Avalara powers millions of businesses worldwide
BENEFITS
Agentic AI
How it works
- Connect to your existing systems
Integrate with ERP, ecommerce, marketplace, and accounting platforms.
- Prepopulate setup with prior filings
Upload return confirmations to automatically extract nexus and return details.
- Centralize registrations and schedules
Manage entities, jurisdictions, and filing frequencies in one place.
- Scale without disruption
Add or update filing locations as your business expands.
- Standardize transaction data
Create a clean, consistent foundation for filing.
- Apply up-to-date rates and forms
Use regularly updated tax content for multiple jurisdictions.
- Align with state requirements
Prepare returns according to current filing rules and formats.
- Automate return preparation
Reduce reliance on spreadsheets and manual processes.
- Validate before submission
Identify discrepancies or missing data prior to filing.
- Track liabilities and payments
Monitor what’s due, filed, and remitted
- Access centralized reporting
View filing calendars and compliance insights in one place.
- Maintain audit readiness
Keep filing history and documentation organized and accessible.
CUSTOMER STORIES
INTEGRATIONS
Solutions and features
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Feature |
Managed Returns |
Managed Returns Premium |
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Automated extraction of sales data from marketplaces, ecommerce, and accounting platforms |
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U.S. (state and local) and Canadian return filing |
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Consumer use tax filing |
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Support for free SST returns |
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Single source of payment (Avalara Treasury) |
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Agentic notice handling |
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Prepayments calculation and filing |
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Aviator-guided workflow experience |
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Multilocation-based returns |
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Advanced return schedules (e.g., Colorado Public Improvement Fee, California Schedule H) |
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Credit carry-over support |
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CSV transaction upload and error alerting |
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Transaction creation and editing within the UI |
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Management of filing entities and users in a single account |
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Direct point of contact and tax preparer |
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White glove service for high-volume, high-revenue, complex returns |
The Avalara filing process is engineered around your deadlines. Returns are auto-approved by the 10th of the month at 5:00 p.m. ET, if not manually approved earlier, giving our compliance team a full window to file and remit before each jurisdiction’s due date. In 2025, Avalara processed and filed more than 7 million returns. If a return is filed incorrectly due to an Avalara error and you receive a penalty notice, upload the notice through the Avalara Portal and our compliance team will review it and work toward resolution for any period we filed.
Our onboarding team reviews your return configurations and funding authorization to ensure everything is accurate before your first filing. Most businesses are filing with Avalara within their first full filing cycle after onboarding. During setup, you connect your transaction data, add state registration details, and authorize Avalara to file on your behalf. New filings should be added by the 20th of the month prior to your first filing period. For example, if you want Avalara to file your April returns (due in May), add the filing by April 20.
Yes. Avalara supports both amended returns and backfiling for prior periods. To initiate either, contact your account manager or open a support case. Our compliance team will research the filing history, prepare the corrected or missing returns, and coordinate with the relevant state authorities. If you’re catching up on returns that were never filed, Avalara can also assist you with Voluntary Disclosure Services (VDS) to help manage prior-period exposure and coordinate with state programs. Backfiling is available as a service engagement through your account team.
Avalara compliance operations are built to file every return before its jurisdictional due date. With more than 7 million returns processed and filed in 2025, our process includes automated scheduling, multistep quality checks, and a dedicated compliance team. If you receive a penalty or interest notice for a return Avalara filed, submit the notice through the Avalara Portal. Our team will review it, and if the issue was caused by an Avalara error, we’ll work to resolve it with the state on your behalf.
Avalara files all state-level and local-level sales and use tax returns, including sellers use tax returns, across every U.S. sales and use tax jurisdiction. This includes home-rule states like Colorado and Alabama, where local jurisdictions have independent filing requirements. For specialized industries such as communications, lodging and hospitality, and energy and fuel, Avalara Managed Returns handles sector-specific tax types with dedicated forms and schedules. Avalara Managed Returns Premium extends coverage to nonstandard returns, advanced return schedules (e.g., Colorado Public Improvement Fee, California Schedule H), and complex scenarios like Florida Enterprise Zone tax incentives.
Yes. Every filing period, you have from the 1st through the 10th of the month to reconcile transactions, review liabilities and remittances, and approve your returns in the Avalara Portal. You have full visibility into what will be filed and can make adjustments before approval. If returns are not manually approved by the 10th at 5:00 p.m. ET, they’re automatically approved to ensure Avalara can file them before their due dates. After filing, return confirmations are available for download in Avalara AvaTax, typically after the 5th of the following month.
Upload the notice through the Avalara Portal experience and our compliance team will take it from there. For any return Avalara filed, we review the notice, research the issue, and work toward resolution, which may include refiling, responding to the state, or coordinating penalty abatement. Our agentic notice handling accelerates notice creation and helps resolve issues quickly. Note: Notice management covers periods and jurisdictions where Avalara filed the original return. For notices related to periods filed before your Avalara engagement, your account team can advise on next steps including backfilling services.
Avalara uses a single-source payment model through Avalara Treasury. Between the 11th and 14th of each month (adjusted for weekends and holidays), Avalara pulls the approved remittance amounts from your designated bank account. We then remit payment to each jurisdiction on your behalf, ensuring funds arrive before each due date. This means you make one payment to Avalara rather than managing separate payments to dozens of state and local authorities.
Yes. Avalara Managed Returns is designed to scale up or down as your filing obligations change. When you establish nexus in a new state, simply add the registration details and filing location in the Avalara Portal. You can also remove locations when obligations end. Whether you file in three states or 300, the same platform and compliance team support your filings. Avalara also alerts you to new tax obligations, helping you stay ahead of nexus changes before they result in missed filings.
Switching to Avalara Managed Returns is straightforward. During onboarding, you provide your existing state registrations and filing history, and our team configures your returns in the Avalara Portal. If you’re using Avalara AvaTax for calculations, your transaction data flows directly into returns preparation with no manual import required. For businesses coming from manual filing or another provider, Avalara can coordinate the transition so there’s no gap in coverage. Your account team will align the cutover with your filing calendar to ensure no deadline is missed during the switch.
