Surplus Lines Tax Calculator: Florida and 7 Other States

Enter the annual premium and the insured's home state, and the calculator returns the surplus lines premium tax, the stamping or service fee, and the total you add to the premium. It covers 8 states: Florida, California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia.

Florida answer first: on a Florida surplus lines policy effective on or after July 1, 2026, you owe 4.94% premium tax plus a 0.03% FSLSO service fee, a combined 4.97% of gross premium. A $10,000 premium carries $494 of tax and $3 of service fee, for $497 in total.

The calculator is for informational purposes only. Its results are estimates, not a tax return or a broker invoice. Always check the figures against the state stamping office or insurance department before you bill or remit.

How is Florida surplus lines tax calculated?

Florida stacks two percentage charges on the gross premium of every surplus lines policy where Florida is the insured's home state.

1. Premium receipts tax: 4.94%. Fla. Stat. 626.932 sets the tax at 4.94% of all gross premiums charged. The surplus lines agent collects it from the insured when delivering the policy or binder, and the statute says the agent is prohibited from absorbing it.
2. FSLSO service fee: 0.03% or 0.06%. The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office cut its fee in half with Bulletin 2026-02. Policies with an effective (inception) date on or after July 1, 2026 pay 0.03%. Policies effective April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2026 keep 0.06%, including later endorsements, audits, installments and cancellations on those policies (FSLSO Bulletin 2026-02 summary). The rate follows the policy's inception date, not the date you process the transaction.

The service fee is not part of the taxable premium, so you compute both charges on the same base: gross premium.

Florida example: $10,000 premium

A commercial general liability policy with $10,000 of premium, effective August 1, 2026:

• Premium tax: $10,000 × 4.94% = $494.00
• FSLSO service fee: $10,000 × 0.03% = $3.00
• Total tax and fee: $497.00
• Amount the insured pays: $10,000 + $497 = $10,497.00

If the same policy had incepted on June 1, 2026, the service fee would be $10,000 × 0.06% = $6.00, and the total would be $500.00.

Florida example: $50,000 premium

A commercial property policy with $50,000 of premium, effective October 1, 2026:

• Premium tax: $50,000 × 4.94% = $2,470.00
• FSLSO service fee: $50,000 × 0.03% = $15.00
• Total tax and fee: $2,485.00, an effective rate of 4.97%

At the pre-July 2026 fee of 0.06%, the service fee would be $30.00 and the total $2,500.00. The fee cut saves $15 per $50,000 of premium.

Because this is commercial property, the FSLSO's own tax and fee table also lists a flat $4.00 EMPA surcharge (Emergency Management, Preparedness and Assistance) on certain commercial property policies, and $2.00 on certain residential property policies. That brings this example to $2,489.00. The calculator does not model the EMPA surcharge, so add it yourself for property lines.

Other Florida rates to know

The FSLSO tax, fee and assessment table also shows:

• Older policies: policies placed before July 1, 2020 were taxed at 5.0%, and their endorsements keep that rate.
• Independently procured coverage (IPC): taxed at 5.0% regardless of effective date. The 4.94% rate applies to policies placed through a licensed surplus lines agent.
• Citizens and FHCF assessments: currently not assessed on new submissions.
• Multistate policies with Florida as home state: taxed at 4.94% on the entire premium, including the out-of-state portion. The agent still reports the in-state and out-of-state premium separately.

The calculator applies 4.94% plus 0.03% for every Florida entry. For a policy effective before July 1, 2026, add another 0.03% of premium to the fee line.

Surplus lines tax rates by state

The table shows the rates the calculator uses, applied to a $100,000 premium. Each figure comes from the state's statute, stamping office or insurance department.

