17 min read
Wisconsin Sales Tax Guide
🐄🧀 Wisconsin, nicknamed the Badger State, may be famous for dairy, but technically California produces more. While it’s hard to imagine football...
After reading this guide, you will have learned:
If, after reading, you still have any questions to help you determine your tax sales obligations in Indiana and how to fulfill them, we are here for your small business bookkeeping needs!
✅ Do you need to get in touch with the Indiana Department of Revenue?
✅ Are you uncertain about whether to visit, call them, or contact them through their website?
✅ Do you wonder what information you should have ready before you contact them?
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, read on, as we have just the information you need! :)
The Indiana Department of Revenue is reachable by phone at 317-233-4015.
You can also shoot a message to them via email, or visit one of their District Office Locations. If you are hoping for the fastest response, our suggestion is that you call rather than send a message or wait in line.
When you do call the Indiana Department of Revenue, you will want to have some information on hand. It will save time to have the following information easily accessible before you call:
If you are calling on behalf of an individual or a business, or having a third party call on your behalf, you must have an Indiana Power of Attorney (form POA-1, PDF) signed before you call or else you will be wasting your time; they can only help if you have a completed form.
If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact us so we can assist you with your sales tax needs.
Are you a new business selling tangible property in Indiana? If yes, you are going to want to register your business with the Indiana Department of Revenue so that you can pay your sales tax on time.
You need not fret as this is a relatively simple process and one for which you’re about to be fully prepared. We are going to outline the steps below so you are totally ready to register for your sales tax license.
Here we go! Remember...
Preparation is key.
Let’s get started!
You can apply or register for an Indiana sales tax permit by visiting the Indiana Department of Revenue and following the instructions provided.
Indiana is one of the few states to have moved to online-only registration... and we commend them for it! No offense to the USPS or any postal carriers reading this :)
Great question!
Before you sign up for Indiana sales tax permit you’ll want the following information on hand:
Don’t forget! Preparation is key. When you have all this information ready, you can go online and register for your permit at the Indiana InBiz Tax Application website.
Indiana charges $25 to register an RRMC for your small business.
Indeed, yes! You will absolutely need one, but if you don’t already have one and need to get a new EIN, it’s a quick and painless process. You can easily register for a Federal EIN right here :).
You may need to apply to some of the following agencies:
You’ll want to give this some thought and do a little research or investigating; since every business is unique, and there are such different rules, regulations, and laws that may apply.
We suggest contacting the Indiana Department of Revenue to verify which additional government agencies you may be required to register with.
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Huzzah! That’s all, folks --You should be all set!
You are now prepared to register for your Indiana sales tax permit in Indiana.
Let’s summarize where we reviewed:
Registering for your Indiana sales tax permit will be stress free as long as you are prepared. We recommend organizing all the essential information in a folder, preferably using a system like Box.com or Dropbox (something we’re happy to handle for our customers).
By now, you may have already contacted the Indiana Department of Revenue and applied for an Indiana sales tax permit.
Once you have a license to collect and remit sales taxes in Indiana, you will probably be asking yourself two questions:
We are going to go over some common questions that our clients have asked. We believe these questions will help you appreciate the nuances of taxable goods so you can be confident in fulfilling your tax obligations.
Let’s start with the first question…
The following items are all taxable in the state of Indiana:
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Let’s now review some of our clients’ frequently asked questions:
To best understand your tax obligations, new businesses need to consider how they are doing business and the type of relationships they have with buyers and any third parties to their transactions.
Let’s discuss some questions that will help you understand the nature of your small business and the subsequent tax implications.
Indiana has a singular state-wide rate irrespective of location.
Protip: Charge the same rate in Indiana no matter where you are.
Having nexus, also known as "sufficient business presence,” with Indiana means your business has established a taxing connection with a state. When this happens, you are required to collect and remit sales tax in Indiana because you created a sales tax Nexus.
Even if your business maintains its main headquarters in another state, you may still have to charge and pay sales tax to the Indiana Department of Revenue even if you never step foot in Indiana.
So, how do you create a sales tax Nexus in Indiana?
A business establishes a nexus in Indiana by:
Let’s talk a bit more specifically about where your goods are stored such as in the instance of an Amazon warehouse.
