by Stephanie Thomas | Oct 15, 2024 | General Business, Stephanie's Wisdom
3 Most Confusing Things About Sales Tax Why sales and use tax compliance isn’t as simple as it seems. When it comes to running a business, sales tax compliance often causes more stress than it should. Business owners and accountants alike know that it’s full of tricky...
by Sales Tax Sisters | Jun 27, 2024 | Audits, Stephanie's Wisdom
Shipping, Handling, Freight, and Sales Tax Compliance When it comes to sales tax compliance, the treatment of shipping, handling, and freight charges is a nuanced topic. These charges are often subject to different rules depending on the state and the nature of the...
by Stephanie Thomas | May 11, 2024 | General Business, Sales Tax Returns, Stephanie's Wisdom
Avoid These 5 Sales Tax Software Mistakes Choosing the right sales tax software is a crucial decision for any business, yet it’s easy to fall into some common pitfalls. Here are five mistakes to steer clear of, presented with relatable metaphors to make them stick! 1....
by Stephanie Thomas | Dec 20, 2023 | Audits, Mary's Wisdom, Stephanie's Wisdom
Safeguard Your Business: 3 Must-Know Pre-Sales Tax Audit Steps Preparing for a sales tax audit before it happens can save you a lot of stress and ensure smoother interactions with auditors. Here are three crucial steps to take before receiving a notification of...
by Stephanie | Apr 3, 2023 | General Business, Stephanie's Wisdom
There are differing sales and use tax ramifications when dealing with taxable items given to employees versus items that are sold to employees. The difference is who pays the sales or use tax. I talk about it in more detail in the video. Key Takeaways: There are...
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 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...
by Sales Tax Sisters | Mar 18, 2022 | General Business, Mary's Wisdom, Stephanie's Wisdom
Some people wonder why they would need a sales tax consultant if they already have a CPA or a bookkeeper. Here is the reason why. Sales and use tax is a specialized niche area. We like to compare it to being a specialist versus being a GP. While your book keeper or...
