April 2026 monthly roundup

This month’s tax roundup highlights new tax rules, policy shifts, and other key tax and compliance updates covered in our blog in April 2026. Each could affect your business.

Stay ahead of changing tax rules. States are updating economic nexus transaction thresholds, expanding tax bases, and introducing targeted relief measures that can affect compliance and reporting.

Prepare for evolving global trade requirements. Shifts in tariffs, refund processes, and de minimis policies are increasing complexity and potential costs for cross-border businesses.

Use automation to scale with confidence. AI-powered tools and integrations can improve accuracy, strengthen controls, and reduce manual effort across tax and compliance workflows.

Monitor changes to economic nexus and sales tax bases. Kentucky is eliminating its economic nexus transaction threshold and expanding sales tax to data brokering services effective August 1, 2026.

Be safe. Mississippi is expanding its annual Second Amendment sales tax holiday to include safety devices and equipment. For 2026, the holiday will run August 28 through August 30.

Gauge fuel tax relief measures. Rising prices at the pump this spring have inspired lawmakers in several states to suspend motor fuel taxes. Three states have announced gas tax holidays as of April 13, 2026, and several other states are considering them.

Track shifting tariff policies. The United States continues to adjust tariffs. On the one-year anniversary of Liberation Day, President Trump invoked Section 232 to introduce new duties on many pharmaceuticals and modify tariffs on metals.

Prepare to claim tariff refunds. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched phase one of the refund process for IEEPA tariffs on April 20, 2026. Learn how to navigate the process and request a refund.

Understand the impact of ending de minimis. Now that the U.S. has ended the exemption for low-value imports, other countries are reevaluating duty-free thresholds or setting fees on low-value packages. Such changes stand to reshape international trade compliance and increase costs for cross-border ecommerce.

Transform tax reporting (in a good way) with agentic AI. AI-powered reporting in Avalara AvaTax combines automation with contextual intelligence to proactively surface insights, streamline data analysis, and support real-time decision-making. The result is more informed, efficient tax management with less reliance on reactive reporting.

Pay just the right amount of tax. Avalara AvaTax for Accounts Payable strengthens use tax compliance through automation and internal controls. It automatically calculates the correct tax based on jurisdiction, taxability, and special rules, helping businesses avoid penalties and interest for underpayments, resolve overpayments, and reduce audit risk.

Simplify consumer use tax compliance in Coupa. The Avalara AvaTax for Accounts Payable connector for Coupa embeds tax earlier in the procure-to-pay process. This enables more accurate tax estimates at requisition and purchase order stages, with validation at invoicing. It improves visibility, reduces rework, and supports consistent, efficient consumer use tax compliance.

Catch use tax errors before they become unwieldy. Use tax is often overlooked because it’s self-assessed. It bedevils businesses in all industries but can be particularly complex for manufacturers. The purpose-built manufacturing solution in Avalara AvaTax for Accounts Payable identifies discrepancies early, improves visibility into tax processes, and supports more controlled, audit-ready compliance.

Go live more smoothly. Avalara Agentic Tax and Compliance™ for NetSuite, a NetSuite AI SuiteApp, helps finance and tax teams streamline configuration and onboarding. The result is greater clarity during implementation and faster time to value.

Streamline global e-invoicing with Stripe. Avalara integration with Stripe automates invoice generation, validation, and reporting within existing payment workflows. This reduces manual effort, supports compliance with evolving regulations, and helps businesses scale international operations with greater efficiency and confidence.

Recognize when QuickBooks needs backup. QuickBooks sales tax tools can work for simple scenarios, but growing businesses with more complex requirements often outgrow them. Adding automation allows businesses to handle multistate rules, changing rates, and product taxability with greater accuracy.

Manage Shopify multientity complexity with confidence. Routing transactions correctly for tax can be challenging for ecommerce businesses operating across multiple legal entities. Shopify Business Entities functionality helps manage these entities within a single environment, leading to more accurate compliance, reduced manual effort, and a smoother path to global growth.

How do state sales tax changes impact my business?
State sales tax changes can affect where you have nexus, what products or services are taxable, and how much tax you need to collect and remit across jurisdictions.

What is economic nexus and why are the rules changing in some states?
Economic nexus determines when a business must collect sales tax based on their sales activity in a state. Many states are removing economic nexus transaction thresholds to simplify costly compliance requirements for very small businesses.

How can businesses manage cross-border tax compliance?
Businesses can manage cross-border compliance by staying current on regulatory changes and using automation to handle calculations and reporting.

When should I consider automating tax processes?
If your business is growing, operating in multiple jurisdictions, or relying on manual processes, automation can improve accuracy, reduce risk, and support scalability.

How can Avalara help with these changes?
Avalara Agentic Tax and Compliance^TM solutions combine automation, AI-driven insights, and integrations to manage tax calculation, reporting, and compliance across jurisdictions and workflows.