How did Florida calculate sales tax for off-street parking meters that accepted nickel time units and allowed multiple coin insertions?

Plain-English summary

An off-street parking lot used meters that provided five minutes for a nickel, ten minutes for a dime, and thirty minutes for a quarter. Each meter allowed multiple insertions and capped parking at thirty minutes. The operator asked how to compute sales tax when some individual time units cost less than ten cents.

Florida applied the special metered-parking rule for a mix of taxable and nontaxable transactions. Because the meters accepted sub-ten-cent time units and also allowed multiple coins, the operator could calculate taxable gross receipts as 50% of total meter receipts. It then applied the combined tax rate for the parking location to that taxable half.

The TAA's example used $50 of monthly coins. Half—$25—was treated as taxable gross receipts. Applying the taxpayer's then-current 7.5% combined state and county rate produced $1.88 of sales tax.

What this means for you

Parking-space rentals are taxable

Section 212.03(6) treated renting motor-vehicle parking or storage spaces in lots and garages as a taxable privilege.

Sub-ten-cent meter units trigger a special calculation

The 50% rule addressed meters where collecting tax from each customer was impractical and where five-cent time units could be combined with larger coin payments.

Apply the current location rate

The 7.5% rate in this 2008 ruling included a 1.5% discretionary surtax in the taxpayer's redacted county. A present operator must confirm the current state and local rate for its own location.

Keep the two steps separate

First calculate 50% of gross receipts. Then multiply that taxable amount by the applicable combined rate.

Common questions

Q: Were all meter receipts treated as taxable?
A: No. For the described meters, Florida accepted tax computed on 50% of gross receipts.

Q: How much tax resulted from $50 of receipts in the example?
A: $1.88, based on $25 of taxable receipts multiplied by the ruling's 7.5% rate.

Q: Should every parking operator use 7.5% today?
A: No. That rate was specific to the taxpayer's location and the 2008 facts; use the current rate applicable to the parking site.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 212.03(6) (taxable parking-space rentals)
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22 (Technical Assistance Advisements)
• Fla. Admin. Code r. 12A-1.073(5)(c) (off-street metered parking with sub-ten-cent time units and multiple insertions)

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 08A-020

Original ruling text

SUMMARY
QUESTION:
How should the taxpayer calculate the tax due from metered parking that allows multiple
nickel insertions?
ANSWER:
Because Taxpayer’s metered parking accepts less than ten cent time units, Taxpayer should
first calculate taxable gross receipts by multiplying gross receipts by fifty percent (50%).
Taxpayer then multiplies the taxable gross receipts by 7.5% to calculate the tax due.
July 17, 2008
XXX
Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement 08A-020
Metered Parking
Sales and Use Tax
Section 212.03(6), Florida Statutes (F.S.)
Rule 12A-1.073(5), Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.)
XXX (“Taxpayer”)
FEIN: XXX

Dear XXX:
This is in response to your letter dated June 20, 2008, requesting this Department’s issuance
of a Technical Assistance Advisement (TAA) pursuant to section 213.22, F.S., and Rule
Chapter 12-11, F.A.C., regarding the above referenced matter and party. An examination of
your letter has established that you have complied with the statutory and regulatory
requirements for issuance of a TAA. Therefore, the Department is hereby granting your
request for a TAA.
ISSUE
How should the taxpayer calculate the tax due from metered parking that allows multiple
nickel insertions?

FACTS
Your letter provides in part:
One of the [Taxpayers] parking lots contains some metered spaces. These parking
meters provide five minutes of parking for each nickel, ten minutes of parking for each

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 2 of 4
dime, and thirty minutes of parking for a quarter. The maximum time provided by
each meter is thirty minutes. . . .

