Sales & Use Tax Workshop

Cut time, save money and avoid legal hassles while keeping your bottom line accurate

Continuing Education Credits: CEU: 0.6 CPE: 6 

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Overview

Get sales and use tax answers that keep your company legal and you out of hot water!
  • Receive tips and techniques that may save your organization thousands in penalties
  • Gain new insights into the most commonly misunderstood aspects of sales and use taxes
  • Learn the sales and use tax requirements in your state and all other jurisdictions where you have tax liability
  • Discover where to find the latest changes in sales and use tax laws that govern your industry
  • Be able to protect your company against audit surprises
  • Explore tax savings opportunities and exemptions you may not be aware of
  • Understand how e-trade is affected by sales and use tax
  • Find out how to streamline your recordkeeping without putting your company at risk
  • And even more you'll put to use immediately on the job!

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If you have questions about sales and use tax laws, you're not alone. There are 7,500 different taxing jurisdictions in the United States alone, and they routinely tax the same products differently. It's easy to understand why our sales and use tax laws are considered among the most complicated in the world.

To add to your challenge, state governments are aggressively pursuing new avenues of taxation. Faced with a slumping economy, they want a bigger piece of the revenue pie. Clearly, your job has never been more difficult — or important — to your organization.

Get the information you need — not generalities.

Some sales and use tax seminars offered by other companies give you a cursory overview of sales and use tax with little of the practical, real-world information you need to correctly handle day-to-day tax questions. This seminar is different. At the end of the day, you'll leave with essential information you can put to use right away. You'll understand sales and use tax and be able to apply it correctly for your organization. That's a lot of value for the investment of only one day.

Agenda

Lay the groundwork

  • The difference between a sales tax and a use tax
  • The key factors that determine which tax applies in each situation
  • How “tangible personal property” is defined for sales and use tax purposes, and why it is so important to know
  • Four types of tax states and how each affects your legal obligations
  • The Interstate Commerce Exemption and how to avoid a notorious tax trap
  • Ways to steer clear of the most common — and costly — use tax pitfalls
  • How to identify where your company has nexus for sales and use tax purposes
  • What constitutes an out-of-state connection strong enough to incur tax collection responsibilities there
  • Tips that take the confusion out of applying for exemption certificates

Master the mysteries of multi-state transactions

  • How to know which tax rate applies when multiple jurisdictions have competing claims
  • Internet sales — what the Internet Tax Freedom Act is and how it affects your company
  • The possible impact of the mail-order use tax on your customers
  • The good (and potentially bad) aspects of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project — what it means for your organization
  • When you must pay taxes to multiple states on the same transaction
  • How to avoid triggering tax liabilities in other states
  • When you should and should not pay taxes to your out-of-state vendors
  • How to know if a vendor is illegally charging you tax
  • What the Multi-State Tax Commission is and how it can help your organization

Understand taxation for the most common transactions in your industry

  • The correct way to value self-constructed assets for use tax purposes
  • Common inventory withdrawals that are subject to use taxes
  • The correct way to value self-constructed assets for use tax purposes
  • The most prevalent filing mistakes and how to prevent them
  • What tax breaks your industry is entitled to
  • Providing services — how to know when you’re supposed to pay sales tax
  • When production machinery is subject to sales or use tax
  • How the tax law regards chemicals and ingredients used in production
  • How to know whether or not your packing materials are subject to sales and use tax
  • The special sales and use tax rules that apply to construction contractors
  • The often misunderstood general rule on taxation of computer software
  • When computer hardware sales are subject to sales and use tax
  • The correct way to treat taxation of transportation and shipping charges
  • When repair and installation charges are included in the sales price for sales and use tax purposes
  • Taxes on third-party delivery charges — should you ever pay them?
  • How returns and trade-ins are handled for sales and use tax
  • When rentals and leases are subject to sales tax
  • Casual or occasional sales: are they always exempt from sales tax in all states?
  • How to handle “tax triggers” such as samples, displays, gifts and incentives withdrawn from stock

Maintain records that stand up under fire in an audit

  • The best answer to the question: Why are you doing it that way?
  • Two statements you must never make to an auditor
  • Record-keeping essentials, including exemption documentation
  • Best practices to ensure you have the right support in an audit
  • Where to look for exemptions and exceptions
  • Exemption certificates: different requirements for different situations
  • Innocent until proven guilty — fact or fiction?
  • When you are personally liable for tax mistakes and how to make sure this never happens
  • How to plan your taxable events to save money
  • What to do immediately if taxes have been overpaid
  • The consequences of underpayment — important information about what to expect