Sales & Use Tax

Lower your tax burden. Reduce your tax risk.

Understand your tax exposure and limit your liability.

Thousands of state and local jurisdictions impose sales and use taxes, many with conflicting positions about which has regulatory authority and how much is owed. 

Factor in economic nexus standards for remote sellers and marketplace facilitators and it’s easy to see why companies struggle to maintain compliance with sales and use tax regulations. 

BDO helps companies understand their sales tax exposure, mitigate risk and establish processes and systems to effectively manage ongoing compliance. Our nationwide network of sales and use tax professionals draw on a range of backgrounds and work experience beyond public accounting. Many are former sales and use tax auditors from state tax departments or have worked in some of the largest multistate tax departments in the country.  

We serve as trusted advisors, offering tailored services and technical support—all backed by extensive government and industry experience. 

How BDO Can Help

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Recover Refunds 

Analyze purchase transactions for potential overpayment of sales and use tax; pursue refunds from vendors and by filing state tax refund claims. 

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Determine Nexus 

Review your business’s operations to determine the states where you may have economic or physical presence nexus and should be filing tax returns. 

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Mitigate Risk 

Examine tax obligations and filings to mitigate risk and past exposure; conduct assessments of sales and use tax risk; pursue VDAs where applicable.

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Reduce Liability 

Take advantage of all opportunities to limit your tax exposure and reduce your overall tax burden.

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Streamline Compliance 

Leverage new technology and automate key processes to make maintaining compliance faster and more efficient. 

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Resolve Disputes 

Negotiate with taxing authorities to increase achievement of desired outcomes in audits and other disputes.

Capabilities

Our team provides cost-effective, easy-to-use solutions to manage complex sales and use tax requirements.

  • We conduct refund reviews to identify areas where sales tax has been improperly charged and paid to vendors or use tax was improperly accrued and remitted to the taxing authority.  
  • Assist the company in minimizing future overpayments of cash, risks and costs 

  • Help your company prepare for a sales and use tax audit  
  • Represent your company during the audit process 
  • Review audit workpapers to assess the validity of your auditor’s positions 
  • Appeal or protest the audit assessment to seek a reduction of the assessed amount

  • Use nexus reviews to identify areas of potential exposure 
  • Quantify exposure amounts applying varying and complex taxing authority requirements  
  • Assist with voluntary disclosure agreements or amnesty negotiations with taxing authorities to mitigate exposure

  • Help determine if your clients qualify for an exemption that your company can accept to avoid collecting sales tax 
  • Review resale/exemption certificates to ensure they are properly completed and acceptable to state auditors 
  • Help obtain missing certificates from customers and recommend improvements to your certificate procurement process

  • Review your company’s revenue streams and purchases for proper transaction tax classification  
  • Determine whether products or services are subject to transaction tax 
  • Create, review and update your taxability matrix

  • Identify exposure and material weaknesses in sales and use tax reporting 
  • Perform due diligence and provide recommendations when undergoing a merger, acquisition or other business restructuring 
  • Obtain ruling requests

  • Evaluate your existing sales and use tax function policies, processes and procedures 
  • Provide recommendations for indirect tax function optimization in relation to processes, data, technology/automation and workforce deployment 

Sales Tax Economic Nexus Risk Assessment

If you’re unsure how economic nexus affects your business, take our risk assessment. Answering “yes” to any of the questions is your signal to take action. BDO can help.

State & Local Tax Insights

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