REQUESTED ADVISEMENT
Your letter provides in part:
We want to be sure that we are correctly interpreting the laws regarding the
calculation of sales tax on our parking meter revenues. Therefore, we are asking
specifically how we should calculate sales tax for the money collected in our parking
meters, along with an example of that calculation. In other words, if we were to collect
$50.00 in coins from these meters for the month of June, (1) what is the correct
amount of sales tax, and (2) what mathematical formula(s) would be used to arrive at
that amount?
APPLICABLE STATUTES AND RULES
Section 212.03(6), F.S., provides in part:
(6) It is the legislative intent that every person is engaging in a taxable privilege who
leases or rents parking or storage spaces for motor vehicles in parking lots or garages .
...
Rule 12A-1.073(5), F.A.C., provides in part:
(5) Off-Street Metered Parking: Where it is impractical to collect tax from the
consumer, the following guidelines will be used as a basis for reporting tax.

(c) Off-street metered lots, garages, or docks which have time units of occupancy
costing less than 10 cents, but which allow multiple insertions, with or without
accepting larger coins, so as to accumulate more time, constitute a combination of
taxable and nontaxable transactions. In such instances, the Department of Revenue
will accept tax computed on 6 percent of 50 percent of gross receipts as compliance
with the law.
DISCUSSION
Florida law provides that sales tax is due on the rental of parking spaces. Generally, the state
sales tax is at the rate of six percent (6%), plus any local discretionary sales surtax. However,
for transactions where small amounts are collected and a flat 6% rate would be difficult, the
state has created a bracket system. The bracket system applies to all taxable transactions.
Transactions less than ten cents ($0.10) are not taxable.

Here, the Taxpayer is renting off-street metered parking spaces. The meters accept nickels,
dimes, quarters, or any combination of the first two coins. For the individual coins, the
meters give time units of five minutes, ten minutes, and thirty minutes respectively.

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 3 of 4
Therefore, some transactions at the meter can be for only five cents ($0.05). These
transactions would not be subject to sales tax.
As it is impractical to collect tax from each consumer’s transaction at the meter, the
Department has promulgated Rule 12A-1.073, F.A.C. The rule provides that when off-street
metered lots accept time units costing less than ten cents, and ten cents or more, and allow
multiple insertions, the tax is computed at fifty percent (50%) of the gross receipts. See Rule
12A-1.073(5)(c), F.A.C. Here, your meters allow for time units of five, ten, and twenty-five
cents. Therefore, the sales tax is computed at fifty percent (50%) of the gross receipts.
As for the tax rate, you are located in XXX County; therefore, you have a 1.5% discretionary
surtax. You should calculate the tax due using the 7.5% tax rate. To calculate the tax due,
you will need to multiply 50% of the gross receipts by 7.5%. This will compute the amount
of tax due.
The correct example is:
50 % x $50.00 = $25.00 taxable gross receipts; remaining $25.00 = nontaxable
gross receipts
$25.00 taxable gross receipts multiplied by 7.5% = $1.88 sales tax due
CONCLUSION
Because Taxpayer’s metered parking accepts less than ten cent time units, Taxpayer should
first calculate taxable gross receipts by multiplying gross receipts by fifty percent (50%).
Taxpayer then multiplies by the 7.5% tax rate to calculate tax due.
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under Section 213.22, F.S.,
which is binding on the Department only under the facts and circumstances described in the
request for this advice as specified in Section 213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated on those
facts and the specific situation summarized above. You are advised that subsequent statutory
or administrative rule changes, or judicial interpretations of the statutes or rules, upon which
this advise is based, may subject similar future transactions to a different treatment than
expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response, your request and related backup documents are
public records under Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public under the
conditions of s.213.22, F.S. Confidential information must be deleted before public
disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality, we request you provide the undersigned

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 4 of 4
with an edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance Advisement, the backup material
and this response, deleting names, addresses and any other details which might lead to
identification of the taxpayer. Your response should be received by the Department within 15
days of the date of this letter.
Sincerely,

H. French Brown, IV
Attorney
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution
(850) 922-4708
Ctrl# 47129