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How to find a CPA in Florida and judge the fit

How to find a CPA in Florida comes down to two steps: confirm the CPA holds an active Florida license, then compare two or three firms on the same points, such as current continuing education, renewal status, experience with businesses like yours and who will actually do the work.

What best should mean to an owner

Build a shortlist of several firms; these counts show how many offices you can choose from.

Census counted 4,664 CPA establishments with paid employees in Florida in 2023. [1]

Census counted 2,518 tax preparation establishments with paid employees in Florida in 2023. [1]

BLS estimated 91,000 accountants and auditors working in Florida in May 2025, with a mean yearly wage of $88,210. Tax preparers in Florida had a mean yearly wage of $54,670 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). [2]

Census counts for 2023 work out to about 138 employer business locations for every CPA establishment with paid employees in Florida (our arithmetic). [1]

A scoring sheet for how to find a CPA in Florida

Score each firm on the same points so the comparison is fair.

PointWhat to askWhere to verify
Active licenseIs your Florida CPA license active, and what is the license number?The state license records, searched by name or license number
Continuing educationAre your CPE hours for this period done, including ethics?Florida CPE rule [4]
RenewalIs your license renewed for its current two-year group?Florida renewal groups [6]
Firm without a Florida officeIs the firm enrolled in a peer review program?Florida rule for out-of-state firms [11]
FitHow many clients like my business do you serve, and who will do my work?Ask for examples you can check

In fiscal year 2023 to 2024 Florida's Division of Certified Public Accounting counted 35,667 active and 3,248 inactive CPA licenses (38,915 in all) and licensed 5,590 accounting firms. [3]

Credentials and what they tell you

Ask for proof that CPE is current and which renewal group the license is in.

Florida CPAs must complete 80 hours of continuing education in each reporting period, including 8 hours of accounting and auditing and 4 hours of ethics approved by the Florida Board of Accountancy, with no more than 20 hours in behavioral subjects (rule current in 2026). [4]

Florida CPA ethics education must come from board-approved providers, and most of those hours must review Chapters 455 and 473, Florida Statutes, and related rules (s. 473.312, Florida Statutes, 2026). [5]

Board-approved CPE for Florida CPAs must be formal learning that adds directly to professional competency; programs of the AICPA, state CPA societies and other organizations can qualify (s. 473.312, Florida Statutes, 2026). [5]

Florida CPA licenses renew every two years in two groups: Group 1 by December 31, 2026 and Group 2 by December 31, 2027. [6]

Rules that show whether a CPA keeps current

Ask how the firm handles a missed CPE deadline or a late renewal.

A Florida CPA's two-year renewal fee cannot exceed $250, and the board can charge a delinquency fee of up to $50 for late CPE reporting forms (s. 473.305, Florida Statutes, 2026). General example for 2026: a CPA who renews and files the CPE form late pays at most $300 in those two fees. [7]

A Florida CPA who does not finish renewal CPE by the end of the reestablishment period can be required to take extra hours, up to 25% of the total required (s. 473.312, Florida Statutes, 2026). General example for 2026: with an 80 hour requirement, that is up to 20 extra hours. [5]

A Florida CPA who misses the CPE deadline can be required to take an additional 8 hours of accounting and auditing courses (Board of Accountancy notices under Rule 61H1-33.003, F.A.C., 2026). General example for 2026: on an 80 hour requirement, that brings the total to 88 hours. [8]

A Florida CPA who takes a college course for credit at an accredited school earns 15 CPE hours for each semester hour, or 10 for each quarter hour, as long as classroom hours reach the rule's minimum (Rule 61H1-33.003, F.A.C., in force for 2026). General example for 2026: a 3 semester hour course counts for 45 CPE hours. [9]

When a Florida CPE course covers more than one subject, the sponsor can split the credit by time spent on each subject or give all of it at the lowest subject covered (Rule 61H1-33.003, F.A.C., in force for 2026). The rule's own example: an 8 hour course that is 75% accounting and auditing and 25% management earns 6 hours of accounting and auditing plus 2 hours of technical business, or 8 hours of technical business. [9]

A Florida CPA can count at most 20 CPE hours for writing published work in each two-year period, and none of those hours can be used for the ethics requirement (Rule 61H1-33.003, F.A.C., in force for 2026). General example for 2026: a CPA whose articles are approved for 30 hours counts 20 of them toward the 80 hour total. [9]

Questions that separate firms

Ask an out-of-state firm about peer review, and ask any firm whether it will help with your local business tax receipt.

