No Florida return. A Fort Lauderdale resident files the federal return, plus a return in any other state where they lived or earned income during the year.
Seasonal and new residents. A person who splits the year between Broward and another state has to show which state is home, with records kept during the year.
Retirement and property planning. Withdrawals, Social Security, and Roth conversions planned on the federal return, and the Broward homestead exemption claimed on time, with Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
Corviniti prepares personal tax returns for individuals and families in Fort Lauderdale and across Broward County. We meet clients at our Fort Lauderdale office by the Galleria, a CPA prepares and signs every return, and we work in English and Spanish.
Florida does not tax personal income, so the planning for a Fort Lauderdale resident happens on the federal return and, in the first years after a move, on the return to the state they left. A Broward resident's return may include retirement income, a year split between Florida and another state, a boat, or a second property, and each of those changes the return.
This page sits under Corviniti Accounting in Miami, our office in downtown Miami. That page covers Florida tax for South Florida businesses and for people who move to Florida, and links to the rest of our Florida coverage.
Relocation
Moving from New York to Fort Lauderdale: what each state requires
What New York can still tax after a move to Florida. Residency depends on specific facts.
Boats
Sales tax when you buy a boat in Broward
The tax on the purchase of a boat in Florida cannot exceed $18,000, and that limit includes the county surtax. Broward's 1 percent surtax applies to the first $5,000 of the price when a dealer or broker delivers the boat in Broward, or when a boat bought from an individual is used there. When a boat and its trailer are sold on one invoice, they are taxed as one item, at the surtax rate of the county where the buyer lives, as shown on the registration or title.
Florida boat sales tax in Broward, 2026. Illustrative.
Rental property
Short-term rental taxes on a Broward property
Rent for a stay of six months or less in Broward is taxed at 13 percent. The 6 percent state sales tax and the 1 percent surtax are reported on the DR-15, and the county's 6 percent tourist development tax is paid to Broward County. We record the tax apart from the rental income, and report the rental on your federal return.
You moved to Fort Lauderdale and your former state may still treat you as a resident.
You are retired or close to it and want withdrawals and conversions planned.
You bought a home in Broward and the homestead application has not been filed.
You own a boat or a rental property and are not sure how it is taxed.
What you get
The federal return, planned Withdrawals, conversions, capital gains, and estimated payments planned during the year.
Residency documented Returns in any other state where they apply, and a record of days kept during the year.
Property tax The homestead application with the Broward Property Appraiser, and Amendment 3 followed after the vote.
Boats and rentals The sales and use tax on a boat purchase, and the federal treatment of rental property.
How We Help
What you get
Personal returns prepared and signed by a CPA, with the Broward items that change the result.
The federal return, plannedWithdrawals, conversions, capital gains, and estimated payments planned during the year.
Residency documentedReturns in any other state where they apply, and a record of days kept during the year.
Property taxThe homestead application with the Broward Property Appraiser, and Amendment 3 followed after the vote.
Boats and rentalsThe sales and use tax on a boat purchase, and the federal treatment of rental property.
When companies bring us in
You moved to Fort Lauderdale and your former state may still treat you as a resident.
You are retired or close to it and want withdrawals and conversions planned.
You bought a home in Broward and the homestead application has not been filed.
You own a boat or a rental property and are not sure how it is taxed.
The Detail
The gaps, and how we close each one
Topic 01
Seasonal residents and people who moved to Broward
Owning a home in Fort Lauderdale does not by itself make a person a Florida resident for tax purposes. The state they came from can still treat them as a resident.
How we handle it
The state you came from applies its own residency rules. New York, for example, treats a person as a resident if their domicile, their true permanent home, is still there, or if they keep a home there for substantially all of the year and spend 184 days or more in the state, which New York calls statutory residency. A person who splits the year needs a record of days, and evidence that the Fort Lauderdale home is the main one: a Florida driver's license and voter registration, a Declaration of Domicile recorded in Broward County, where the family, the doctors, and the valuables are, and where the person works. In the year of a move, a part-year return goes to the old state. We prepare it, and we set up the record of days at the start of the year.
What you get: Returns in each state where they apply, and a record of days kept during the year.
Topic 02
Retirement income on the federal return
A retiree in Florida pays no state tax on pensions, withdrawals, or Social Security. The federal tax on the same income depends on timing, and the planning is worth doing each year.
How we handle it
Florida does not tax pensions, retirement account withdrawals, or Social Security, so the planning is federal. Required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, and withdrawals from taxable accounts can be timed so that income stays within a lower federal bracket, and so that less of the Social Security benefit is taxed. We model several years at once, and set estimated payments so there is no underpayment penalty.
What you get: Withdrawals and conversions planned across several years.
Splitting the year with another state? Set up the record of days with a CPA now.
The homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes limit reduce a Broward property tax bill for years, and both depend on an application filed on time.
