facilitate the enforcement of child support benefits through income deduction orders, which previously could be circumvented by independent contractor pay structures.
What Do You Need to Do?
For businesses already familiar with the new hire reporting process, the process for contractors is largely the same and can be accomplished through the same online reporting tool. Below is a summary of the reporting requirements under the new law:
A business (service recipient) must report to the State Directory of New Hires an individual who is an employee and/or who the service recipient pays $600 or more per calendar year for services rendered in the course of its trade or business.
The following information will be required in the reporting: employee or independent contractor’s name, address, social security number, date of birth, the date services for payment were first rendered by the individual; and the name, address, and federal employer identification number of the service recipient.
Service recipients must make the report within 20 days after the earlier of:
- The date of the first payment made which requires an information return in accordance with section 6041A(a) of the 452 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
- The date on which a contract providing for such payments is entered into.
Reporting can be completed by mail, fax or online.
If you have questions about reporting new hires, please refer to the Florida Department of Revenue FAQ page
