Do I Charge Sales Tax on Cottage Food or Catering in Florida?

Cottage food in Florida: usually no sales tax. Bakery products "sold for consumption off the premises" are exempt, which describes nearly every cottage food sale. Florida cottage food law only allows direct-to-consumer sales anyway, with no permit required and a $250,000 annual cap as of July 2026. Catering in Florida: yes, taxable. Catered food and drink is taxable with few exceptions, mandatory service charges are usually taxable too, and the county surtax follows the delivery location.

This article explains the rules and links the authorities that set them. It is not tax advice, your state's Department of Revenue and your accountant are the final word for your situation.

The bakery confusion, settled

A Florida baker on CakeCentral put the confusion perfectly: "if I buy baked goods to go at Panera's there is not tax, if I get them to eat there, I pay tax... It's interesting how different people are told different things in this state" (CakeCentral thread). Both halves are correct, and the rule is written down.

Florida Rule 12A-1.011 draws the line at the premises: "Bakery products, excluding items sold as hot prepared food products, sold for consumption off the premises are exempt," while bakery products sold by "bakeries, pastry shops, or like establishments that have eating facilities" for on-premises consumption are taxable (Rule 12A-1.011). For sellers with eating facilities, even quantities of five items or fewer are presumed eaten on site, unless packaging that is "glued, stapled, wrapped, or sealed" says otherwise.

A cottage food operator has no eating facilities, sells sealed and labeled products, and hands them directly to the customer. That is the exempt side of the line. Products outside the grocery-type exemption, or anything sold hot and prepared, can be taxable; confirm the specific item with the Florida Department of Revenue.

The cottage food frame around it

Florida's cottage food law, administered by FDACS, allows sales of certain low-risk foods made in a home kitchen with no food permit, up to $250,000 in annual gross sales, sold directly to consumers in person, online, or by mail, with no wholesale or retail distribution (FDACS, Cottage Foods; UF/IFAS summary, June 2026). The no-wholesale rule also settles the resale-certificate question: cottage rules do not let you sell to the cafe down the street, so it never arises.

Catering: taxable, including most service charges

Florida's guide for restaurants and catering starts from a broad base: food or drinks that restaurants and "similar places of business, prepare, serve, or sell are taxable with few exceptions" (Florida DOR, GT-800035). Catered meals sit squarely inside that.

The service-charge rule catches people: "If any part of the gratuity or service charge benefits the restaurant (employer), these are part of the sales price of the meal and the entire charge for the gratuity is taxable" (GT-800035). A mandatory 20 percent service charge you keep, even partly, is taxed. A voluntary tip the client adds on their own is treated differently; settle that line's structure with your accountant before busy season, not after.

The Florida wrinkle: the county surtax follows the delivery

Florida layers a county discretionary sales surtax on top of the 6 percent state rate, and it keys to the destination: "Surtax is collected at the county rate where the delivery is made" (Florida DOR, discretionary sales surtax; UF surtax guide). A Tampa caterer serving an event across the county line collects the event county's surtax rate, not Hillsborough's; the venue's address decides the last digits of every quote. Rules and the $250,000 cap are current as of July 2026.

FAQ

"Do I charge sales tax on cottage food in Florida?" Generally no. Grocery-type and bakery products sold to go are exempt, and cottage food sales are direct-to-consumer by definition. Products outside the food exemption, or anything sold hot, can be taxable.

"Why does Panera charge tax when I eat there but not on baked goods to go?" Because the rule taxes bakery products sold for on-premises consumption at sellers with eating facilities, and exempts the same products sold to go. Same cookie, different premises, different answer.

"If the invoice is $80 for service plus a 20 percent mandatory gratuity, is tax on the $80 or the $100?" (asked, nearly verbatim, by a Florida chef) If any part of the mandatory charge benefits the business, the entire charge joins the taxable sales price. Structure matters here; get your accountant's read on your exact invoice lines.

"Which county's surtax goes on a catering invoice?" The county where delivery is made, which for catering means where the event is served.

Where Savi Tools fits

Savi Tools looks up the sales tax rate by address on the invoice, which is how a Florida caterer gets the right county surtax on every quote without keeping a rate table in their head. On the Growth plan, when your client has a full address, every invoice gets the jurisdiction-accurate rate applied automatically, and every taxed invoice records the state and ZIP it was taxed for. Your dashboard keeps a running view of what you've collected, split paid vs invoiced and address-accurate vs estimated, and at filing time you (or your accountant, through their free seat) export a clean CSV: state, ZIP, taxable amount, tax collected. Savi Tools tracks and reports; it does not file or remit tax, and it does not tell you where you owe, that stays with you and your accountant. Growth is $19/month. Start free →

Savi Tools tracks and reports collected sales tax by state and ZIP. It does not file or remit tax and does not provide nexus or tax advice. Consult your accountant. Never get surprised at tax time.