Notes on the table:

• California: the SLA lowered its stamping fee to 0.18% for policies effective January 1, 2023 and later. Brokers pay the 3% tax on the prior year's gross premium, less return premium, by March 1 under section 1775.5.
• New York: ELANY confirmed in September 2026 that the 3.6% excess line tax is unchanged. Its stamping fee rises to 0.17% for policies that incept on or after January 1, 2027, so a $100,000 policy incepting in 2027 would carry $170 of stamping fee instead of $150. The calculator still uses 0.15%, which is correct for policies incepting through December 31, 2026.
• Texas: TDI cut the stamping fee from 0.075% to 0.04% for policies effective on or after January 1, 2024. Policies written earlier keep 0.075% until expiration or their next anniversary.
• Illinois: the 3.5% tax and 0.04% stamping fee are each rounded to the nearest whole dollar. A separate 1% fire marshal tax applies to the property portion of some policies. The calculator does not model it.
• Pennsylvania: the PSLA charges $20 per filing when it receives the filing within 45 days of the effective date and $45 when it arrives later. The calculator uses $20.
• Ohio and Georgia: the calculator applies only the premium tax. Georgia's OCI states that no fees are allowed outside the policy premium.

What the calculator asks for

• Annual premium: the gross premium the insurer charges. Do not include the surplus lines tax or the stamping fee. Whether insurer policy fees or inspection fees count as taxable premium depends on the state. California's Department of Insurance has treated them as part of gross premium. ELANY's Bulletin 2024-23 treats fees charged by the excess line insurer as taxable and fees charged by the broker as not taxable.
• Primary state: the insured's home state. For a single-state calculation, this is the only state the tool uses.
• Multi-state operations: choose "Yes" to split the premium across up to two rows of state percentages. Read the home-state section below before you use it.
• Policy type, coverage period and broker/agent state: these are for your records. They do not change the tax math. A 6-month policy is taxed on the premium actually charged, so enter that premium.
• Filing frequency: this feeds the "Next filing due" line, which is a generic monthly, quarterly or annual date and not a state deadline. The "Annual compliance cost" line is a rough planning placeholder ($500 per state plus a frequency allowance), not a sourced fee.

How to read the results

• Total premium tax: the premium times the state tax rate, summed across states.
• Stamping & service fees: the percentage stamping fee plus any flat per-filing fee (Pennsylvania's $20).
• Total tax & fees: the amount added to the client's invoice.
• Effective tax rate and cost per $1,000: these are useful for quoting. Florida works out to $49.70 per $1,000 of premium, Ohio to $50.00, and California to $31.80.
• State tax breakdown: one card per state showing allocated premium, rate, tax and fees.
• "High Tax Burden" flag: this appears only if taxes and fees exceed 6% of premium, which a single modeled state reaches only on very small Pennsylvania premiums, where the flat $20 fee is large relative to the premium.

The tool displays results rounded to whole dollars. Illinois also requires rounding to whole dollars on the filing. Other states may compute to the cent, so expect differences of under $1.

The home state rule: which state gets the tax?

The Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, simplified multi-state surplus lines tax. 15 U.S.C. 8201 says no state other than the insured's home state may require any premium tax payment for nonadmitted insurance.

15 U.S.C. 8206 defines the home state as:

1. The state where the insured maintains its principal place of business, or for an individual, their principal residence.
2. If 100% of the insured risk is located outside that state, the state to which the greatest percentage of the taxable premium is allocated.
3. For affiliated companies named on one policy, the home state of the member with the largest share of the premium.

In practice, the home state usually taxes the entire premium at its own rate. Florida taxes multistate policies at 4.94% on the whole premium. Georgia's OCI says that when Georgia is the home state, the full premium is taxed at 4% without allocation. A company headquartered in Tampa with warehouses in Georgia and Texas pays Florida's 4.94% plus the FSLSO fee on the full premium. Georgia and Texas collect nothing on that policy.

When to use the multi-state mode

The NRRA lets states share revenue through a compact, but each state's statute decides whether that happens. For a single policy, run the calculator in single-state mode with the home state. The multi-state mode fits these cases:

• A broker or risk manager is budgeting several separate policies for affiliates or locations with different home states.
• You want to see how a premium would be taxed if a program were restructured into separately placed policies.

