How Florida’s Sales Tax Auditors Target Convenience Stores (and What You Can Do About It)

The statewide sales tax rate is 6%, and most counties impose an additional discretionary surtax. Convenience store owners must charge the correct combined rate based on the county where the store is located.

No. Prepared foods, candy, and soft drinks are taxable, but unprepared grocery staples like milk, bread, and fresh produce are exempt. Properly coding each item in your POS system is crucial to avoid errors.

No. Lottery ticket sales and postage stamps are not taxable in Florida. However, the commissions convenience store owners earn from selling lottery tickets are generally taxable.

Fuel is subject to its own tax structure which varies state to state.

You must keep daily POS reports, vendor invoices, bank statements, exemption certificates, void and refund logs, and fuel gallon reconciliation records. Retain at least three years of records to comply with Florida Department of Revenue requirements.

A markup audit is when the Florida Department of Revenue estimates taxable sales by applying category-specific markup percentages to your purchases. If your reported sales are lower than expected, you may face additional tax assessments.

Audit triggers include low taxable sales compared to purchases, missing or incomplete records, excessive voids and refunds, and mismatches between your reported sales and third-party data (e.g., tobacco or alcohol reports).

Yes. If you give away or consume items from your inventory, you must pay use tax on the cost of those items, even if they were received as vendor promotions.

Manufacturer coupons reduce the taxable sales price, but store-issued coupons generally do not. Misapplying these rules can result in audit assessments.

Contact a Florida sales tax attorney as soon as possible. An experienced attorney can help you organize records, limit the scope of the audit, and reduce potential assessments.