States’ tax websites and sales tax searches

Search engines have conditioned all of us to find what we need to know with a few clicks. But not all search engines – or state tax websites – are created equal. What it’s like typing “sales tax” into that little rectangle with the magnifying glass on each state’s website?

Which states are up front from the first click with what you need and who seems to almost delight in hiding their information? What will you see that’s new and useful and what that’s yellowed and should be deleted already?

Here are first impressions from one-and-done searches for “sales tax” on the revenue site of each state.

Alabama Department of Revenue: A full page of info, including exemptions, local rates, filing details, e-filing and user portal links.

Arizona Department of Revenue: Initially turns up a number of local sales tax rate tables, statistics and background pages.

Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration: First results are for vehicles but also for Streamlined Sales Tax and sales tax holidays.

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration: Initial search leads straight to the state’s excellent overview page, include task links, rate tables and a resource center.

Colorado Department of Revenue-Taxation: Right to a great overview.

Connecticut Dept. of Revenue: Yet again, straight to a good overview, including rates, use tax, filing details and a breakdown of interest and penalties.

District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue: Initial results include overview, taxability, business- and food-oriented information and more.

Florida Department of Revenue: Results straight to a series of pages for a complete overview but there’s also a direct-to-FAQs option.

Georgia Department of Revenue: Rates, registration, overview and more.

Idaho State Tax Commission: Initial search results a mish-mash of uploading details for filers, a reminder to farmers’ markets to charge sales tax and a report of a radio interview reminding holders of yard sales to do the same.

Illinois Department of Revenue: Scattershot initial results covering hospitals to aircraft can be honed by three handy filters, including “FAQs” and “Documents and Forms.”

Iowa Department of Revenue: Overall guide, taxability and Food pop up first.

Kansas Department of Revenue: More than 2,000 initial results kick off with the “best bets” of rate changes and published guidance on refunds. There’s also a localities’ rate guide for 2016.

Kentucky Department of Revenue: Only the “Web” option seems to produce any hits, which include a number of state sales tax fact sheets.

Louisiana Department of Revenue: Direct to fact sheets, forms (including direct marketers’), FAQs and more.

Maine Revenue Services: FAQs for marketplace facilitators, forms, laws and instructional videos.

Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation: Useful but seems to prefer you look for “tax sale.”

Massachusetts Department of Revenue: Straight to good info on a variety of topics, including holidays, vocations and returns and payments.

Michigan Department of Treasury-Taxes: The almost-1,600 initial responses jump right into forms (present and past), general info, documentation definitions and more.

Minnesota Department of Revenue: “Keyword results” go to the overview. Overall results turn up some 8,800 entries, starting with a beta version of an application from 2020 but then more-current results.

Mississippi Department of Revenue: A pair of department phone numbers pop up first, followed by an overview and a rate sheet.

Missouri Department of Revenue: Straight to a detailed home page of Ps and Qs on filing, followed by FAQs and an out-of-date tax calendar.

Nebraska Department of Revenue: Tons of regs came up first, with the overview not until the fifth result.

Nevada Department of Taxation: First up are charts of monthly taxable sales for last year.

New Jersey Division of Taxation: Straight to the matter with an overview, filing and payments background, forms and info for out-of-state sellers.

Taxation and Revenue New Mexico: Full backgrounders in initial results, along with a guide for determining nexus.

New York Department of Taxation and Finance: A smattering of too-specific info amid first results but mostly background, forms and complete details on registering, filing and e-paying.

North Carolina Department of Revenue: “How do I …” box can’t seem to digest “sales tax” but a follow-up query gets you to background, latest rates and e-filing and paying.

North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner: All there from the get-go – background, marketplace facilitators, exemptions, forms and recent rate changes, among other topics.

Ohio Department of Taxation: Solid backgrounder with handy task links. Check out “The Finder.”

Oklahoma Tax Commission: First result is the plain English, user-friendly background page.

Pennsylvania Department of Revenue: “Tax Obligations for Online Retailers” among first results, along with info on credits and discounts, among other topics.

Rhode Island Division of Taxation: Background on RI sales tax as well as on SST in the state, exemptions, excise taxes and more.

South Carolina Department of Revenue: Starts with an exemption application and rates tables, but hit “show more” to bypass tax data from early in this century.

South Dakota Department of Revenue: First up is a list of local sales tax seminars.

Tennessee Department of Revenue: Pages of notices come up first, followed by the state’s latest sales tax manual.

Texas Comptroller: “Refunds” come up first, along with a primer for the state’s local governments.

Utah State Tax Commission: One overview of online sales and use tax but also income tax info and how capital gains apply to gold and silver coins.

Vermont Department of Taxes: Nice assortment of results includes FAQs (including one specifically on sales tax and Wayfair), some breakout by services and exemption categories and more.

Virginia Tax: All the basics covered from initial hits, including a primer on the often-complex communications sales tax.

Washington Department of Revenue: Complete and diligently current information, especially on varied exemptions.

West Virginia Tax Division: WV also covers it all, including local taxes and SST.

Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Overview, rates (including a lookup tool) and a typo-friendly search box, to boot.

Wyoming Department of Revenue: More about distributions and how the state spends sales tax money.

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