Ecommerce Sales Tax Maintenance Guide
By Valerie Rose and Amanda Lawrence
A sales tax checklist for ecommerce sellers covering nexus, taxability, use tax, exemption certificates, audit prep, license renewals, and state changes.
What's inside
Voluntary disclosure agreements
How a VDA can reduce or eliminate penalties and shorten the look-back period on past sales tax, who qualifies, and why you need to act before a state contacts you first.
Nexus footprint review
Questions to check where you have nexus now, including changes to physical presence, sales that crossed economic thresholds, third-party representatives, and trade show activity.
Rates, taxability, and use tax
How to keep sales and use tax rates current, review product tax codes and bundles, and accrue use tax on inventory used for giveaways, donations, marketing, or internal R&D.
Exemption certificates and audit prep
Why auditors always check exempt sales, how to collect valid exemption and resale certificates from wholesale customers, and the key areas to review so you are ready if an audit comes.
State changes to watch
A list of the most aggressive states, sales tax license renewal schedules, recent transaction threshold and digital goods changes, fallback tax settings, and a tax scam alert.