The SALTcast

Have you ever wondered how your client or company was selected for a sales tax audit? Do you worry that you or client will soon come under sales tax audit? Is there a way that you can prepare for a sales tax audit? Andy has seen 100’s maybe even 1000’s of sales tax audits and has written many articles on these very questions. Listen in as Andy shares his knowledge and experience with sales tax audits.

Additional Questions Answered:

• How can I know if my client will be audited for sales tax?
• How can I prevent my clients from being audited for sales tax?
• What chances does my client have of being audited for sales tax?
• What factors should I look at when it comes to sales tax audits?
• Does the industry play a role in who is selected for a sales tax audit?
• What kinds of sampling do sales tax auditors use?
• What are the biggest errors found in sales tax audits?
• What industries are selected for sales tax audits most often in California?
• What industries are selected for sales tax audits most often in Texas?

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Imagine that you’ve been in business for several years. Things are going along pretty well. By just surviving, you’ve been more successful than most businesses. And then you find out some terrible news about sales tax; you learn that because of “nexus” in prior years, you may actually owe back taxes and it might be a significant amount. This is money you don’t have. You didn’t collect it from your customers and you have no way of collecting it from them now, years after the fact. You simply do NOT have the means to pay the back taxes. What do you do? What are your options? Listen in as Andy and Dan discuss your different options and help you decide what to do.

Additional Questions Answered:

• If I just register going forward what are the risks?
• What is the statute of limitations when it comes to sales tax audits?
• What if I put a date from the past on my state sales tax registration form?
• What incentives do states have to offer amnesty plans for online sellers?
• Will there be another sales tax amnesty program like many states offered in 2017?
• What will California do with the information they received from Amazon?
• How can selling my company give me potential sales tax exposure I wasn’t aware of?
• When should I consider a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA)?
• Can I negotiate a payout program with states for back taxes owed?

To get with us for a FREE Strategy Call go HERE.

We recently had a call with a CPA that had connections with approximately 2,000 Amazon FBA sellers. He was doing some due diligence after seeing one of our webinars to see what his FBA seller friends were doing about their own sales tax obligations. It turns out that everyone that he talked to in his initial sample was sure that Amazon not only collected the sales tax but also remitted the sales tax, giving them no sales tax obligations. Listen in as Andy and Dan debunk this myth that still continues to create confusion.

Additional Questions Answered:

Does Amazon collect sales tax in all states on its own sales?

Does Amazon remit the sales tax to all states?

Does Amazon automatically collect sales tax for FBA sellers?

If Amazon collects the sales tax will they send it to the different states?

What is the FBA seller’s responsibility for sales tax?

What is a marketplace facilitator?

Which states have marketplace facilitator laws?

Why doesn’t Amazon remit the sales tax in all states?

Do I need to register in the the states that have marketplace facilitator laws?

Do the marketplace facilitator laws make it easier for FBA sellers?

To get with us for a FREE Strategy Call go HERE.

With the new sales tax laws coming into play all the time, more and more businesses are realizing that they may have exposure in a sales tax audit for taxes that were not collected for months or maybe years in the past. Businesses may want to get registered now and start collecting tax, but face a real dilemma when it comes to the question that comes up on every registration form: “When did you first begin doing business in this state”. If a business answers this with a date months or years in the past, then the state will bill them for the tax (plus penalties and interest). This can create a terrible hardship on businesses if they have to come up with sales tax from prior sales out of their own pockets. So what is a business supposed to do?  Andy and Dan have been helping clients for years determining their nexus and calculating their exposure they might have in the separate states. If your exposure is great enough you may want to request a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) with a state. Listen in and learn what your options may be if you need to request a VDA.

Additional Questions Discussed:

What are VDAs?

What is the likelihood I could file a VDA?

What if a state find me first can I file a VDA then?

If my exposure is pretty low in a state should I still file a VDA?

Is it possible to get out of paying penalty and interest with a VDA?

Is it possible to get the tax waived with a VDA?

Is a VDA even possible if I get contacted by a state?

If I file a VDA are the statute of limitations different if a state finds me first?

Do all states offer a VDA program?

To get with us for a FREE Strategy Call go HERE.

Get a complimentary chart on VDAs - Availability and Scope of Relief HERE

Get a complimentary chart on Voluntary Disclosure Look-back Periods go HERE.

New York just posted a notice on their website that they’ve had an economic nexus law all along. And it's been effective ever since the Wayfair decision was announced. Listen in as Andy and Dan decipher what New York has decided to do with their economic nexus laws. Also, they discuss New York’s whistleblower laws and what that could mean to you - particularly in the context of this new notice. Find out for yourself if New York’s laws on fraud are fair or not.

What are New York’s new economic nexus laws?

What caveat has New York added to their statute?

When will New York’s economic nexus laws come into effect?

Does New York have unusual fiscal calendar quarters? If so, why?

What are New York’s economic nexus thresholds?

How does New York enforce tax fraud laws?

What is New York’s definition of sales tax fraud?

Can I collect a bounty if I am a whistleblower?

How can I report tax fraud to New York?

Is New York’s tax fraud law really fair?

Why was Sprint sued by New York for $300 Million?

Did Sprint commit tax fraud in New York?

How much did the whistleblower get from Sprint’s settlement with New york?

How many states have economic nexus laws now?

Can a VDA save a business from a whistleblower and being sued by New York?

Get the link to New York’s site to report fraud HERE

Learn how much a whistleblower can earn HERE..

Find the link for the story on My Pillow HERE.

