Every year the Florida Legislature must consider the adoption of the current Internal Revenue Code (Chapter 26, United States Code), so that certain tax definitions and the calculation of adjusted federal income are consistent between the Internal Revenue Code and the Florida Income Tax Code (Chapter 220, Florida Statutes). The Florida corporate income tax “piggybacks” federal income tax determinations and uses adjusted federal income as the starting point for computing Florida net income.
Chapter 2010-142, Laws of Florida, amends the Florida Income Tax Code to adopt the Internal Revenue Code retroactively to January 1, 2010. This means that Florida will follow the computation of federal taxable income.
Remember, Florida does not allow any adjustment to income for federal credits unless specifically mentioned in the Florida Statutes. Section 220.13(1)(b)3., Florida Statutes, does allow deduction when no federal deductions are allowed pursuant to section 280C(a) of the Internal Revenue Code for the amount of wages and salaries paid in Florida. However, for other federal credits, no Florida deduction is provided.
References: Section 220.13, Florida Statutes; Chapter 2010-142, Laws of Florida (Section 1, HB 7219)

Source: Florida Department of Revenue