A nonresident CPA renewing a Florida license meets Florida's CPE rule, except the ethics part, if the CPA complied with the CPE rules of the state where the CPA's office is located (s. 473.311, Florida Statutes, 2026). [10]

A CPA firm with no Florida office that serves clients whose home office is in Florida must, among other conditions, be enrolled in a peer review program (s. 473.3101, Florida Statutes, 2026). [11]

A Florida county or city cannot issue a local business tax receipt until it has the business's federal employer identification number or the owner's Social Security number (s. 205.0535, Florida Statutes, 2026). [12]

Once the reclassification conditions are met, Florida counties and cities may raise or lower local business tax rates by up to 5% every other year, and an increase needs a majority plus one vote (s. 205.0535, Florida Statutes, 2026). General example for 2026: a $100 receipt could rise to no more than $105. [12]

Industry fees and rules a good tax pro knows

Ask whether the firm already handles these rules for businesses like yours.

An active Florida dentist license costs $305 to renew before it expires. [13]

Florida exempts medicines from sales and use tax, and DOR keeps a list of common nontaxable medical items (Form DR-46NT). [14]

Florida Bar annual membership fees are $265 for active members and $175 for inactive members. [15]

A Florida contractor on a lump sum, cost plus or fixed fee, or time and materials job is the final consumer of its materials, so it pays sales tax when it buys them and collects no sales tax from the property owner (2026 rules). [16]

Deeds that transfer an interest in Florida real property owe documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 of consideration (60 cents in Miami-Dade). [17]

Since July 1, 2021, an online or mail-order seller outside Florida must collect Florida sales tax and surtax once its taxable remote sales into Florida pass $100,000 in the previous calendar year. [18]

Under a 2006 Department of Revenue technical assistance advisement (TAA 06A-011), consulting services are not subject to Florida sales tax as long as no tangible personal property changes hands. [19]

Repairs that need only labor are not subject to Florida sales tax or surtax, but the business must keep records proving no parts were added (2026 rules). [20]

Get connected with a firm

Tell us about the business and we look for a tax firm that works with owners like you, then introduce you if there is a fit.

Ask to be matched with a firm

Tax firms in Florida can tell us about the firm ahead of the directory.

I run a tax firm and want more clients

General information from the official sources listed below, checked October 27, 2026. Not tax or legal advice.

Sources

  1. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/cbp23st.zip U.S. Census Bureau (checked October 27, 2026)
  2. https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_fl.htm U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (checked October 27, 2026)
  3. https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/os/documents/Division%20Annual%20Report%20FY%2023-24.pdf Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (checked October 27, 2026)
  4. https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/certified-public-accounting/licensure/continuing-professional-education/ Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (checked October 27, 2026)
  5. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/473.312 Florida Senate (checked October 27, 2026)
  6. https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/servop/testing/documents/renew_sched.pdf Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (checked October 27, 2026)
  7. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/473.305 Florida Senate (checked October 27, 2026)
  8. https://flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=61H1-33.003 Florida Administrative Code (checked October 27, 2026)
  9. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFile.asp?sid=0&tid=31362348&type=1&file=61H1-33.003.doc Florida Administrative Code (checked October 27, 2026)
  10. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/473.311 Florida Senate (checked October 27, 2026)
  11. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/473.3101 Florida Senate (checked October 27, 2026)
  12. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/205.0535 Florida Senate (checked October 27, 2026)
  13. https://floridasdentistry.gov/dentist-renewal/ Florida Board of Dentistry (checked October 27, 2026)
  14. https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/current/brochure/gt300015.pdf Florida Department of Revenue (checked October 27, 2026)
  15. https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/florida-bar-fee-season-underway-online-payment-encouraged/ floridabar.org (checked October 27, 2026)
  16. https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/gt800007.pdf Florida Department of Revenue (checked October 27, 2026)
  17. https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/doc_stamp.aspx Florida Department of Revenue (checked October 27, 2026)
  18. https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/sales_tax.aspx Florida Department of Revenue (checked October 27, 2026)
  19. https://floridarevenue.com/TaxLaw/Documents/TAA%2006A-011.pdf Florida Department of Revenue (checked October 27, 2026)
  20. https://floridarevenue.com/Forms_library/gt800010.pdf Florida Department of Revenue (checked October 27, 2026)