by Steve Kowalski | Sep 28, 2026 | Informational
TL;DR: There is no Florida final paycheck law setting a deadline, and federal law does not require immediate payment either. The safe rule is to pay the final check on the next regular payday, for every hour worked, including overtime. Florida does not require unused...
by Steve Kowalski | Sep 25, 2026 | Informational
TL;DR: Florida labor laws on breaks do not require meal or rest breaks for employees 18 and older, and neither does federal law. But if you offer a short break of 5 to 20 minutes, it must be paid. A meal break of 30 minutes or more can be unpaid only if the employee...
by Steve Kowalski | Sep 20, 2026 | Informational
TL;DR: Florida overtime laws follow the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: non exempt employees earn time and a half for every hour over 40 in a workweek. There is no daily overtime and no weekend premium. At the new $15.00 minimum wage, overtime is at least $22.50 an...
by Steve Kowalski | Sep 15, 2026 | Payroll
TL;DR: Florida reemployment tax is the state’s unemployment tax, paid by employers on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages every year. New employers pay 2.7%, which is $189 per employee. After about 10 quarters, your rate is based on the benefits...
by Steve Kowalski | Sep 10, 2026 | Informational
TL;DR: The Florida minimum wage 2026 rate is $15.00 an hour as of September 30, 2026, and the cash wage for tipped employees is $11.98. This is the last of the $1 steps voters approved in 2020. The next change is calculated on September 30, 2027 and takes effect...
by Steve Kowalski | Aug 28, 2026 | Industry Payroll
Payroll taxes don’t run on a calendar year they run on a quarter, plus a web of deposit deadlines in between. For a busy owner, that’s four separate scrambles a year, each with its own forms and its own penalties for being late. Here’s the whole...
by Steve Kowalski | Aug 25, 2026 | Industry Payroll
Doing your own payroll makes sense in the beginning. One or two employees, a spreadsheet, a little help from software it works. Until it doesn’t. The problem is that the moment DIY stops working usually isn’t obvious until something breaks. So here are the...
by Steve Kowalski | Aug 20, 2026 | Informational
Making your first hire is a milestone. It’s also the moment a pile of federal and state paperwork lands on your desk, most of it with deadlines you didn’t know existed. Miss one and the penalties are real. Here’s the clean, current checklist for...
by Steve Kowalski | Aug 15, 2026 | All
This is one of the first questions a new Florida employer should ask, and one of the last they usually get around to. Workers’ compensation isn’t optional here it’s state law but when it kicks in depends entirely on your industry and headcount. Get...
by Steve Kowalski | Aug 10, 2026 | Payroll
Every year I get the same call from a new S-corp owner, usually right after their accountant scared them: “Wait — I have to put myself on payroll?” Yes. And how much you pay yourself is one of the few payroll decisions that can trigger an IRS audit if you...
