The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) issued a Technical Assistance Advisement stating that the date that gym membership dues were paid was the controlling date for determining if the sale qualified for the state’s Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday (“Freedom Holiday”).
The Freedom Holiday took place from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024. A taxpayer requested advice on whether the “paid date” between July 1, 2024 and July 31, 2024 was the controlling date for the Freedom Holiday, irrespective of the date on the invoice.
The taxpayer is a private membership club which provides physical fitness facilities. The club generated an invoice for club dues for the rest of the annual year on June 30, 2024. The invoice was to be paid between July 1, 2024 and July 31, 2024. The fee would be used for monthly dues between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024.
Normally, sales of admissions are taxable in Florida. However, during the 2024 Freedom Holiday, Florida sales and use tax was not to be collected on purchases of admissions made during the holiday dates, for the “use of or access to private and membership clubs providing physical fitness facilities from July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.”
Based on the above, the DOR advised that the exemption applies to dues paid from July 1, 2024, through July 31, 2024, for membership occurring through December 31, 2024. Payments made for periods occurring after December 31, 2024, are subject to tax.
This is a noteworthy distinction that affected sellers will want to take into consideration. For details on Florida’s Freedom Month Sales Tax Holiday as well as other tax holidays, visit the Sales Tax Institute’s Sales Tax Holidays Chart. (Technical Assistance Advisement – TAA #: 24A-015, Florida Department of Revenue, November 26, 2024)