Paycheck Protection Program Loans not subject to Florida Doc Stamp costs

As Florida businesses rush to apply for Paycheck Protection Program loans, an unexpected cost of these loans was surfacing. The State of Florida imposes a documentary stamp tax on promissory notes and other written promises to pay a sum certain signed or delivered in the State of Florida. As a result, the tax would, absent governmental action, apply to Paycheck Protection Program loans.

On Monday, Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order Number 20-95, which provides that the Florida documentary stamp tax would not apply to any of these loans. Absent this action, Florida small businesses receiving these loans would have been subject to tax at the rate of 35 cents per $100 of principal (or portion thereof), subject to a maximum tax of $2,450. This executive order provides some additional relief for small businesses struggling in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.