Sales tax issues rarely begin with a major event. More often, they develop quietly over time — a business expands into new states, a key employee leaves, a new product launches, or an audit notice arrives unexpectedly. What starts as a manageable compliance gap can quickly evolve into significant exposure if not addressed early.

As businesses grow, sales tax obligations become more complex. Economic nexus standards continue to expand, taxability rules evolve, and state enforcement activity remains aggressive. Without a clear process in place, even well-run organizations can find themselves facing penalties, interest, back taxes, and operational disruption.

This Incident Response Kit outlines six of the most common events that trigger sales tax risk and provides practical guidance for how to respond. Whether your business is actively managing an audit or proactively identifying exposure before it escalates, these response frameworks can help your team assess risk, prioritize next steps, and strengthen long-term compliance processes.