Income, Franchise and Gross Receipts Tax

Overcome state income and franchise tax challenges.

Lower your tax burden. Manage compliance.

State income and franchise tax authorities are becoming more proactive and increasing the number and scale of their audits, while state legislatures are constantly amending laws that are difficult to comprehend — all of which puts more pressure on tax teams. 

BDO’s principal-led practice includes professionals with extensive consulting experience within a public accounting environment, former industry professionals, and auditors from state tax departments — all dedicated tax professionals who bring deep experience with state and local tax statutes and regulations. We help you take advantage of all available deductions, apportionment methods, filing options and credits, while navigating the nuances of income, franchise and gross receipts tax policy.  

We work with your team to prepare annual state returns, assist with state and local audits and meet the demands of evolving tax policy. 

How BDO Can Help

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Determine Nexus

Assess business operations to identify states where you may have nexus and should be filing tax returns. 

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Stay in Compliance

Prepare state returns to help you stay in compliance with all applicable state tax statutes and regulations.

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Manage State Apportionment

Assist in calculating your apportionment factors so the correct amount of tax is reported.

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Identify State Refunds and Uncover Savings

Take advantage of all available deductions, apportionment methods, filing options, and credits.

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Review Business Structure

Evaluate and recommend alternative structures that are state tax efficient and meet business objectives.

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Navigate Audits

Navigate the audit process and negotiate with auditors to achieve a more favorable outcome.  

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Perform Due Diligence and Transactional Analysis

Assess state tax exposures and develop alternative structures for various transaction types.

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Determine State Tax Accrual

Help to prepare or review your state income tax provision in accordance with ASC 740 standards.  

State Income Tax Refund Claims

  • Identify the opportunity
  • Amend state filings
  • Rely on network of contacts
  • Provide defense services

View three state income tax refund success stories.

 

Capabilities

We gather facts by conducting interviews and having you complete our matrix of nexus-creating activities. Based on states’ statutes and rules, we determine where your business has nexus and a filing requirement.

We calculate the exposure for each state and provide a recommended course of action for compliance. This includes offering assistance with voluntary disclosure programs in states where tax returns should have been filed.


We understand the state tax laws and compliance issues that are important to your business. Our approach to preparing your annual state returns is designed to take full advantage of deductions, apportionment methods, filing options, and credits to reduce your state tax liabilities. 

We can also assist in preparing amended state tax returns to report federal audit adjustments.

We help you to extract the necessary data from your systems to calculate your apportionment factors. We review the apportionment options and sourcing rules in the states where your business has tax obligations to determine the correct and most advantageous apportionment percentages.  

The BDO State Apportionment Navigator is an automated solution designed to provide you with easier access to your state apportionment data and offer related insights into your apportionment position. 

Our approach with diagnostic assessments starts by determining your priorities, immediate needs, and long-term goals. Based on our discussions, we perform an assessment by conducting a comprehensive review of your state tax position, state tax returns, and structure to identify refunds, prospective filing opportunities, and structural enhancements. 

Our assessment phase is minimally intrusive and can be completed within a few weeks. 


We conduct a thorough review of your business operations and structure to fully understand your current state tax position. Based on this assessment, we design alternative structures that are state tax efficient and support your business objectives going forward.

Our services include assisting with the implementation and maintenance of the new structure. 

We advocate on your behalf on state controversy issues by offering valuable guidance, developing strategic and alternative solutions, and providing audit defense and appeals representation.   

We work with our network of state department of revenue contacts to reach favorable resolutions on your audit. 

We analyze the state tax implications of a spectrum of transaction types, including complex transactions such as stock or asset acquisitions and dispositions, and develop strategies to optimize the state tax consequences of the transaction.   

We perform buy-side and sell-side due diligence to identify state tax exposures and opportunities, increase state tax attributes, and design state tax efficient structures going forward.

We determine your business’ state tax accrual for financial reporting purposes and identify and analyze uncertain state tax positions. We examine your state tax reserves to identify remedial opportunities such as voluntary disclosures and restructuring from a state perspective. 

We adopt a collaborative approach to tax provision and ASC 740 services, working closely with our national ASC 740 practice to deliver seamless, strategic, and efficient service.

State & Local Tax Insights

Explore our most recent resources and thought leadership.

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Stay current with our latest state & local tax insights.

Meet our Income, Franchise and Gross Receipts Tax Leader

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