Multi-state example: three separate policies

A restaurant group places three separate surplus lines policies, $200,000 in total. The Florida entity's policy is $100,000 (50%), the Texas entity's is $60,000 (30%), and the New York entity's is $40,000 (20%). All three incept in late 2026.

The blended rate is $9,404 ÷ $200,000 = 4.70%.

Compare one $200,000 policy covering all three locations with the Florida parent as the home state. That policy pays $200,000 × 4.94% = $9,880 of tax plus $60 of FSLSO fee, $9,940 in total. That is $536 more, because Florida's rate reaches the Texas and New York exposure too. Which structure is right depends on coverage, pricing and who the true named insured is, not only on tax.

Who pays surplus lines tax, and when it is due

The licensed surplus lines broker or agent who places the risk is legally responsible for reporting and remitting the tax. The cost is passed to the insured as a separate line on the invoice or declarations page.

• Florida: the agent must collect the tax from the insured and may not absorb it (626.932). The agent files each premium-bearing transaction with the FSLSO within 30 days of its effective date, counting the effective date as day one (FSLSO filing requirements). The quarterly affidavit and payment are due May 15, August 14, November 14 and February 14. Late tax accrues interest at 9% a year under 626.932.
• Texas: the Comptroller collects the 4.85% tax from the agent when Texas is the home state. The annual report is due March 1 for the prior calendar year. Prepayments are due by the 15th of the month after the agent accrues $70,000 or more in premium tax.
• Illinois: the tax is levied on the surplus line producer, who may charge it to the insured as a separate line item. Statements and payments are due August 1 (January–June filings) and February 1 (July–December filings). The fire marshal tax is due by February 1.
• New York: a 2002 DFS opinion says the taxes and fees are imposed on the excess line broker, who commonly passes them on through a written service fee memorandum signed by the insured.
• Pennsylvania: a filing that reaches the PSLA more than 45 days after the effective date costs $45 instead of $20.

If no licensed broker is involved, for example when a business buys coverage directly from a nonadmitted insurer, the insured reports and pays the tax itself. Florida taxes that independently procured coverage at 5.0%.

Illinois property example: the tax the calculator leaves out

A $20,000 commercial fire policy placed through an Illinois broker:

• Surplus line tax: $20,000 × 3.5% = $700
• SLAI stamping fee: $20,000 × 0.04% = $8
• Calculator total: $708
• Fire marshal tax (not modeled): $20,000 × 100% taxable × 1% = $200
• Actual total: $908

SLAI applies the fire marshal tax to a share of premium that depends on the coverage code: 100% for fire, 25% for allied lines and 40% for homeowners multi-peril. If you place property in Illinois, check the coverage code and add this line yourself.

Common mistakes when estimating surplus lines tax

• Using an outdated fee. Fee changes in the last three years include Florida's July 2026 cut, Texas's 2024 cut, California's and New York's 2023 cuts, and New York's 2027 increase. The fee follows the policy's inception date, so endorsements on an older policy keep the older rate.
• Taxing the fee. Florida's service fee is not premium, so it is not taxed. Calculate both charges on gross premium.
• Taxing by location instead of home state. After the NRRA, only the home state collects the tax on a policy, regardless of where the buildings or employees are.
• Forgetting flat charges. Florida's EMPA surcharge on property ($2 or $4) and Pennsylvania's $20 or $45 per filing are flat amounts, not percentages.
• Mixing up admitted and nonadmitted premium. Admitted carriers pay their own state premium taxes, and those are built into the rate. The surplus lines tax is added on top only for nonadmitted placements.

Related guides

Surplus lines policies usually come up in hard-to-place commercial risks. If you are a contractor shopping for coverage, see our guide to general liability insurance for contractors and the differences between a contractor bond and insurance. General contractors who accept certificates from subs should read the subcontractor insurance compliance guide and the certificate of insurance tracking guide, since many contracts restrict or require disclosure of surplus lines carriers. Business insurance premiums are generally a deductible business expense, and our contractor tax deductions guide explains how insurance fits with other write-offs. For more business tax tools, browse the business taxes hub.