Understanding Sales Tax Blog Posts

How to Avoid Misclassification of Your Ecommerce Products for Sales Tax Purposes

August 16, 2018

One of the most complicated aspects of a small business to navigate is taxes, including sales tax. Increasing this challenge is the fact that different types of products each have unique sales tax rates depending on their classification. This is why many ecommerce companies have misclassified products that lead to incorrect sales tax calculations. Here are some reasons why and what you can do about it. Potential Complications of Misclassification Companies that misclassify their products and charge the incorrect sales tax may face customer complaints and serious problems if an audit occurs. It can also result in time-consuming efforts to… Read More

Understanding Sales Tax for Streaming Services

March 13, 2018

How does sales tax apply to streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, and other similar services? The rise and expansion of the internet has vastly changed the way many sectors of the economy work. From facilitating ecommerce to allowing for the download of digital media, this technology has greatly expanded the reach of all types and sizes of businesses. It has also fundamentally changed the way many people access things like music and movies, and just like in other areas, this has created problems for states concerning sales tax collection. Moving Away from Physical Goods It used to be that, if… Read More

How Does Home Rule Status Impact Sales Tax?

October 31, 2017

The concept of home rule is one with a long history, and it’s certainly not confined to the United States. In broad terms, it stipulates that a local government has the right to govern in whatever way it sees fit, provided that it doesn’t violate the laws of the governing body. In relation to US cities, that means staying within the bounds of the constitution at both the state and federal level. While the majority of states in the US allow some level of home rule, cities are not required to participate, and so there are only a handful of… Read More

Arizona’s Simplified Transaction Privilege Tax Process

July 17, 2017

If you do business in Arizona, it’s likely your sales are subject to the state’s Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT), which is essentially Arizona’s version of a sales tax. Like sales taxes in many states, the TPT varies in rate depending on location, as local jurisdictions can add their own tax onto the state rate. Previously, there were some local taxes that were administered by the state and others that weren’t which made the process of registering for a TPT license, as well as filing returns and making payments a hassle for companies doing business in multiple locations. What Is the… Read More

Are Android and iPhone Apps Subject to Sales Tax?

July 10, 2017

As technology evolves, there emerge more and more situations that our current sales tax laws were just not designed to deal with. Selling remotely over the internet is one of these, and when that selling involves digital products like apps, the issue of how and when to apply sales tax becomes even more complicated. That’s especially true from a seller’s point of view, as the taxability of an app depends on the state it’s purchased in and whether or not the seller has a nexus in that state. Distinctions in Digital Products When it comes to sales tax and the… Read More