HB 103 and SB 122: Florida's Failed BTR Repeal

Florida's 2026 push to repeal the local business tax failed. HB 103, sponsored by Rep. Adam Botana, passed the Florida House 82-26 on 17 February, then died in Senate Appropriations on 13 March. The Senate companion, SB 122, sponsored by Sen. Keith Truenow, died in Senate Finance and Tax the same day.

The 1 July 2026 effective date written into both bills no longer applies.

Chapter 205 remains in force

The bills would have repealed Chapter 205 of the Florida Statutes, the "Local Business Tax" chapter. Chapter 205 authorizes county taxes under s.205.032 and municipal taxes under s.205.042. With neither bill enacted, both layers stay in force. In FY 2023-24, 35 of Florida's 67 counties and 255 municipalities collected the tax.

If your county and your city both levy the tax, you may owe two receipts: a county Business Tax Receipt and a separate municipal BTR. Exemptions and local classification rules still apply. In Duval County, Jacksonville's consolidated government issues a single receipt for the city; the Jacksonville tax collector lists Atlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and the Town of Baldwin as Duval-county cities that issue their own.

House committee staff estimated the bills would have cut local-government revenue by about $184.2 million a year starting in FY 2026-27 (see the State Affairs Committee analysis of CS/HB 103). The Florida Association of Counties' 2026 Sine Die Report put the county share above $50 million a year.

The 2026-27 renewal cycle is unchanged

Section 205.053 F.S. sets the cycle. Tax collectors sell receipts starting 1 July; they're due on or before 30 September. If 30 September is a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day. In 2026, 30 September is a Wednesday. Receipts unpaid by 30 September are delinquent on 1 October. The penalty is 10% in October, then 5% more each month, capped at 25% of the tax.

A separate penalty applies if you operate without a required receipt: 25% of the tax due, on top of any other penalty in law or ordinance. If 150 days pass after the first notice and you still haven't paid the tax or obtained the receipt, the jurisdiction can sue. That can add court costs, reasonable attorneys' fees, administrative costs, and a penalty up to $250.

The five most populous Florida counties run the same renewal cycle for 2026-27. Broward and Duval/Jacksonville post the 1 July renewal start; Hillsborough says receipts renew on or after 1 July; Orange and Miami-Dade confirm the 30 September expiry and 1 October delinquency. If you paused renewal expecting the repeal to pass, you'll be delinquent on 1 October.

Fees outside Chapter 205

The bills only repealed Chapter 205 (with small fixes to related statutes). Other permit and license fees were not on the table. Fire-permit obligations under Chapter 633 F.S., food-service plan-review and licensure under the DBPR, DOH, and FDACS split covered in our agency briefing, and DBPR Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (ABT) licensing under Chapter 561 all remain separate.

The ABT renewal cycle under Rule 61A-3.0101 staggers by county for vendor and distributor licenses (Broward and Miami-Dade on an April-March year; other counties on October-September). Manufacturer, broker, sales-agent, importer, and passenger-common-carrier licenses run October to September regardless of county. Federal obligations (E-Verify, FLSA, OSHA) were not on the table either.

The 2027 outlook

Watch for successor bills on Chapter 205. The Office of Economic and Demographic Research's Revenue Estimating Conference archive shows local-business-tax bills in 2024 (HB 609), 2025 (HB 503), and 2026 (HB 103 / SB 122). A recurring pattern is not a pre-filed bill. And even if one appears, it's not a reason to skip the 2026-27 receipt.

See also: SB 606 disclosure rules, Florida's $15 minimum wage, and our Florida hub.