Why So Many Filing Frequencies?

When attempting to manage your sales tax obligations across many different states, one of the first things to hit you will be the dizzying number of deadlines you must follow when filing sales tax returns. Due dates can include the 7^th, 10^th, 15^th, 20^th, 30^th and the last day of the month.

Determining factors

Generally, the higher the volume of tax you’ll be reporting, the more often you have to file and remit. Returns are typically due monthly, quarterly or annually. But some states have more unusual frequencies, including semi-annual and bi-monthly. Depending on the tax jurisdiction and the amount of tax reported, you may have to file no more than once a year – or you may have to start filing the minute you register.

Other factors affecting due dates: holidays, state furlough days, weekends – and, though this is largely ending now, the pandemic that saw many jurisdictions postpone filing deadlines as a relief for battered companies.

Getting a handle

First, you need an accurate tax calendar telling you where you’re registered for sales tax purposes, the filing frequency of each return, the due date, login credentials, method of filing (e-file or paper) and any other information specific to the jurisdictions where you have nexus. And yes, tracking this along with your potentially expanding nexus can easily sap time from your staff that they could spend on more profitable tasks.

You may be tempted to depend on software to manage this, but filing frequencies can change fast and can change with little warning. Managing notices is an important part of your sales tax process, as oftentimes that is how you are notified of your filing frequency or deadlines changing. If utilizing a sales tax software provider, you may be in charge of watching for notices and updating the system yourself to ensure correct deadlines are met.

Don’t let sales tax compliance overwhelm you. Rely on sales tax experts to maintain your compliance. By utilizing TaxConnex, who provides an outsourced sales tax service instead of sales tax software that you have to manually update, you can get sales tax off your plate.  Contact TaxConnex to learn what it means when sales tax is all on us.