A court granted final approval to the Hillsborough County sales surtax settlement, and the Settlement Administrator has already begun accepting claims for Settlement benefits, and the deadline to submit claims is December 31, 2024.
On November 18, 2024, Judge John C. Cooper of the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in and for Leon County, Florida, entered a Final Order approving a Settlement in the class action lawsuit known as Emerson v. Florida Department of Revenue, No. 2021-CA-487. The Settlement resolves claims against Hillsborough County, the Florida Department of Revenue, and the Florida Legislature related to an unconstitutional 1% sales surtax imposed in Hillsborough County between January 1, 2019, and March 15, 2021.
The surtax applied to most transactions subject to the state sales and use tax, such as retail purchases, payment for services, event tickets, hotel stays, service warranties, parking and storage space, docking fees, and commercial rent payments.
The Central Florida settlement creates a refund process for eligible Class Members, as well as funds transportation projects and a temporary sales surtax holiday in Hillsborough County.
Any person or business who paid the surtax can submit a claim seeking a refund. Class Members have two options: (1) provide receipts or other proof of taxable expenditures to receive a refund equal to the amount of their surtax payments; or (2) if they lived in Hillsborough County anytime between January 1, 2019, and March 15, 2021, and either cannot or do not want to provide proof of taxable purchases, claim a standard award of up to $100, depending on the length of residency during that time.
In Hillsborough County, Florida, the sales surtax was applied to most transactions
that were already subject to the state-wide sales and use tax. For many transactions,
including retail purchases, this surtax only applied to the first $5,000 of the sales
amount for items that were sold, used, leased, rented, or licensed. Certain transactions
were exempt from this $5,000 limit, such as sales of admissions, services, service
warranties, prepaid calling arrangements, commercial property leases, short-term
living or sleeping leases, parking or storage space, docking or storage space in boat
docks and marinas, and tie-down or storage space for aircraft.
A complete list of transactions subject to the surtax, showing the types of transactions that were subject to the $5,000 limit, can be found online.
Submit your claim by December 31, 2024.
More information about the settlement is available at the website, www.FLTaxRefund.com, or by calling 1-888-715-9373.
