March Roundup: Sales tax laws you need to know

While you focus on your business, we stay on top of legislative and policy changes that can affect your sales tax compliance.

March of 2020 has been a month unlike any other. It saw more and more of us confined to our homes, working remotely if we’re working at all. Nonessential businesses from coast to coast have either closed entirely or are limited to takeout and delivery sales. To help companies struggling to stay solvent during the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, officials are offering some tax-relief measures. Read on for more on that and other sales tax news.

COVID-19 tax relief roundup.

What states and the federal government are doing to help businesses adversely affected by COVID-19. Learn more.

COVID-19’s effect on sales tax due dates.

A handful of state and local tax authorities are giving businesses impacted by COVID-19 more time to file or pay their sales tax. Learn more.

Digital products could soon be subject to Maryland sales tax.

A bill sitting on Governor Larry Hogan’s desk would extend Maryland sales and use tax to a host of digital products, including ebooks and streamed movies. Learn more.

Food and certain other products temporarily exempt from Puerto Rico sales tax.

Products that help slow the spread of COVID-19, such as face masks and hand sanitizers, are temporarily exempt from sales tax in Puerto Rico. Many food products are also exempt. Learn more.

Entrepreneurial youth may no longer have to collect sales tax in some states.

Some states have caught flak for requiring youth to register with the tax authorities and collect and remit sales tax at their lemonade stands. Learn more.

Internet access fees must be sales tax exempt by July 1, 2020.

A handful of states still tax fees charged to access the internet. Come July 1, 2020, all states must exempt internet access fees. Learn more.

New exemption for gun safes in Virginia.

Starting July 1, 2020, certain gun safes will be exempt from Virginia sales and use tax. Learn more.

New reality could have lasting sales tax implications for online sellers.

With many brick-and-mortar businesses temporarily closed, Amazon and other online sellers are seeing a rise in demand. Sellers of essential items like toilet paper could find their increased sales create new sales tax collection obligations. Learn more.

Remote sellers required to collect Alaska sales tax.

Out-of-state companies that meet the statewide economic nexus threshold in Alaska must register to collect and remit more and more local sales taxes in the Last Frontier. Learn more.

Sales tax on delivery fees.

Some states tax delivery and takeout sales differently than on-premises sales. Learn more. 

Small businesses will have their day in New Mexico.

For the next several years, sales by small businesses will be exempt from New Mexico gross receipts tax on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Learn more.

States are simplifying local sales tax compliance for remote sellers.

Complying with local sales tax requirements in multiple states can be enormously burdensome for businesses. Understanding that, some states are working to make it less so. Learn more.

The lengths some states go to find noncompliant sellers.

Although many states are working with businesses unable to fulfill their tax obligations due to COVID-19, states typically hunt for companies that don’t collect and remit as they should. Learn more.

Vail suspends sales tax collections for foreseeable future.

A vacation destination hard-hit by COVID-19, Vail, Colorado, is giving local businesses more time to remit the sales tax they collect. Learn more.

Wisconsin may eliminate transaction threshold for remote sellers.

Currently, remote sellers with at least 200 transactions for delivery into Wisconsin in the current or previous calendar year must register to collect sales tax under the state’s economic nexus law. That could soon change. Learn more.

Automating sales tax collection, remittance, and certificate management can help your business keep compliant with changing sales tax laws. Learn more.