by Stephanie Thomas | Aug 13, 2024 | Audits, General Business, Uncategorized
Today’s tip is about sales and use tax audits and why a business was chosen for a sales and use tax audit by the taxing authority. Here are just a few reasons why businesses are scheduled to be audited by the taxing authority. Key Takeways: 1. The taxing authority...
by Sales Tax Sisters | Jun 27, 2024 | Audits, Stephanie's Wisdom
When it comes to sales tax treatments, shipping, handling, and freight charges are often treated differently. Understanding the distinctions between these terms is crucial for businesses to accurately apply sales tax regulations. Let’s delve into each of them:...
by Stephanie Thomas | Dec 20, 2023 | Audits, Mary's Wisdom, Stephanie's Wisdom
Here is a short video about things that businesses can do to minimize their sales and use tax audit exposure. Key Takeways: Have a document retention policy in place for at least the statute of limitations. Confirm automation and accounting software is working...
by Stephanie Thomas | Feb 16, 2023 | Audits, General Business, Stephanie's Wisdom
Every jurisdiction has sales and use tax exemptions available to certain taxpayers. Common examples of tax exempt customers. include governmental agencies, educational, religious, and charitable organizations. When making sales to exempt organizations, it is important...
by Stephanie Thomas | Jan 4, 2023 | Audits, Stephanie's Wisdom, Uncategorized
When going through at sales and use tax audit, the auditor will not only review source documents, but they will also review your accounting records, (i.e., the GL). Auditors are not interested in every account in the general ledger. They focus on certain accounts of...
by Stephanie Thomas | Nov 23, 2022 | Audits, Sales Tax Returns, Stephanie's Wisdom
Today, we are going to discuss what you can do when you discover that you have overpaid sales or use tax on the purchase that you make for your business. Whether you accrued use tax incorrectly, a vendor charged sales tax on an item that is tax-exempt, or the tax...
by Stephanie Thomas | Oct 8, 2022 | Audits, General Business, Stephanie's Wisdom
This tip is about sales tax compliance and document retention. Specifically, making sure you have a plan in place when it comes to scanning your documents. Here are some things to remember when scanning documents and keeping electronic copies of invoices. Key...
by Stephanie Thomas | Aug 14, 2022 | Audits, General Business, Sales Tax Returns, Stephanie's Wisdom
In our discussion, we are focusing on bad debts, which are outstanding balances owed that are no longer deemed recoverable and must be written off. While bad debts affect your sales bottom line, it can also affect the sales and use tax that you report to the taxing...
by Mary Thomas | May 17, 2022 | Audits, General Business, Mary's Wisdom, Uncategorized
Over the course of my career I have regretted becoming engaged by select clients. The interesting thing is a voice in head always told me to “run!” After a few hard lessons, I listen now. Ignoring that voice has cost me aggravation, time and money. I thought it...
by Mary Thomas | Apr 5, 2022 | Audits, General Business, Mary's Wisdom
One of the most heartbreaking things I see too often is the ineffective accounting software upgrade. How can an increase in functionality be ineffective? There’s one huge way…when you have someone who refuses to use the new technology. We have all seen companies...
by Mary Thomas | Apr 5, 2022 | Audits, Mary's Wisdom
Nothing can kill a sugar or caffeine buzz quicker than a sales tax audit notice, right? Not so fast! The worst thing you can do is panic or allow a sales and use tax audit notice to color your day. You’ve got this!!…You do! Take a deep breath and DO...
by Stephanie Thomas | Mar 23, 2022 | Audits, General Business, Stephanie's Wisdom
When you first receive notification that your business is going to audited for sales and use tax compliance, there are a number of areas of concern they may occur to you. One thing that business owners routinely overlook is company credit cards and how they can...
by Stephanie Thomas | Mar 21, 2022 | Audits, General Business, Stephanie's Wisdom
Sales tax compliance is a complex thing. Knowing whether you must register in a jurisdiction (i.e., do you have nexus), whether what you sell is taxable, what tax rate you should charge, the applicable sales tax exemptions, etc. can be a lot to digest when you are...
by Sales Tax Sisters | Mar 18, 2022 | Audits, Mary's Wisdom, Stephanie's Wisdom
Once you involved in a sales tax audit, you must understand that the taxing authority has broad powers as it relates to what documents they can request. If a state tax auditor requests data, you should produce it. If you don’t, there are consequences that are...
by Sales Tax Sisters | Mar 18, 2022 | Audits, Mary's Wisdom, Sales Tax Returns, Stephanie's Wisdom
Congratulations! You have survived your sales tax audit. While you can breathe a sigh of relief, don’t think that the tax authority is through with you because the audit is over. In order to avoid the same issues that were discovered during the audit, you must...
