Florida
Missed Florida's May 1 Annual Report Deadline? Do This Now
The short answer
File the annual report at Sunbiz.org right now — the $400 late fee for profit LLCs and corporations is automatic after May 1 and Florida provides no way to waive it, so waiting doesn't help. What waiting does do is worse: entities still unfiled by the fourth Friday of September are administratively dissolved, which costs more to undo and can even put your business name up for grabs.
Every Florida LLC and corporation owes the state one thing each year: an annual report filed at Sunbiz between January 1 and May 1. It isn't a financial report — no numbers from your books go on it — it's a "we still exist, here's who runs us" filing. Which is exactly why busy owners forget it, and why Florida collects a small fortune in $400 late fees every May.
Step 1 — File today at Sunbiz.org
Go directly to sunbiz.org (type it — skip lookalike sites that charge "service fees" for what the state does directly), search your entity, and file the report online. You'll need your document number, FEIN, addresses, and current registered-agent and manager/officer details. It genuinely takes about ten minutes.
Step 2 — Pay the fee plus the $400, and let the anger go
For an LLC the normal report fee is $138.75; after May 1 the state adds a flat $400 late fee, automatically, with no waiver process. We'd tell you if there were an appeal worth writing — there isn't. The only variable still under your control is whether the next deadline matters.
Step 3 — If it's already late September: check whether you've been dissolved
Entities still unfiled on the fourth Friday of September are administratively dissolved or revoked. Search your company on Sunbiz: if the status says "INACT", you're now reinstating rather than just filing — the reinstatement fee (currently $100 for LLCs, $600 for corporations) plus all missed report fees. File the reinstatement promptly; a dissolved entity's name can eventually be claimed by someone else, and operating through a dissolved entity muddies liability protection and banking.
Step 4 — Make next May 1 a non-event
Sunbiz sends reminder emails to the address on file — which is often an old address, a former partner, or a registered-agent service inbox nobody reads. Update the email on the report you're filing now, then put a recurring reminder in your own calendar for early February. (Deadline tracking is part of what our bookkeeping clients hand off to us — the May 1 report, quarterly estimates, sales tax — so nothing rides on one inbox.)
Scam warning, because May is high season: official correspondence about your annual report comes from the Florida Department of State / Division of Corporations, and filing happens only at sunbiz.org. Glossy mailers demanding $300+ for "corporate compliance services" or "certificate of status" documents you don't need are solicitation, not government mail.
Common questions
Can the $400 late fee be waived?
No — Florida law provides no provision to abate or waive the late fee for profit corporations, LLCs, LPs, or LLLPs, and the Division of Corporations applies it automatically the moment the May 1 deadline passes. Any site or caller claiming they can get it waived for you is a red flag.
What happens if I just never file it?
Your entity is administratively dissolved (or revoked) in late September — the fourth Friday. After that, you're legally operating without an entity: banks and lenders see “inactive” on Sunbiz, contracts and liability protection get murky, and reinstatement costs more than filing late ever did. Your exact business name can also become available for someone else to register once the entity is dissolved.
How do I reinstate a dissolved Florida LLC or corporation?
You file for reinstatement through Sunbiz and pay the reinstatement fee (currently $100 for an LLC, $600 for a profit corporation) plus every missed annual report fee along the way. The entity picks back up as if continuous once granted — but it's strictly more money and paperwork than the late report alone.
Does the annual report have anything to do with my taxes?
No — it's a state registration filing that keeps your entity active, not a tax return, and the fee isn't a tax. It's entirely separate from the IRS and from Florida Department of Revenue filings like sales tax. Missing it doesn't create a tax problem; it creates an existence problem for your company.
What do I need on hand to file it?
About ten minutes and: your Sunbiz document number (search your company name on Sunbiz to find it), your FEIN, a principal address, your registered agent's current info, and the names and addresses of managers or officers. Payment is by card or check online.