The Florida Internship Tax Credit is now available to be claimed by taxpayers for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022. This tax credit program authorizes qualified businesses to receive a tax credit against their Florida corporate income tax liability of $2,000 per student intern employed by the company.
A maximum credit of $10,000 can be claimed in any taxable year, and any unused approved Florida internship tax credit may be carried forward for the next two taxable years.
Florida defines qualified businesses eligible for participation in the Internship Tax Credit Program as any corporation currently in existence (a) that has been continuously operating for at least three years and (b) employing at least one qualified student intern in the 2022 or 2023 taxable year on a full-time basis (defined as at least 30 hours per week) for at least nine consecutive weeks. The corporation must prove that the business previously employed either 20% or more of its full-time employees as student interns or that the company has employed ten or fewer full-time employees on average for the three immediately preceding taxable years and has previously hired at least one student intern.
A qualified student intern must have completed at least 60 credit hours at a state university or a Florida College System institution. Regardless of whether the student intern receives course credit for the internship, a person who is enrolled in a career center operated by a school district or a charter technical career center, or any graduate student enrolled at a state university. Student interns must provide the qualified business with verification by the applicable educational institution that the student is enrolled and maintains a minimum grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Qualified businesses wishing to claim the tax credit must apply to the Florida Department of Revenue for approval. They may submit applications for the credit either individually for each student intern or multiple student interns in a single application. To be considered for approval, documentation substantiating the above statutory requirements must be submitted along with the application. The Florida Department of Revenue has indicated that more information and an application form will be available on the Department’s website in March of 2022.