Florida's new law makes it harder for restaurants to hide extra charges

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK)—Dining out in Florida now comes with a new rule for the bill.

Starting July 1, restaurants have to disclose certain required fees, including what the fee is for and how much it costs. The new law does not ban restaurants from tacking on fees, but it does make them harder to hide.

Under Florida's new restaurant fee transparency law, public food service establishments have to clearly disclose certain operational charges before customers pay. That can include service fees, automatic gratuities, delivery fees and credit card surcharges.

Restaurants that charge them have to show the amount or percentage and explain the purpose on the menu, an ordering website or app, or a clear sign near the register. Receipts also have to break out gratuity, operations charges and sales tax on separate lines.

"The transparency of it is just making sure that the customer doesn't feel like they got gypped out of something, and that they completely understand how they're spending their money," Lee said.

"Find out that they've got obese fees all of a sudden, then that kind of makes them not want to come back as often, so the trust is definitely the big aspect," Jenna said.

Customers should see the fees before they pay them, and if there's no table service, try looking for signs near the register.