Florida Administrative Code › 12 - DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE › 12A - Sales and Use Tax › Chapter 12A-1 - SALES AND USE TAX › Section 12A-1.070 - Leases and Licenses of Real Property; Storage of Boats and Aircraft

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1)
(a)
				Every person who rents or leases any real property or who grants a license to
				use, occupy, or enter upon any real property is exercising a taxable privilege
				unless such real property is:
1. Assessed as
				agricultural property under Section
				193.461, F.S.
2. Used exclusively as dwelling
				units.
3. Property subject to tax
				on parking, docking, or storage space under Section
				212.03(6),
				F.S.
4. A public or private street
				or right-of-way occupied or used by a utility for utility purposes.
5. A public street or road which is used for
				transportation purposes.
a. Tolls imposed
				exclusively for the right to travel on turnpikes, expressways, bridges, and
				other public roadway are payments for the use of the public roadway and are
				thus exempt. Example: The toll charged by a city to the general public for the
				right to cross a bridge is a payment for transportation purposes; therefore, it
				is exempt.
b. However, a charge for
				the right to use a public or private roadway for non-transportation purposes is
				fully taxable. Example: A civic organization that is not exempt from sales tax
				contracts with a city to have certain streets and sidewalks blocked from
				traffic to conduct its annual festival. The privilege granted by the city to
				the civic organization for the use of the streets and sidewalks constitutes a
				license to use real property for non-transportation purposes. Therefore, any
				charge by the city to the civic organization for the use of streets and
				sidewalks is taxable.
6.
a. Property used at an airport exclusively
				for the purpose of aircraft landing or aircraft taxiing or property used by an
				airline for the purpose of loading or unloading passengers or property onto or
				from aircraft or for fueling aircraft. See subsection (3).
b. Property which is used by an airline for
				loading or unloading passengers onto or from an aircraft is exempt. This
				property includes: common walkways inside a terminal building used by
				passengers for boarding or departing from an aircraft, ticket counters, baggage
				claim areas, ramp and apron areas, and departure lounges (the rooms which are
				used by passengers as a sitting or gathering area immediately before
				surrendering their tickets to board the aircraft). Departure lounges commonly
				known as VIP lounges, or airport clubs which are affiliated with an airline or
				a club which requires a membership or charge or for which membership or usage
				is determined by ticket status are not included as property exempt from tax.
				The lease or license to use passenger loading bridges (jetways) and baggage
				conveyor systems comes under this exemption, provided that the jetways and
				baggage conveyor systems are deemed real property.
(I) In order for the jetways and baggage
				conveyors to be deemed real property, the owner of these items must also be the
				owner of the land to which they are attached, and must have had the intention
				that such property become a permanent accession to the realty from the moment
				of installation. The items shall not be considered real property if the owner,
				when the owner is not the airport, retains title to the items after the
				purchase/installation indebtedness has been paid in full.
(II) Any operator of an airport, such as an
				airport authority, which is the lessee of the land on which the airport has its
				situs is, for the purpose of this sub-subparagraph, deemed the owner of such
				land.
c. Real property
				used by an airline for purposes of loading or unloading passengers or property
				onto or from an aircraft which is exempt from tax includes: office areas used
				to process tickets, baggage processing areas, operations areas used for the
				purpose of the operational control of an airline's aircraft, and air cargo
				areas.
(I) If any portion of the above
				property is used for any other purpose, it is taxed on a pro-rata basis, which
				shall be determined by the square footage of the portion of the areas in the
				airport that are used by an airline exclusively for the purpose of loading or
				unloading passengers or property onto or from aircraft (which areas shall be
				the numerator) compared to the total square footage of such areas used by the
				airline (which areas shall be the denominator).
(II) Example: An airline leases a total of
				3,000 square feet from an airport authority. The airline uses the space as
				follows: 1,000 square feet are used to process tickets and check in the
				passengers' luggage; 1,000 square feet are used for the passengers' departure
				lounge; and 1,000 square feet are used for the management office and the
				employees' lounge. The 1,000 square feet used to process tickets and check in
				the passengers' luggage is exempt; the 1,000 square feet used as the
				passengers' departure lounge is also exempt; and the 1,000 square feet used as
				the management office and employees' lounge is taxable. Therefore, a total of
				2,000 square feet is exempt because that portion of the total space leased by
				the airline is used exclusively for the purposes of loading or unloading
				passengers or property onto or from an aircraft. However, the total amount used
				as office space and the employees' lounge (i.e., 1,000 square feet) is taxable,
				because that portion of the space leased by the airline is not used exclusively
				for the purposes of loading or unloading passengers or property onto or from an
				aircraft.
d. Real
				property used for fueling aircraft is taxable when the fueling activities are
				conducted by a lessee or licensee which is not an airline. However, the charge
				made to an airline for the use of aprons, ramps or other areas used for fueling
				aircraft is exempt.
7.
a. Property used at a port authority
				exclusively for the purpose of oceangoing vessels or tugs docking, or such
				vessels mooring on property used by a port authority for the purpose of loading
				or unloading passengers or cargo onto or from such vessels, or property used at
				a port authority for fueling such vessels. See subsection (2).
b. The term "port authority" means any port
				authority created by or pursuant to the provisions of any general or special
				law or any district or board of county commissioners acting as a port authority
				under or pursuant to the provisions of any general or special law.
8. Property leased, subleased, or
				rented to a person providing food and drink concessionaire services within the
				premises of a movie theater, a business operated under a permit issued pursuant
				to Chapter 550, F.S., (dog and horse racing), or any publicly owned arena,
				sports stadium, convention hall, exhibition hall, auditorium, or recreational
				facility; however, licenses to use such spaces are subject to sales
				tax.
9. Recreational property or
				other common elements of a condominium when subject to a lease between the
				developer or owner of the condominium complex and the condominium association
				in its own right or as the agent for the owners of individual condominium units
				or the owners of individual condominium units. This exemption applies only to
				the lease payments of such property and any other use of such property by
				either the owner, developer, or the association shall be fully subject to
				tax.
10. Classified as a type of
				property for which another exemption may apply pursuant to Section
				212.031,
				F.S.