Florida Reemployment Tax Rate 2027: Reading the RT-20

Your Florida reemployment tax rate for 2027 arrives on one piece of mail: Form RT-20, the Reemployment Tax Rate Notice. The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) mails it to every contributing employer each year, and the rate applies to each dollar of taxable wages you pay in 2027. The window to protest it closes 20 days after the Mailed On or Before date printed on the notice, so the first thing to find is that date.

This article explains what the DOR's own pages say about the notice. It covers how the rate is built, the 2026 floor and ceiling that the 2027 notice replaces, and what a change costs per employee.

How is my Florida reemployment tax rate set, and can I protest it?

Florida's Department of Revenue sets each employer's reemployment tax rate once a year and prints it on Form RT-20. A new employer pays 2.7% until it has reported for 10 quarters; after that, the rate reflects benefits charged against taxable payroll. A written protest is due within 20 days of the Mailed On or Before date on the notice.

The DOR writes every rate two ways on its pages: 0.0270 is 2.7%, and 0.0010 is 0.1%. A notice that reads 0.0310 means 3.1% of each employee's taxable wages, which the DOR counts up to $7,000 a year. Reemployment tax is what Florida calls state unemployment tax. Benefits paid to your former employees are charged to your account, and those charges are the biggest input to your rate.

Florida reemployment tax rate 2027: when the RT-20 arrives and what to look for

The DOR's rate page says rate notices are mailed to all contributing employers each year; it names no month. Florida Administrative Code Rule 73B-10.026 says the employer is notified of the rate "by use of Form RT-20, Reemployment Tax Rate Notice." The same rule sets the timing: at least 15 days before the end of the calendar quarter for which the rate is effective. This article does not guess at a mailing date; the notice itself carries one.

Two lines on the notice do most of the work. The first is the rate itself; the DOR expresses rates as decimals such as 0.0270 on its rate page, so read it that way. The second is the Mailed On or Before date, which the DOR's rate page names as the start of the 20-day protest window. The same page says employers can also view their rate online.

Every dollar figure below carries its year. As of November 4, 2026, the DOR's rate page names only 2026 minimum and maximum rates, and your 2027 RT-20 replaces them for your account.

How the DOR builds the rate

The DOR's rate page says the formula combines three factors. The first, the individual benefit ratio, "makes up the greatest portion of the employer's final tax rate": benefits charged to your account divided by your taxable payroll. The second is the taxable payroll you reported on time, counted up to $7,000 per employee. The third is a variable adjustment factor, which the page says "is made up of three ratios" and spreads costs among employers with recent benefit charges.

Then there is the fund size factor, which depends on the balance in the state trust fund. When the balance falls below 4% of the previous year's taxable payroll, a positive factor raises rates until the balance reaches that level. When the balance is above 5% of the previous year's taxable payroll, a negative factor lowers rates. Your own layoffs are only part of the picture; the state fund's position moves every employer's rate.

An employer that takes over a business by succession and adopts the predecessor's rate uses the predecessor's employment record, according to the same page.

The 2026 minimum and maximum: the figures the 2027 notice replaces

For wages paid in 2026, the DOR's rate page sets a minimum rate of 0.0010 (0.1%), or $7 per employee. The 2026 maximum is 0.0540 (5.4%), or $378 per employee, "based on annual wages up to $7,000 per employee." The page also says the 5.4% maximum may apply to employers with delinquencies greater than one year. It may also apply to an employer that fails to provide all requested work records during an audit, with an exception for the Short Time Compensation Program.

The $7,000 base matters as much as the rate. The page says federal guidelines require a wage base of at least $7,000, and every figure on it uses that base. The table shows what a given rate costs for an employee who earns at least $7,000 in the year; an employee paid less generates less tax.

The $7 and $378 lines are the DOR's own 2026 figures; the rest is arithmetic on the $7,000 base. A move from 2.7% to 4.0% is $91 more per employee for the year, or $910 on a ten-person payroll, before any penalty or interest. A rate that drops to the 2026 minimum saves $182 per employee against the initial rate.

How to protest a reemployment tax rate in Florida

The DOR's rate page says an employer may protest its tax rate within 20 days of the Mailed On or Before date printed on Form RT-20. "Protests must be in writing and may be sent by mail, email, or fax." The mailing address is Florida Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 6510, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6510, and the email address is Experience_Rating@floridarevenue.com; the fax number is on the same page.

The 20 days run from the printed mailing date, not from the day the envelope reaches your desk. A notice that sits in a pile for two weeks leaves six days. The benefit charges behind the rate have their own clock. Florida Administrative Code Rule 73B-10.026 treats a quarterly benefit charge notice as "conclusive and binding" unless a written redetermination request is filed within 20 days of mailing.

Whether or not you protest, the tax is reported and paid each quarter on Form RT-6, the Employer's Quarterly Report. The DOR's return page puts the RT-6 due on the last day of the month after each quarter, or the next working day after a weekend or holiday. Our 2026 payroll tax deadlines calendar sets the federal quarterly dates beside it. A late report carries a penalty of "$25 for each 30 days or fraction thereof that the report is delinquent." A late payment draws the floating interest rate. Tax Information Publication 26ADM-06, issued October 21, 2026, sets that rate at 11% for January 1 through June 30, 2027. The filing steps in the DOR's new eFile and Pay system are in our smaartcompany.com walkthrough, Florida Reemployment Tax: The New eFile and Pay System.

What to check when the notice arrives

A rate notice is easy to file away unread, because it asks for no money. The cost shows up on four RT-6 returns across 2027. That is why the rate belongs in the payroll record before the first run of the year, whether you run payroll in house or with us. SMAART's payroll tax filing service covers the state unemployment returns alongside the federal 941 and 940.

This article explains what the Florida Department of Revenue's pages and the Florida Administrative Code say as of November 4, 2026. It is not tax advice; confirm your rate, any protest and your filing position with your CPA.

Frequently asked questions