BUSINESS MILEAGE RATE FOR 2026

The standard mileage rate set by the Internal Revenue Service is increasing to 72.5¢ per mile for 2026, an increase of 2.5¢ from the 2025 rate. The business mileage rate is used by taxpayers claiming a mileage deduction for a vehicle they own or lease. Businesses also use this rate to reimburse their employees for business miles driven on the employee’s car.

JANUARY 31ST IS AN IMPORTANT TAX FILING DEADLINE FOR BUSINESSES

If your business paid employees or independent contractors in 2025, there are several important tax documents that should be filed by January 31st.

Form RT-6 – Florida Reemployment Tax (also called Florida/state unemployment tax or SUTA) Florida employers must file an RT-6 form with the Florida Department of Revenue every quarter to pay state reemployment tax on wages paid to employees during the prior quarter. The RT-6 form due January 31st is for your company’s payroll for the last quarter of 2025.

Because state reemployment tax is collected only on the first $7,000 of wages paid to an employee during a calendar year, your business may owe very little or even no tax with this last report for 2025. The RT-6 form must be filed every quarter, even if there is no tax due.

Form 940 – Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA) Employers pay both state and federal unemployment tax. Like the reemployment tax in Florida, the federal unemployment tax is charged only on the first $7,000 of wages your business pays an employee during a calendar year. Because employers get a credit on their FUTA tax for the amount of Florida reemployment tax paid during the year, your business may owe very little federal unemployment tax each year.

The due date for filing Form 940 is January 31st but if you deposited all your FUTA tax when it was due during 2025, you have an extra 10 days to file.
 
Form 941 – Federal Payroll Tax Employers must file a 941 form with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) every quarter to report employee wages for the prior quarter and to report the amount of federal income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax they withheld from employee wages.

Even though the forms must be filed quarterly, businesses are required to send the actual payroll taxes collected from employees to the IRS more frequently. IRS rules determine the schedule for depositing your payroll taxes based on how much tax you owed last year. While the last 941 of 2025 is due to the IRS by January 31st, the payroll taxes were due periodically throughout 2025.

Form W-2 – Wages Paid to Employees Each January, employers must prepare a Form W-2 for each employee who received wages from the business during the prior year. The W-2 lists the total wages paid to the employee during the year as well as the amount of income tax, social security tax, and Medicare tax withheld from the employee’s paycheck.

The W-2 has several pages, all with the same information. Employers file Copy A of the W-2 with the Social Security Administration and give Copies B and C of the W-2 to the employee. Keep Copy D for your records.

The deadline for filing W-2s is usually January 31st, but because that day is a Saturday, the filing deadline this year is February 2nd.
 
Form 1099-NEC – Amounts Paid to Non-Employees Businesses must prepare a Form 1099-NEC for each independent contractor (individuals, not companies) paid at least $600 for work in 2025. In most circumstances, a business does not issue a 1099 to corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs) that are treated as a C or S corporation for federal tax purposes.

Businesses file Copy A of each 1099 with the IRS and give Copy B to the independent contractor. Keep Copy C for your records.

The deadline for filing 1099s is usually January 31st, but because that day is a Saturday, the filing deadline this year is February 2nd.

Important note: Electronic filing of W-2s and 1099s is required if your business issues 10 or more W-2s or 1099s combined.

This is a very oversimplified explanation of general tax filings for businesses. For details or for specific questions about your business, please consult your local tax professional or accountant.

HANDLING CASH TRANSACTIONS WITH THE PENNY SHORTAGE

With the United States Treasury ending production of the penny in November 2025, some Florida businesses are choosing to round cash transactions when the total amount due (sales price plus tax) from the customer cannot be collected or change cannot be provided because of the lack of pennies.

The Florida Department of Revenue is reminding businesses responsible for collecting the state sales tax that they are still responsible for calculating the Florida sales tax and any applicable local sales tax due in accordance with current law, regardless of the customer’s method of payment.

If the total amount due cannot be collected or change cannot be provided on a cash transaction due to the penny shortage, the business may choose how to round the total amount due from the customer to the next lowest, next higher, or nearest nickel, so long as notice is provided to the customer. Sales tax remains due on the actual sales price prior to the dealer applying rounding due to the lack of pennies.

Example 1: A business sells a taxable item for $9.84 to a customer paying cash. If the total state and local sales tax rate is 7%, the total due is $10.53 ($9.84 plus 69¢ sales tax). If the dealer rounds the total down to $10.50, the sales tax due from the business to the state on the transaction is 69¢. The minor rounding adjustment to address the penny shortage does not require the sales tax price to be recalculated.

Example 2: A business sells a taxable item for $9.84 to a customer paying in cash. If the total state and local sales tax rate is 7%, the total due is $10.53 ($9.84 plus 69¢ sales tax). If the dealer rounds the total amount due up to $10.55, the sales tax due from the business to the state on the transaction is 69¢.