Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 35 No. 20, May 22, 2009 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

In response to written comments received from the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, dated June 18, 2009, the provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of Rule 12C-1.0222, F.A.C., have been changed to remove reference to federal case law and Internal Revenue Service Announcements for purposes of determining “good cause” for granting extensions of time for filing Florida corporate income tax returns. When adopted, that paragraph will read:

(a) An extension of the due date of any required return will be effective until 15 days after the expiration of the federal extension or until six (6) months after the due date of the return, whichever occurs earlier. The aggregate amount of time of extensions for a return cannot exceed 6 months. If an automatic extension is not permitted because a federal extension has not been requested or is not allowed, the application for extension of time to file a return must contain sufficient facts to establish good cause why the return cannot be filed on or before the original due date. An extension of time for filing a return does not operate as an extension of time for payment of the tax or any part thereof.

In addition, the provisions of subparagraph 1. of paragraph (b) of subsection (2), and the provisions of subparagraph 2. of paragraph (b) of subsection (3), have been revised to provide that Forms F-7004 and F-1065 are incorporated by reference in Rule 12C-1.051, F.A.C. When adopted, subparagraph (2)(b)1. will read:

1. Form F-7004, Florida Tentative Income/Franchise and Emergency Excise Tax Return and Application for Extension of Time to File Return (incorporated by reference in Rule 12C-1.051, F.A.C.), signed by a person duly authorized by the taxpayer to sign a request for extension, is filed with the Department on or before the due date prescribed for filing the return. See Rule 12C-1.0221, F.A.C., for persons authorized to request an extension of time to file. For affiliated groups, the parent company qualified to file a Florida consolidated income tax return must file Form F-7004. An extension granted to the parent company of an affiliated group applies to the parent company's consolidated return. If any corporate partner requires an extension of time to file its separate Florida corporate income tax return, a separate Form F-7004 must be filed by the corporate partner with the Department.

When adopted, subparagraph (3)(b)2. will read:

2. The automatic federal extension of time to file a federal partnership return is five (5) months. When a taxpayer is granted an extention of time to file its Florida Partnership Information Return (Form F-1065, incorporated by reference in Rule 12C-1.051, F.A.C.), the due date is 15 days after the federal return due date. For example, a partnership whose fiscal year ends on December 31, will be granted an extension of time from May 1 to October 1 to file its Florida partnership return when all the requirements for an extension of the due date of a return provided in this rule are met.