Sales Tax Filing Checklist Template (US)

Owned by the tax preparer. The three scope questions decide which of Phases 2, 6 and 7 this period’s checklist shows.

• Name the tax preparer, reviewer and approver — every later task is assigned from these three fields, and the reviewer must not be the preparer
• List the returns due this period from the filing calendar — state, frequency, due date and whether a prepayment is due
• Update the nexus tracker with this period’s sales by state — gross sales, taxable sales and transaction counts for every unregistered state, measured over each state’s own period
• Check for rate and taxability changes that take effect this period — new local rates and newly taxable products or services in the states you file in
• Answer the scope questions — has a new state crossed its threshold, has a notice, audit letter or certificate request arrived, and is this the last period of the calendar year

Shown only when the nexus tracker shows a state over its threshold where you are not yet registered.

• Confirm the threshold calculation against the state’s own rules — which sales count, whether marketplace sales are included and which measurement period applies
• Record the date nexus began and the date the state requires collection to start — sales in between are exposure
• Register for a sales tax permit before collecting any tax — plus any separately administered local accounts, such as Colorado’s self-collecting home-rule cities
• Set up the state in the billing system or tax engine — rates, product taxability and the permit number
• Add the state to the filing calendar and the ledger — its assigned frequency, due date and a liability sub-account
• Approver sign-off on the registration and the collection start date — including whether past exposure needs a voluntary disclosure

• Export the period’s sales by jurisdiction — state, county, city and special district, from the billing system or tax engine
• Fix missing or invalid ship-to addresses — a wrong address puts the sale in the wrong jurisdiction at the wrong rate
• Separate sales made through marketplace facilitators — the marketplace collects the tax, so report them only in the way each state requires
• Match every exempt and resale sale to a valid certificate on file — complete, signed and covering this customer and state; chase any that are missing
• Assign taxability to new products and services — per state, before they appear on another return
• Record credit notes, returns and bad debts — and deduct them only in the period and way each state allows

• Reconcile tax collected in the tax engine to the sales tax liability account — state by state, and explain every difference
• Reconcile gross sales on the returns to revenue in the ledger — non-taxable revenue, marketplace sales and timing explain the gap; anything else is an error
• Investigate over- and under-collection — refund over-collected tax to customers, and record under-collected tax as a cost
• Review untaxed purchases for use tax — equipment, software and supplies bought from vendors who charged no tax
• Accrue use tax at the rate where the item is used — and report it on the sales tax return or a separate consumer use tax return, as each state requires

• Prepare each return on the state’s form or portal — including a zero return for every registered state with no sales this period
• Independent review of each return against the reconciliation — totals, local breakdowns, deductions and exempt sales
• Approver sign-off on the returns and the total payment — required before anything is filed
• File and pay by each state’s due date — and claim any timely-filing discount the state offers
• Make any prepayments or estimated payments due this period — on the state’s schedule, separate from the return
• Attach every confirmation number and payment receipt — to this task, state by state
• Reconcile the liability account after payment — what remains should equal tax collected that is not yet due

Shown only when a notice, audit letter or certificate request has arrived.

• Log the notice — state, type, period, amount and the response deadline
• Check it against the filed return, payment receipts and reconciliation — to find the cause before replying
• For an audit, collect the exemption certificates and records requested — and use any extra time the state allows to obtain missing certificates
• Prepare the response, amended return or payment — with the workings attached
• CFO approval of any settlement, amended return or voluntary disclosure — before it is sent

Shown only in the last filing period of the calendar year.

• Re-run the nexus analysis for the full calendar year — many thresholds are measured on the current or previous calendar year
• Update filing frequencies from the states’ notices — states move you between monthly, quarterly and annual filing as your liability changes
• Renew expired or expiring exemption certificates — some states issue certificates that lapse
• Close registrations you no longer need — only where the state’s rules allow, and file the final return
• Hold a short debrief — and change this checklist while the problems are fresh