Find Andy’s article on My Pillow HERE.

Find the story on Sprint HERE.

Find Andy’s story on Sprint HERE.

To get with us for a FREE Strategy Call go HERE.

Along with the new year comes new economic nexus laws. A few states have gone live with their economic nexus laws. Andy and Dan will discuss in today’s podcast about the new states that have set their economic nexus laws for this year. 


What are Washington D.C.’s new economic nexus thresholds?

What is California’s economic nexus thresholds?

Is 200 transactions really the threshold for economic nexus?

What is Texas’ economic nexus thresholds?

What is a marketplace facilitator?

What states are marketplace facilitators?


To get with us for a FREE Strategy Call go HERE.

Is your New Year's Resolution for 2019 to start collecting and filing sales taxes? It can seem like an overwhelming and confusing task to take on yourself. We have been doing this for the last 25 years and have seen first hand just how complicated it has become.  Now with the recent decision by the Supreme Court (Wayfair) it, it appears that many companies are deciding to just register and file. And it seems like they all want to make it effective January 1, 2019. In today’s podcast, you will learn what that would entail and how to get your business ready to start collecting and remitting sales tax. Listen in as Andy and Dan discuss the the 5 steps you need to take in order to make this happen by the first of the year and see the questions they answer.

Step #1: Start With Nexus And Taxability. Figure out where you have nexus first and consider if what you sell is even taxable. 

• How do I determine my nexus footprint?
• Do I need to get registered everywhere?
• At what point can states force you to register?
• Can I register for sales tax myself?
• What can give me nexus?
• What if I have been doing business in a state for a long time without having a sales tax license?
• How do I know if my product is taxable?
• What should I do if I have a lot of sales tax exposure in a state?

Step #2: Evaluate Your Taxing System (POS, Website Shopping Cart, Amazon, Walmart, etc.)

• What do I do to make sure my shopping cart software is set up for sales tax?
• How to make sure my Amazon seller’s account is set up correctly for sales tax?
• Do I need to get some developers involved at this stage?

Step #3: Get Registered. States require you to register and/or obtain a license from them before you can collect tax on their behalf.

• Who can help me get registered for sales tax?
• Can I really register my company for sales tax on my own?
• Where is a good resource for doing the registrations myself? TaxJar has a great blog post with links to every state here.
• Are the states the same when it come to registering for sales tax?

Step #4: Turn On The Tax. You need to go into your settings in all of your sales channels and turn on the tax collection function to automatically start assessing tax on your sales invoices.

• How do I start collecting the sales tax?
• How do I avoid getting in trouble with sales tax in all the states?
• Can I start collecting the sales tax even if I haven’t gotten my sales tax registration yet?

Step #5: File the Returns. Once you've figured out where to collect the tax and you've collected the money, then the time will come when you actually fill out the returns and remit the funds. It may be annually, quarterly, or monthly.

• How often do I need to file sales tax returns?
• Can I file my own sales tax returns?

If you have questions or any concerns sign up for a FREE Strategy Call here:

https://www.SaltMoment.com/rac

Another state has demanded that Amazon to turn over seller information. Learn what it is you need to do now that your information has been turned over. Andy and Dan have the information that you need to know in order not to panic.

Here are some of the questions that we answer:

• If I sell on Amazon what should I do?
• What information is Amazon handing over?
• What will Wisconsin do with this information?
• What do I need to do with Wisconsin?
• What should I do if Wisconsin reaches out to me?
• Will Wisconsin be able to find me even if I am a small seller?
• What should I do if I’m not registered in Wisconsin?
• What is Wisconsin’s economic nexus law currently?

Amazon announced that they will collect and remit the sales tax to Connecticut. What does that mean for eCommerce sellers if they sale on Amazon or some other eCommerce platform? Andy and Dan discuss the new changes and other new sales tax laws in other states.

Here are some of the questions that we answer:: 

• What do I need to know about Connecticut’s new sales tax laws?
• Will Amazon remit the sales tax directly to Connecticut?
• Will I need to still register in Connecticut if I only sell through amazon?
• What does this mean if I sell though multiple eCommerce platforms?
• How do I get registered in Connecticut if I only sell on Amazon?
• What if I am already registered in Connecticut to collect sales tax?
• Can I just deregister in Connecticut?
• When will the laws in Connecticut come into play?
• Amazon collects and remits tax in Washington state can I just deregister there?
• Amazon collects and remits tax in Pennsylvania state can I just deregister there?
• Amazon collects and remits tax in Oklahoma state can I just deregister there?
• Amazon collects and remits tax in New Jersey state can I just deregister there?

Even months after the Supreme Court made its decision in the Wayfair case there are still rulings coming out of the woodworks. The latest being Colorado making their move to capture more tax revenue. Listen or watch in today’s podcast to find out what exactly you are in for as an eCommerce seller.

Here are some of the questions that we answer:

• What new rules does Colorado have according to sales tax?
• If I sell in Colorado what filing rules are there?
• What is a home rule city?
• Do I have to register in Colorado to collect sales tax even if I don’t have physical presence?
• When will these new sales tax rules come into effect in Colorado?
• Where should I register in Colorado?
• How do I register in Colorado?
• What does it mean to have a “non-physical presence” in Colorado?
• How will I collect the sales tax in Colorado?
• What if my software can’t collect the right sales taxes in Colorado?
• How do I file the home-rule cities sales taxes in Colorado?
• How many places will I need to register in and file sales taxes in Colorado?
• Will there be a grace period in order to get my systems in place to register and collect the sales tax in Colorado?