Annual report vs. annual financial report
| Question | Sunbiz annual report | Annual financial report |
|---|---|---|
| What is its purpose? | Confirm or update the corporation’s public registration information. | Report the association’s financial results for the preceding fiscal year. |
| What information does it contain? | Corporate addresses, registered agent, officers/directors, and other required corporate details. | Financial information in the form required for the association, such as a receipts-and-expenditures report or financial statements. |
| Who receives it? | Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, through Sunbiz. | Unit owners receive the report or the required availability notice; it is an association record. |
| When is it due? | The annual filing window is January 1–May 1. Track corporate status and dissolution deadlines too. | Deadlines run from the association’s fiscal year or applicable bylaw date—not automatically May 1. |
| Is it a tax return? | No. | No. Tax filings are a separate obligation. |
| Does filing it satisfy the other report? | No. | No. |
Sunbiz asks, “What is the corporation’s current information?”
Financial reporting asks, “What happened to the association’s money?”
The Sunbiz corporate annual report
Sunbiz requires an annual report to maintain active corporate status even when no information has changed. It is not a financial statement.
For a Florida not-for-profit corporation, the published annual report fee is $61.25. The $400 late fee that applies to certain other entity types does not apply to nonprofit corporations. Failure to file can still lead to administrative dissolution; verify the current-year administrative dissolution schedule and your entity’s status directly with Sunbiz.
Use the January 1–May 1 filing window as your routine deadline. Do not treat the later dissolution deadline as a reason to postpone.
Practical filing steps
- Locate the correct corporation. Confirm the legal name and document number on the official Sunbiz record.
- Review current information. Check addresses, registered agent details, and officers/directors against association records.
- File through the official service. Follow Sunbiz instructions and verify the payment amount. Third-party solicitation fees may differ from the state fee.
- Keep evidence. Retain the report, payment receipt, and confirmation, and verify that the public record reflects the filing.
Confirm the association’s actual corporate type before applying the nonprofit fee. An election or resignation does not automatically update the Sunbiz record.
Official Sunbiz annual reportSunbiz records & servicesSources: Department of State instructions and profit/nonprofit annual report help.
The annual financial report
Florida Statutes §718.111(13) requires the association to prepare and complete—or contract for preparation and completion of—the preceding fiscal year’s report within 90 days after year-end, or on the annual date specified in the bylaws.
Owner delivery of the report or the required availability notice is due within 21 days after completion or receipt, and no later than 180 days after fiscal year-end, or the applicable bylaw date. Requested copies must be provided without charge within 5 business days of a written request.
The 90-day step can be contracting for the report; it is not necessarily the final-report deadline. Conversely, 180 days does not allow the board to ignore the earlier contracting/preparation and 21-day delivery duties.
The required reporting level depends on statutory criteria, including annual revenue and any applicable special provisions. Ask the accountant to confirm whether a receipts-and-expenditures report, compilation, review, or audit is required, and whether any lawful member-approved change applies.
§718.111(13) and DBPR financial-reporting FAQs. Follow applicable delivery and electronic-notice requirements.
Example: a December 31 fiscal year-end
Use two separate calendar entries: one for the current-year Sunbiz filing and another for the prior fiscal year’s financial reporting.
| Task | Planning approach |
|---|---|
| Sunbiz annual report | Review and file during January–May 1, regardless of the financial report’s progress. |
| Financial report engagement | Work backward from the 90-day requirement and engage the accountant early. |
| Owner financial-report notice or delivery | Track the actual completion/receipt date, the 21-day requirement, and the 180-day outside limit. |
These are different schedules. Have your manager or accountant calculate exact dates for the year and confirm any bylaw provisions.
Informed Boards. Better Follow-Through.
Other duties that should have their own calendar entries
DBPR annual fee
Associations operating more than two units owe an annual Division fee of $4 per residential unit, due January 1. If unpaid by March 1, a 10% penalty and statutory litigation-standing consequences apply. This is separate from Sunbiz.
DBPR fee requirementsTax filings
Have the tax professional determine the proper returns, elections, filing dates, extensions, and payment obligations. Incorporation as a nonprofit does not by itself establish federal income-tax exemption.
DBPR account and reporting
DBPR states that condominium and cooperative associations must create an online account. Maintain applicable association information and complete required submissions separately from the Sunbiz report.
DBPR online account instructionsOwner meetings and records
Annual meetings, elections, budgets, document updates, and required website postings have their own procedures. A Sunbiz filing does not establish that those duties were completed.
Annual unit owner meetingA practical board administration checklist
- Assign a responsible person and a backup for each task.
- Use the full task name: “Sunbiz corporate annual report” or “annual financial report.”
- Confirm the fiscal year, corporate type, document number, and DBPR account information.
- Record filing dates, completion dates, owner-notice dates, and request deadlines separately.
- Obtain a written accountant engagement appropriate to the required report.
- Keep filing receipts, reports, notices, and proof of distribution in association records.
- Verify completion at a board meeting rather than relying on a general statement that “annual reporting is done.”
- Include pending deadlines and account-access arrangements in officer and manager handovers.
A manager or accountant can perform contracted tasks, while the board follows up to confirm completion.
Sources & current information
- Florida Department of State: annual report filing.
- Sunbiz corporate annual report help.
- 2026 Florida Statutes §718.111(13) — annual financial reporting.
- DBPR annual fees, online accounts, and FAQs.
Updated October 17, 2026. General education for Florida condominium associations. Confirm current requirements, fiscal-year dates, reporting level, delivery procedures, and governing-document provisions with the appropriate professional.
Sunbiz fee verified against the official fee schedule; state filing and DBPR instructions checked October 17, 2026.
Track evidence, not just a checked box
Board Synergy recommended practiceFor each obligation, record the authority, reporting period, actual due date, responsible person, backup, submission or delivery date, and location of the confirmation. Have the board review unresolved items before deadlines pass.
- Corporate filing: retain the submitted annual report and receipt; verify the correct legal entity and current public information.
- Financial report: track accountant engagement, completion or receipt, owner delivery or availability notice, and any requested-copy response separately.
- DBPR: maintain the association’s own account and managing entity information; calendar annual Association Information and Building and Assessment Information submissions. DBPR instructs associations to update Association Information within 30 days of a change.
- Transition: give the incoming board pending deadlines, confirmations, professional engagements, and secure account-recovery arrangements.
Do not record “annual reporting done” until the separate tasks are supported by evidence. Verify exact dates and reporting levels with the manager or accountant.
Florida law and applicable governing documents control legal duties. Management contracts assign agreed services. UCO procedures govern separate UCO tasks. The added inventory, review, and handoff practices are Board Synergy recommendations.