How we handle it
A Fort Lauderdale homeowner applies for homestead with the Broward County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the first year. The exemption is $25,000 on all taxes and a further $26,411 for 2026 on assessed value between $50,000 and $76,411, and the second part does not apply to school taxes. Save Our Homes then limits yearly increases in assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the consumer price index, 2.7 percent for 2026, and portability carries up to $500,000 of that saving to a new Florida homestead. A second home or a rental property gets no homestead exemption. Bills are sent in the autumn, with a 4 percent discount for paying in November.
Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 ballot.Amendment 3 would raise the homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and would cut the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property, including second homes and rentals, from 10 percent to 5 percent. It needs 60 percent of the vote. Someone who does not have a permanent residence in Florida on December 31, 2026 would receive $25,000 against school taxes and $50,000 against other taxes for the first four years of exemption, and the larger amount from the fifth year. The ballot title and summary were rewritten in August 2026 after a court challenge. We will update this page after the vote.
What you get: The homestead exemption claimed, and Amendment 3 followed after the vote.
Topic 04
Boats, second homes, and rental income
A Fort Lauderdale resident may own assets with their own tax rules: a boat, a vacation rental, or a home in another state.
How we handle it
A boat purchase. Florida caps the sales tax on the sale of a boat at $18,000, and the cap includes the county surtax. A boat bought outside Florida and brought into the state can owe use tax. Interest on a loan secured by a boat with sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities can be deducted as home mortgage interest on the federal return when the boat is a main or second home. A vacation rental. A rental of six months or less collects Florida sales tax, the county surtax, and the county's tourist development tax, and the federal treatment depends on the average stay and how much the owner is involved. A home in another state. In New York, keeping a home there for substantially all of the year and spending 184 days or more in the state makes you a resident, so the days need to be recorded.
What you get: Boats, second homes, and rentals reported correctly.
Topic 05
How the process works
A return is easier to prepare, and easier to defend, when the records are collected during the year.
How we handle it
We begin with a call about the year: a move, a sale, retirement income, and time spent in other states. You receive one document list and a secure upload folder. We send a draft return with a written explanation, review it with you before filing, and set the estimated payments for the next year. For clients who split the year, we agree at the start how the days in each state will be recorded, because a record kept during the year carries more weight than one reconstructed later.
What you get: One document request, a draft explained, and a return signed by a CPA.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does personal tax preparation cost in Fort Lauderdale?
A fixed fee quoted before we start, based on the forms the return needs. A return with a move between states, rental property, or business income costs more than a return with retirement and investment income alone.
I live in Fort Lauderdale half the year. Which state do I file in?
It depends on where your domicile is and how many days you spend in each state. If Florida is your permanent home and you document it, you file a federal return and a nonresident return in the other state only on income earned there. If you keep a home in New York for substantially all of the year and spend 184 days or more there, New York can tax you as a statutory resident even if your domicile is in Florida.
Does Florida tax my pension or Social Security?
No. Florida has no personal income tax, so pensions, retirement account withdrawals, and Social Security are not taxed by the state. The federal return taxes them under the usual federal rules.
When is the homestead exemption deadline in Broward?
March 1 of the year for which you claim it, filed with the Broward County Property Appraiser. You must own the home and make it your permanent residence by January 1 of that year.
Do you work in Spanish?
Yes. Our team works in English and Spanish.
Do you work with retirees?
Yes. We plan withdrawals, required minimum distributions, Roth conversions, and the tax on Social Security benefits, and set estimated payments so there is no penalty.
Do you work with people who split the year with another state?
Yes. We prepare the returns in both states where they apply, and set up a record of days and ties during the year so the Florida residency holds up.
Do you work with rental property owners?
Yes. We handle depreciation, the passive activity rules, short-term rental treatment, and the reporting when a property is sold.
Do you handle business owners' personal returns?
Yes, and we prepare the business return alongside it when you have one, so the two returns agree.
Rentals of six months or less.section 212.03, Florida Statutes: the 6 percent tax on rent for a stay of six months or less, and the exemption for a written lease of longer than six months.
Tourist development taxes.Form DR-15TDT: each county's tax on short-term rentals, and which counties collect it themselves.
Homestead exemption.section 196.031, Florida Statutes: the $25,000 exemption from all taxes, and the second exemption from taxes other than school taxes.
Amendment 3, on the November 3, 2026 ballot.CS/HJR 1-F: the proposed homestead exemption, the 5 percent non-homestead cap, and the waiting period for new residents.
Declaration of Domicile.section 222.17, Florida Statutes: the sworn statement of Florida domicile, filed for recording in the county.
New York wages after a move.Form IT-203-B, Schedule A: a nonresident's wages allocated to New York by the days worked there.
Stock compensation after a move.the Form IT-203-F instructions: the New York workday fraction applied to stock options, restricted stock, and stock appreciation rights.
Investment income after a move.the IT-203 instructions on New York source income: interest, dividends, and gains are New York income only when the property is used in a business carried on in New York.
Retirement income.4 U.S.C. 114: the federal bar on a state taxing a nonresident's retirement income.
This page summarizes Florida, county, and federal tax rules for general information, and is not tax advice for your situation. Rates, exemption amounts, and thresholds change each year; confirm the current figures with the authority before you rely on them. Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and the result will not be known until then.
