If your business is selling in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon, no sales tax is charged, so you don’t have to worry about this process (at least for those states). Lucky you.
The Complexity of Collecting Sales Tax
Sales taxes are, frankly, a mess. There are many taxing localities involved, each with its own tax rate and list of taxable products and services. If you have a tax presence (called a “tax nexus”) in different states, you may have to collect different taxes on different items. And if you sell online, trying to figure out if you have to collect sales tax from customers in many states becomes almost impossible to manage.
Collecting Sales Tax, Step-by-Step
To help you sort this out, we’ve collected the steps you will need to go follow in order to collect, report, and pay sales taxes on the products or services you sell. Here are the main steps in the process of preparing to collect, report, and pay sales taxes:
Determine Your Requirement To Collect Sales Taxes in a State or States
Your requirement as a business to collect sales taxes from your customers depends on these factors:
If you are a taxable entity (called a tax nexus) in your state If the products or services you sell are taxable in that state If you sell online, you will need to look up the specific requirements for collecting sales taxes as an online seller in each state.
State Sales Tax Registration
After you have determined that you must collect sales tax in a specific state, go to the website of your state’s taxing authority to register for your sales tax permit. The permit will allow you to collect, report, and pay sales taxes on taxable items. You will first need to have your Federal Employer ID Number and all of the information about your business and its owners. Most states allow online registration, so have all the information ready before you begin the process.
Determine Which Products or Services Are Taxable
Not all products and services are taxable in all states. More states are adding more products and services to the list of taxable items. In addition, states are trying to determine what is a service and what is a product. For example, if a CPA does business taxes, is that a service or a product? Different states answer this question in different ways.
Collecting Sales Taxes for Online Sales
You must charge sales tax if you sell online to customers who are located in your state. This hasn’t changed.Your state may also require you to charge sales tax to customers outside your state (online sales).
A Supreme Court ruling gave individual taxing authority over online sales to customers within their states. The decision, S. Dakota v. Wayfair, allowed states to require internet sellers who have a “significant quantity” of business within the state to charge sales tax and pay those taxes to the state. Many of the states currently taxing online sales have an exemption for small sellers. This exemption typically doesn’t require sales taxes for businesses that have less than $100,000 in annual sales or fewer than 200 transactions a year.
Determine the Sales Tax Rate To Collect
The sales tax process is complex because there are many localities (state and local) that have sales taxes, each has its own sales tax rate, and different ways of determining tax, origin-based or destination-based. Some states are origin-based (meaning the sales tax is charged from the seller’s location) and other states are destination-based (the sales tax is charged from the buyer’s location). Some states, like California, have both origin-based and destination-based sales tax localities. The rate changes, depending on your location. If you are selling in multiple locations, you must include the correct sales tax for each location. For example, if you are selling products in several cities or counties within your state, the correct amount must be collected from each locality. This gets complex if your products are being sold in many different places. If you are selling in several states, you must also program the correct amount for each location within each state.
Collect Sales Taxes From Customers
After you have received your sales tax permit, you can begin collecting sales tax from customers. You must show the tax amount separately, so the customer can see the amount of the tax; this typically isn’t a problem, since most sales receipts are programmed to show the amounts. If you are selling online, your “shopping cart” page will show the sales tax calculation. You will need to program the computer for the applicable sales tax amount or amounts or start using the services of an online sales tax service.
Check on Sales Tax Exemptions
In some instances, the products you are selling may be exempt from sales taxes. For example, in some states and localities food and prescription medications may be exempt from sales tax; check with your state if you think your products might be exempt. You may also want to look into getting a sales tax certificate if you buy products for resale. The process of getting this exemption certificate and the requirements are different for each state. It applies to products purchased for resale, raw materials, and some non-profits in some states If someone wants to buy from you and says they are a “reseller” or that they are buying for “resale,” they need to show you a valid reseller’s permit. Make sure to keep a copy of this permit in case you are questioned by state sales tax agents.
Keep Records on Sales Taxes Collected
After you have collected the sales taxes, you must keep records of how much you have collected. These amounts go into the “Sales Tax Payable” liability account, in your accounting system. If you have an online accounting system, you can set up sales transactions to automatically post to this account.
Report Sales Tax Information to Your State
In addition to paying the state sales taxes you owe, you must also file periodic sales tax reports to your state department of revenue. Most states now give you the ability to pay and report sales taxes online.
Pay Sales Taxes to Your State
Check with your state to see when you must pay the sales taxes you’ve collected. The frequency of payment depends on the volume of your sales. In most states, you must pay monthly if you have a high volume of sales, but at least quarterly in almost every state. Be sure you pay on time to avoid fines and penalties for late payment.
