Sales Tax Services
Thousands of state and local jurisdictions impose sales and use taxes. Factor in the ever-changing and complex tax regulatory environment, such as the recently developed economic nexus standards for remote sellers and marketplace facilitators, and it’s easy to see why companies struggle to maintain compliance with sales and use tax regulations.
We help companies understand when they are required to collect sales and use tax and where to file the associated returns, understand their sales and use tax exposure, mitigate risk, and establish processes and systems to effectively manage ongoing compliance.
When businesses overpay sales and use tax on their purchases, we will help identify purchases where sales tax has been improperly charged and paid to vendors, or use tax was improperly accrued and remitted by the organization to the taxing authority. If our sales tax professionals identify overpayments, we prepare the documents and schedules necessary to pursue refunds from vendors or through filing state tax refund claims.
For assistance with sales and use tax related issues and to learn more about how sales and use tax can impact your organization, get in touch with us today!
Why Our Business Tax Return Services?
Our sales tax consulting team is experienced with tax regulations in every state and in virtually every locality. We have been consulting small businesses, middle-market companies, large businesses, and international businesses for over 24 years on determining their nexus and filing obligations, evaluating product and service taxability, evaluating their potential exposure, choosing and implementing a sales tax system, and maintaining their sales and use tax compliance. Our tax professionals stay on top of the latest tax laws and regulations, so you can be confident that you are not missing out on any money-saving opportunities.
How do we Serve you?
Our sales tax consulting team is experienced with tax regulations in every state and in virtually every locality. Our services include:
Consulting on managing sales tax compliance: We help customers to leverage new technology and automate key processes to make maintaining compliance faster and more efficient. We can help customers to set up and use automated sales tax in QuickBooks Online, Avalara, and other major e-commerce solutions
Nexus review: We review your business’s operation to determine the states where you may have an economic or physical presence nexus and should be filing tax returns
Risk mitigation assessment: We examine your tax obligations and filings to advise you on how to mitigate risk and past exposure (e.g., pursuit of VDAs where applicable)
Sales tax refund reviews: We analyze purchase transactions for potential overpayments of sales and use tax; pursue refunds from vendors, and by filing state tax refund claims
Audit representation: We help you gather the information and documentation, review the given information for completeness, meet with the agency representative, and negotiate with taxing authorities to increase achievement of desired outcomes
Failing to timely and accurately collect the sales tax, your tax obligation and the corresponding interest and penalties will grow over time. Moreover, neglecting your sales and use tax obligations may result in a lost opportunity to pass the sales and use tax burden to customers as intended by state tax laws.
Implementing the following procedures will help you stay in compliance:
1. Determine nexus and filing obligations: All states that impose sales tax have economic presence nexus statutes for sales and use tax purposes. Sales thresholds range from $100,000 to $500,000 on an annual basis. Some states also have transaction thresholds. Make a list of the jurisdictions where you do business and assess whether you have met the nexus threshold for these jurisdictions.
2. Evaluate product and service taxability: Each state and many local jurisdictions have their own unique laws regarding which products and services are subject to sales and use tax. Companies need to know whether the products and services they sell (and also the purchases they make) are subject to sales and use tax in the states and localities where they have nexus.
3. Evaluate potential exposure: Once you have established in which states your business has nexus and which of the business’s products and services are taxable in those state and local jurisdictions, you should quantify your business’s outstanding tax exposure for prior periods.
4. Reduce and disclose historical tax liabilities: The exposure estimates should then be used to determine appropriate efforts to mitigate and disclose taxes. There are two common courses of action:
Sales and Use Tax Mitigation: The exposure estimates are generally calculated before obtaining from customers documentation of favorable adjustments, such as exemption from the tax or the tax having already been paid. Customers generally have an obligation to pay use tax directly to a taxing authority if the vendor does not collect the tax. Documentation from customers (e.g., exemption certificates, proof of use tax payment, proof of payment through audit) may significantly reduce the sales and use tax liability that the company ultimately owes the taxing jurisdiction.
Voluntary Disclosure (amnesty programs): One way to significantly reduce historical tax liabilities and therefore penalties and interest, is for companies to decide to voluntarily disclose liabilities to the taxing authority, or in certain cases, participate in an established amnesty program.
5. Choose and implement a sales tax system: With thousands of taxing jurisdictions in the U.S., it is difficult to stay on top of every sales tax rate. Tax automation software can help streamline compliance and reduce audit risk.
6. Maintain Compliance: Sales and use tax compliance is an ongoing effort. You need to remain up-to-date and informed of the changing laws and rates in each jurisdiction where they have a nexus. Advanced technology and process improvement can provide cost-effective solutions for sales and use tax compliance, which enable businesses to shift their resources to value-added activities while minimizing their compliance costs.