How to Start a Business in Florida

**Tourism and hospitality** is still the engine. Visitors spend over **$100 billion** a year. Hotels, restaurants, attractions and tour operators all live off it. **Healthcare and life sciences** grows fastest, employing more than **1.1 million** people. Demand keeps climbing. An ageing population and research hubs in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville hold it there. **Real estate and construction** follow the newcomers. Florida has added hundreds of thousands of residents a year, and they all need somewhere to live and work. **Technology and fintech** have taken hold in South Florida. Miami changed fast. Miami is now a genuine tech centre, and venture money into Florida startups has climbed sharply since 2020. **Trade and logistics** move billions through the ports and airports. Miami International is the **number one US airport for international freight**. **Agriculture** is a $150 billion industry. Florida leads the nation in oranges, sugarcane and tomatoes.

Florida is one of only **9 states with no personal income tax**. All of it is yours. That covers every kind of individual income, including whatever passes through from an LLC, an S-Corp or a sole proprietorship. C-Corporations pay **5.5%** on net income above **$50,000**. The first $50,000 is exempt. Many small corporations owe nothing. File it with the [Florida Department of Revenue](https://floridarevenue.com/). Sales tax is **6%** statewide. Counties may add a surtax of up to **2.5%**, which pushes the combined rate to **8.5%** in a few places. Check your own county at the [Department of Revenue sales tax page](https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx). Employers also pay **reemployment tax**, which is what Florida calls unemployment tax. It runs from **0.1% to 5.4%** on the first **$7,000** of each worker's wages. New employers start at **2.7%**. Florida levies no state property tax. Counties do, and commercial rates vary a lot between them. There is no estate or inheritance tax here either. That matters if you plan to hand the business on.

Florida's cost of living index is about **102.8**, against a national average of 100. So it is slightly dear. No state income tax more than covers the difference for most owners. Commercial rent depends entirely on the market. Miami office space runs **$45 to $55 per square foot** a year. Jacksonville and Tampa run **$25 to $35**. The state minimum wage is **$14.00 an hour**, and has been since 30 September 2025. It rises to **$15.00 on 30 September 2026** under the amendment voters passed in 2020. The date matters. If you plan to hire this autumn, budget the higher figure, because it lands within weeks of most new businesses making their first hire. Utilities are middling. Commercial electricity sits a little above the national median, though almost nobody here pays to heat anything, which offsets the cooling.

The [Florida SBDC Network](https://floridasbdc.org/) runs over **40 offices** across the state. Advice is free. They do one to one consulting, loan packaging and market research, and have helped Florida businesses reach over **$5.6 billion** in capital. The state's economic development agency is the [Florida Department of Commerce](https://floridajobs.org/), renamed from the Department of Economic Opportunity in 2023. Note what is no longer there. The Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund, for years the headline incentive for job creation, was repealed on 1 July 2023 and takes no new applications. Plenty of guides still list it. The [SBA South Florida](https://www.sba.gov/district/south-florida) and [North Florida](https://www.sba.gov/district/north-florida) district offices are the route to SBA backed lending. Start there. That means 7(a) loans up to **$5 million** and microloans up to **$50,000**. Florida also runs the **Black Business Loan Program** and the **Microfinance Guarantee Program** for founders who struggle to borrow conventionally.

Do these first. In your first **30 days**, open the business bank account and apply for the EIN. Register for a sales tax certificate if you sell anything taxable. File for your local business tax receipt with the county tax collector. Within **60 days**, set up accounting software and get any professional licence you need through [MyFloridaLicense.com](https://www.myfloridalicense.com/). Buy general liability cover. Write your operating agreement too, even though Florida never asks to see it. Before **90 days**, build the website, set up payroll if you are hiring, and register for reemployment tax with the Department of Revenue. Then put **May 1** in your calendar. That is your first annual report at [SunBiz](https://dos.fl.gov/sunbiz/).