Understanding the various aspects of your sales tax process is critical to keep your business on solid ground as it relates to sales tax and minimize your risk.

Since the Wayfair decision four years ago, sales tax compliance has had to become a major priority for businesses with multistate sales.  In fact, 24% of finance professionals rank one of their top concerns of managing sales tax as keeping up with their evolving nexus footprint, according to a TaxConnex blind survey conducted at the end of 2021. The survey also stated that over 10% of respondents still weren’t fully aware of the impact of Wayfair (economic nexus) on their business.

Taxable sales of products direct to end users has been a staple of business for ages. One relatively new development is the complex overlay of sales tax on these transactions.

It’s one of the most important aspects of an online business – and one of the wackiest when trying to determine whether sales tax applies or not. What is it? Shipping.

For most businesses, sales tax is not a top priority. It probably doesn’t even make the top 5 list! But if not managed correctly, it can cause major headaches. Understanding the various aspects of your sales tax process is critical to minimize your risk and to keep your business on solid ground as it relates to sales tax.

You’ve determined you have nexus and your products and/or services are taxable. Now how do you implement and actually charge sales tax? There are several ways to calculate and charge sales tax but many people lean towards letting a software handle it for them, but is this really the best solution for everyone?

Sales tax automation has come a long way since the Quill vs. North Dakota case in 1992. Now, even the smallest multi-state businesses and startups have access to sales tax automation options that lower costs and ease the burden of compliance. With the evolving rules and regulations across states and jurisdictions for sales tax in the U.S., it makes sense to automate where you can.

Technology has radically changed the way consumers buy goods and services.  And while we can easily identify how digital disrupters, like Amazon, Netflix and Facebook have changed our purchasing behavior, a lessor known change is the way they’ve impacted sales tax.  In fact, it’s spurred the largest development in sales tax in over 50 years with the Wayfair case. While the physical presence tests still apply, the Wayfair case dramatically expands the number of businesses subject to sales and use tax obligations.

Businesses that sell into various states now have to contend with the sales & use tax regulations and requirements of thousands of jurisdictions nationwide. One big question for these businesses is how much time, effort and money do they need to devote to compliance – and do they need to pay attention to it at all?

Technology companies frequently engage in sales tax nexus creating activities without realizing it.  Many different activities can create “nexus”, the link that establishes the need for a seller to adhere to the jurisdiction’s sales tax rules.  And with the introduction of economic nexus in 2018, it has become even more confusing.

Many jurisdictions are looking to raise sales tax rates.  Perhaps in response to lost collections due to internet purchases.

When I first started in public accounting in 1985, there were two computers in the entire office. I worked for one of the Big 8 at the time, so this wasn’t because the firm was behind the times. This was the extent of computer technology in most accounting firms in 1985.

Colorado has the lowest state sales tax rate in the country at 2.9% (except for the 5 states that don’t impose any sales tax). But don’t get too excited since there are a number of local jurisdictions within Colorado that impose sales taxes – taking the average total sales tax rate to about 7.5%.

Many of us use zip codes to determine the sales and use tax rates to apply to an invoice for tax calculation purposes.  However because some local jurisdictions can cross zip code boundaries, using just the 5 digit zip code may not be the most accurate method for sales tax rate determination purposes.