Would closing a Florida sales-tax dealer account prevent a former business from later claiming a refund of tax collected and remitted in error?

Plain-English summary

Florida held that closing a sales and use tax dealer account did not by itself eliminate an otherwise valid right to a refund.

The taxpayer had stopped Florida operations after collecting and remitting sales tax in error. It planned to refund customers and later apply to the Department for recovery of the tax. The Department found no rule requiring the dealer account to remain open throughout that process.

All ordinary refund requirements still applied, including proof, customer repayment, application contents, and the filing deadline. Fla. Stat. Sec. 215.26 required the application within three years after the refund right accrued. The TAA's example used the original sale date as the accrual date even when the customer was repaid later.

What this means for you

Businesses ending Florida operations

Account closure and refund eligibility are separate issues. Preserve transaction and customer-refund records before shutting down systems or entities.

Tax professionals

Do not delay based on the customer repayment date alone; the TAA's example measured the three-year period from the original sale.

Common questions

Did account closure bar the refund? No.

Did closure extend the refund deadline? No.

Did the business still have to satisfy all refund rules? Yes.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. Sec. 215.26(1)-(2)
• Fla. Admin. Code R. 12A-1.014
• Fla. Admin. Code R. 12-26.003

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 21A-009

Original ruling text

QUESTION: Would Taxpayer’s closure of its sales and use tax dealer account with the Department
impede its right or cause it to lose its right to obtain a refund for sales tax later if it were, otherwise,
entitled to one at the time it filed its application for refund.

ANSWER: No.

June 30, 2021

XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement No. 21A-009
Sales and Use Tax – Refunds
XXXXXXXX (“Taxpayer”)
FEI No. XXXXXXXX
BPN: XXXXXXXX
Section 215.26, Florida Statutes (“F.S.”)
Rules 12A-1.014, and 12-26.003, Florida Administrative Code (“F.A.C.”)

Dear XXXXXXXX:
This letter is a response to your petition on behalf of XXXXXXXX, for the Florida Department of Revenue’s
(the “Department’s”) issuance of a Technical Assistance Advisement ("TAA") with regard to whether
Taxpayer’s closure of its sales and use dealer tax account with the Department would cause it to lose its
right to a refund if it were, otherwise, entitled to one. Your petition has been carefully examined and the
Department finds it to be in compliance with the requisite criteria set forth in Chapter 12-11, Florida
Administrative Code. This response to your request constitutes a TAA and is issued to you under the
authority of s. 213.22, F.S.
Requested Advisement
Whether Taxpayer’s closure of its sales and use tax dealer account with the Department would impede
Taxpayer’s right or cause Taxpayer to lose its right to obtain a refund for sales tax later if it were,
otherwise, entitled to one at the time it filed its application for refund.

XXXXXXXX
June 30, 2021
Florida Department of Revenue
Page 2

Facts As Provided
On April 21, 2021, XXXXXXXX sent a request, on behalf of Taxpayer, for a Technical Advisement
Memorandum. This was interpreted as a request for a Letter of Technical Assistance. In a conversation
with XXXXXXXX, this conferee asked if he was wanting a binding opinion and he responded that he was.
On April 23, 2021, XXXXXXXX sent an e-mail to the Department requesting that a Technical Assistance
Advisement be issued in response to his question. His request was converted into a request for a Technical
Assistance Advisement.
Taxpayer discontinued its business operations in Florida on October 31, 2020. While Taxpayer was still
conducting business, Taxpayer collected some sales tax from its customers in error and remitted the tax
to the Department in error. Taxpayer intends to refund the erroneously-collected tax to its customers
and then seek a refund for the erroneously-remitted tax from the Department. Taxpayer would like to
close its sales and use dealer tax account with the Department at this time and seek a refund at a later
time, but XXXXXXXX wants to be sure that doing so would not jeopardize Taxpayer’s right to obtain a
refund if it were, otherwise, entitled to one at the time it filed the application for refund.
Applicable Law and Discussion
With regards to refunds for sales tax remitted to the Department in error, there are requirements in the
statutes and administrative rules pertaining to such things as what refunds may be granted for (e.g.,
overpayment of tax and payment made to the Department in error), the time period in which refund
applications must be filed, and information that must be included in the application for refund. See s.
215.26(1) and (2), F.S.; Rule 12-26.003(4), F.A.C. However, there is nothing in the law which states that a
taxpayer’s closing its sales and use tax dealer account with the Department would preclude its right to
obtain a sales tax refund as long as it was, otherwise, entitled to such a refund at the time it filed its
application for refund. This statement assumes that this taxpayer would follow all the provisions in
section 215.26, F.S., and Rules 12A-1.014, FA.C., and 12-26.003(3)(f) and (4), F.A.C., related to obtaining
refunds. Taxpayer should note that applications for refunds must be filed with the Department “within 3
years after the right to the refund has accrued or else the right is barred.” See s. 215.26(2), F.S. If Taxpayer
charged a customer tax erroneously on a sale that occurred on September 7, 2019, and refunded the tax
to the customer on June 30, 2021, for example, September 7, 2019, would be the date that the right to
the refund accrued.

XXXXXXXX
June 30, 2021
Florida Department of Revenue
Page 3

Conclusion
If Taxpayer decides to close its sales and use tax dealer account with the Department at this time, this
action would not impede Taxpayer’s right or cause Taxpayer to lose its right to obtain a refund for sales
tax later if it were, otherwise, entitled to one at the time it filed its application for refund.1
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 advice is based, may subject similar future
transactions to a different treatment than that 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 section 213.22, F.S. Confidential
information must be deleted before public disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality, we request
you provide the undersigned 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,

Katharine Heyward
Katharine Heyward
Senior Attorney
Technical Assistance & Dispute Resolution
Record ID: XXXXXX

1

Note that applications for refund that are not properly completed will not be considered filed for the purpose of
tolling the statutory provisions of Section 215.26, F.S., or for the purpose of the payment of interest under the
conditions prescribed in Sections 213.235 and 213.255, F.S. See Rule 12-26.003(4), F.A.C.