Best Bookkeepers in Miami for Florida Sales and Use Tax in 2026

Best Bookkeepers in Miami for Florida Sales and Use Tax in 2026

Florida spent decades as the only state that charged sales tax on commercial rent. Then it stopped.

House Bill 7031 repealed the tax on commercial leases effective October 1, 2025. Office space, retail units, warehouses: the 2 percent state tax and the local surtax on top of it are gone for rent covering periods on or after that date.

Almost a year later, plenty of Miami books still have it accrued. That is the kind of thing the best bookkeepers in Miami catch in the first month, and the kind of thing a cheap monthly reconciliation misses for a year.

Sales and use tax is where Florida businesses get hurt, because the state has no income tax and therefore audits the tax it does have. Here are the Sam's List firms serving the Miami market, what each is built for, and what to ask before you hand anyone your DR-15.

How We Picked the Best Bookkeepers in Miami

Every firm below is a vetted member of the Sam's List directory with a live, verifiable public profile, and each is either based in Florida or explicitly serves Florida businesses. We describe each firm by its stated specialty, size, and tenure, and where a firm has a meaningful number of client reviews we cite the verified count from its live Sam's List profile as of the date noted. Firms with only a handful of reviews are described qualitatively instead.

Ordering reflects fit for a Florida sales and use tax question, not payment. Placement is not sold and is not influenced by any fee. Review counts reflect the experiences of individual clients who identify themselves as clients, do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List, and are not indicative of future results. Verify credentials, licensing, and fit before engaging anyone.

What Changed on October 1, 2025, and What Did Not

The short answer: rent for periods on or after October 1, 2025 is not subject to Florida sales tax, even if the tenant prepaid it before that date. Rent attributable to periods before October 1, 2025 is still taxable, even if it was paid afterward. The trigger is the occupancy period, not the payment date.

That transition rule is where the errors live. A December 2025 catch-up payment covering August and September of that year still carries tax. A September prepayment covering October forward does not.

What did not change is everything else. Short-term residential rentals, parking spaces, boat slips, and aircraft hangars remain taxable. So does the ordinary sales tax on goods and taxable services, and so does the county discretionary surtax, which varies by county and which multi-location Miami businesses routinely apply at the wrong rate.

And then there is use tax, the one nobody thinks about. If you buy equipment or software from an out-of-state vendor who does not charge Florida tax, you owe use tax on it. Florida knows this. Florida checks.

1. Lemoti, for Miami Businesses That Want Bookkeeping and Tax in One Place

Lemoti is a Miami firm doing bookkeeping, tax, and cash flow work for small businesses, founded in 2023 with a three-person team serving clients nationwide.

Lemoti has 5 verified client reviews on Sam's List as of 2026-08-14. Each review is submitted by an individual who identifies as a client of the firm and rates it on communication, subject-matter knowledge, and overall satisfaction. Reviews reflect those individual experiences, do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List, and are not indicative of future results.

Lemoti is the local option in the literal sense, which matters more for sales tax than for most accounting work, because county surtax rates and Florida filing rhythms are not something you pick up from a national playbook. Its stated minimums are $85,000 in income and $450,000 in revenue, which is the lowest bar of the three firms here. The trade-off is scale: a three-person shop gives you direct access to the people doing the work, and correspondingly less depth if your situation sprawls into six states.

2. Iota Finance, for Florida Businesses That Have Outgrown Basic Bookkeeping

Iota Finance is a Florida-based firm offering monthly accounting, tax, and fractional CFO services to small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs. It was founded in 2022, has seven employees, and serves clients in all 50 states.

Iota Finance has 14 verified client reviews on Sam's List as of 2026-08-30. Each review is submitted by an individual who identifies as a client of the firm and rates it on communication, subject-matter knowledge, and overall satisfaction. Reviews reflect those individual experiences, do not represent an endorsement by Sam's List, and are not indicative of future results.

The fit here is a Florida business that needs someone to own the monthly close and the forward-looking numbers, not just file the DR-15. Iota sets minimums of $200,000 in income and $500,000 in revenue, or $500,000 raised, so it is aimed at businesses past the earliest stage. Fractional CFO work is only worth the money if you act on what it tells you, and projections are estimates rather than promises.

3. ECOM CPA, for Online Sellers With Florida Exposure

ECOM CPA works with eCommerce sellers doing seven to nine figures, and its listed service footprint includes Florida alongside Oregon, New York, California, Delaware, and Texas. The firm has been in business since 2016 with a team of 21, holding CPA and Enrolled Agent credentials.

ECOM CPA has a small number of client reviews on its Sam's List profile, so we are describing it by specialty rather than by review volume. What makes it relevant to a Florida sales tax question is the marketplace angle: online sellers have economic nexus obligations that a purely local bookkeeper may never have handled, and marketplace facilitator rules change who remits what. The firm sets a $1 million revenue minimum, so it is not the answer for a seller still finding product-market fit.

What to Ask the Best Bookkeepers in Miami Before You Hire One

Five questions worth asking out loud:

1. Have you removed commercial rent tax from my post-October 2025 periods, and did you handle the transition correctly for rent that straddles the date?
2. Which county surtax rates are you applying, and how do you handle sales across multiple counties?
3. How do you find and accrue use tax on out-of-state purchases?
4. Do you file the DR-15 yourself, and on what schedule am I registered?
5. If Florida sends a notice, what do you do, and is that inside the fee or billed separately?

Question three is the tell. Most bookkeepers can file a return from numbers you hand them. Far fewer will go looking for the purchases you were supposed to self-assess tax on, which is exactly what an auditor does first.

The Real Cost of Getting Florida Sales Tax Wrong

Sales tax is trust fund money. You collected it on the state's behalf, which is why Florida treats a shortfall differently than an underpayment of income tax, and why penalties and interest compound the way they do.

None of this means an audit is coming, and a clean process is not a guarantee against one. It means the businesses that stay out of trouble are the ones whose books distinguish taxable from exempt at the transaction level, every month, rather than reconstructing it in a panic two years later.

You can compare Miami and Florida-serving firms, with their specialties, minimums, and verified reviews, in the Sam's List bookkeeper directory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Florida really eliminate sales tax on commercial rent? Yes. House Bill 7031 repealed the sales tax on commercial leases effective October 1, 2025, removing both the state tax and applicable local surtax on rent for office, retail, warehouse, and similar commercial space. Short-term residential rentals, parking, boat slips, and aircraft hangars remain taxable.

What if my rent period straddles October 1, 2025? The occupancy period controls, not the payment date. Rent attributable to periods before October 1, 2025 remains taxable even if paid later, and rent for periods on or after that date is not taxable even if it was prepaid earlier.

What is Florida use tax and do I owe it? Use tax applies to taxable items you buy without Florida sales tax charged, typically from out-of-state vendors, and then use in Florida. If your vendor did not charge tax and the item is taxable, you generally self-assess and remit it. It is one of the first things a Florida auditor tests.

How much does a bookkeeper cost in Miami? It depends entirely on scope. Transaction-only monthly bookkeeping is usually the cheapest tier, while sales tax filing, payroll, and advisory work each add to it. Ask each firm what is included in the base fee and what gets billed separately, so you are comparing the same work rather than headline prices.

---

About the author: Kimberly Green is the cofounder of Sam's List, where business owners and high earners find vetted CPAs, financial advisors, and fractional CFOs. She's met one-on-one with 400+ financial professionals and writes from the real data behind thousands of client-advisor matches. Ask her anything about finding an accountant - she's heard it all, including the questions people are afraid to ask.