Florida DR-15 sales and use tax return for Fort Myers businesses, line-by-line filing guide with common entry mistakes

Filing Florida DR-15 filing each month or quarter can feel like trying to land a plane using three different dashboards, your POS report, your bank deposits, and your general ledger rarely match on the first try.

If you run a Fort Myers business, the pressure goes up because Lee County discretionary surtax can change by location, delivery address, or job site. One wrong county code in your system can throw off the whole return.

This guide walks through the DR-15 line by line in plain language, shows where each number should come from, and calls out the entry mistakes that cause notices, penalties, and messy cleanups.

A clean DR-15 starts with clean inputs. If you pull numbers from the wrong report, the form can still “math out” but be wrong, like balancing your checkbook off a blurry screenshot.

Start by confirming what’s taxable for your business. Fort Myers service businesses often have a mix of taxable and non-taxable charges, and bundled invoices can accidentally turn into taxable sales. If you need a practical refresher, see Florida sales tax for Fort Myers service businesses.

Here’s what to gather for the reporting period shown on your return (monthly is common, but some businesses file quarterly, semiannual, or annual):

• POS sales tax detail report : Total sales, taxable sales, tax collected, returns, and discounts for the period.
• Exemption support : Resale certificates, exemption certificates, and any “tax not charged” documentation tied to specific invoices.
• Marketplace facilitator statements : Reports showing sales where the marketplace collected and remitted tax (keep these separate so you don’t pay tax twice).
• Accounts payable and purchase invoices : For use tax on items you bought without Florida tax (online vendors, out-of-state suppliers, drop shipments).
• County surtax mapping : A list of where you delivered goods or performed taxable work, by county, plus the surtax rate used.

Fort Myers is commonly 6% Florida state sales tax plus 0.5% Lee County discretionary surtax (often 6.5% total). Rates and rules can change, and surtax depends on sourcing, so verify current county rates and caps directly with the Florida Department of Revenue before filing.

Use the DR-15 for the exact reporting period shown on the form. A very common mistake is filing the right numbers on the wrong month.

Also watch due dates. Florida returns are generally due after the end of the period, and become late after the due date set by the state (often the 20th, shifted if it lands on a weekend or holiday). If you file late, penalties and interest can apply even if you “only missed it by a few days.”

Gross sales should match what you sold, not what hit your bank. Deposits can include tips, loans, owner contributions, gift card sales, or payments for prior-period invoices. Start with a POS or accounting report that shows total sales for the exact period.

Common Fort Myers issue: a business uses cash basis deposits for Line 1, then wonders why taxable sales never tie out to the POS tax report.

Exempt sales are not just “sales where you didn’t charge tax.” They should be supported by the right documentation, like a valid resale certificate, a statutory exemption, or a properly sourced out-of-state delivery.

Common mistake: listing large exempt sales because “the customer said they’re exempt,” with no certificate on file, or using an expired certificate.

This is the line where many returns go sideways. You’re aiming for the taxable base for Florida sales tax, including taxable sales and any taxable purchases where you owe use tax because the vendor didn’t charge Florida tax.

Use tax often comes from:

• online purchases shipped into Florida without tax charged,
• equipment or supplies bought out of state and used in the business,
• items pulled from resale inventory for business use.

Common mistake: treating use tax as “optional” because you already paid shipping, or because the vendor was on Amazon. If no Florida tax was charged and the item is taxable, it belongs in your use tax process.

In Fort Myers, Lee County surtax is commonly 0.5%, but surtax is based on sourcing , often tied to where the item is delivered or where the taxable service is performed. If you work across county lines, your POS needs to apply the right county rate for each transaction. Also, certain transactions may have surtax limits or special rules, so confirm what applies to your sales.

Common mistake: charging 6.5% on everything because the business is located in Fort Myers, then under-collecting or over-collecting when the delivery address is in another county.

Florida often allows a collection allowance for timely filing and payment (commonly 2.5% of the tax due, capped per location). If you file late, don’t take it. If you have multiple locations, watch the cap rules.

Common mistake: claiming the allowance automatically every month, even when the payment was late or short.

If your DR-15 feels hard, it’s usually because the numbers are coming from different places that don’t reconcile. The fix is a repeatable month-end workflow, like closing your books, just focused on sales tax.

Use this order:

1. Lock the period in your POS and accounting system (so reports don’t change later).
2. Run the POS tax reports : gross sales, exempt or non-taxable sales, taxable sales, tax collected, and returns.
3. Tie POS gross sales to your general ledger sales income for the same dates. Investigate gaps, don’t plug them.
4. Match exemptions to support : attach certificates to invoices, and keep a simple exemption log.
5. Build a use tax list from accounts payable: review vendors that often don’t charge Florida tax, then total taxable purchases.
6. Review surtax logic : spot check county codes using delivery addresses and job locations, not your business address.
7. Reconcile sales tax payable to reality : beginning liability plus tax collected (minus credits) should match what you’re about to remit, after adjusting for marketplace-collected tax if applicable.
8. Save a DR-15 backup package : PDFs of reports, exemption notes, use tax worksheet, and filing confirmation.

If you want help setting up a repeatable process (or cleaning up a few messy periods), Fort Myers sales and use tax filing support can take this off your plate.

A correct DR-15 is less about “doing the form,” and more about reconciling your sales, exemptions, surtax sourcing, and use tax every period. When those inputs are clean, the DR-15 becomes quick and predictable.

This article is for general information only, not legal or tax advice. If you have marketplace sales, multi-county jobs, or past-due periods, talk with a Florida sales tax professional before you file.