Yes, a good many of them! The Amazon fulfillment centers in Indiana are at the following addresses:
This is relevant if you sell your products on Amazon or are recognized as an Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) seller. When Amazon stores your products in one of its fulfillment centers in any state including Indiana, this triggers a sales tax requirement. If Amazon is storing your products in a warehouse in Indiana, you have created a taxing connection with the state of Indiana.
We can help guide your small business through this. We use tools like A2X and Wherestock to identify where our clients' inventory is currently being held and shipped from so that we can keep them in compliance.
Yes, they do, as of October 2018. This means businesses without a physical presence or traditional nexus may be required to register for and pay sales taxes.
The thresholds for registering are having either:
For more information see the Indiana DOR’s out-of-state retailer page here.
No. This means if your business is involved in affiliate marketing you don’t, at this time, need to worry about paying sales taxes in Indiana.
Yes! Since October, 2005 Indiana has been a full member of Streamlined Sales Tax.
If you are planning on taking advantage of the Streamlined Sales Tax as a business, it is recommended you use a Certified Service Provider though businesses may opt to register themselves without a CSP. Ultimately the aim of streamlined sales tax is to simplify payment to multiple different states of sales and use tax. It isn’t required that you utilize them, but it can significantly reduce complexity to do so.
You and your business can be better-equipped to avoid situations like paying fines, paying back taxes that you did know you had to pay in the first place, or facing an audit by the tax authorities in Indiana.
By now you know if you are a business that has established a nexus with Indiana. So you have a hand on whether you are required to collect sales tax. Knowing this is just half the battle! Now, we are going to help you with the next half of the battle: how to navigate the process of collecting taxes.
Let’s review some common questions our clients have asked regarding their Indiana Sales Tax obligations.
After reading this, you will be better equipped to determine when --and when not-- to collect sales tax in Indiana.
Indiana makes it relatively easy as they have a statewide rate; simply ensure your Point of Sales equipment is configured with the correct rate [currently 7%] and you’re good to go!
Seven percent at the time of this writing. However, since sales tax rates may change, we shall refer you to check out the Indiana Department of Revenue tax history page. Any change should be reflected on that page.
It always helps to be accurate and up to date with this type of information! :)
Here is a list of exemptions:
At this point, you should know what products are exempt from sales tax in Indiana. You also want to know who may be exempt.
Under Indiana law, the type of buyer or the way the goods will be used can qualify can buyer for a sales tax exemption. A good example of this is a merchant purchasing goods for resale, aka a wholesaler.
Other common examples of an exempt buyer may include:
Altogether, sales tax exemptions apply if the buyer falls under one of these categories.
Purchasers who are tax exempt must have completed form ST-105 (PDF) and present their completed exemption certificate at the time of purchase. It is then incumbent upon the seller to hold on to this exemption certificate. Failure to do so may leave you unable to justify tax exempt sales.
Remember, you want to collect and file a copy of the certificate. Such certificates must be produced upon request in the event of an audit to justify tax-exempt sales.
Hmm... Obviously this issue is best to be avoided! Imagine finding out you’ll be audited and discovering you cannot produce an exemption certificate for a buyer! That nightmare scenario would mean you could be held liable to pay all taxes on behalf of the buyer. This is a bad scene and can be avoided by taking proper care with your paperwork… which happens to be one of our specialties! :)
Does Indiana have a sales tax holiday?
Nope! The tax man doesn’t rest in the state of Indiana.
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We have now covered who you need to collect sales taxes from, how to determine whether goods for sale are deemed taxable, what goods and services fall under tax exemptions, who is eligible for tax exemption certificates, and, finally, the process of collecting sales tax in Indiana state.
Now that we’re this far down the rabbit hole there’s only one thing we need to learn about next… how to pay the piper!
It is time to talk about filing and paying your sales taxes in Indiana. In this section, We are going to cover the following frequently asked questions from our clients:
By the time you finish reading this, you will feel confident enough to file and pay your Indiana Sales Tax.
Indiana sales tax payments are due no later than the 20th day following the reporting period for early filers and the 30th day for monthly filers (see below).
The thresholds of income for various filing frequency requirements are:
Collect File
Collect | File |
More than $1000/mo average in preceding year | Monthly |
Less than $1000/mo average in preceding year | Yearly |
Not sure how to determine your tax filing frequency?
You can review your eCommerce or Point of Sale Software to see the volume of sales you have generated.
Don't worry though! The state will let you know when your due dates change. :)
Watch your mail for a letter from the State of Indiana so that you don't miss any deadlines.
The deadline is moved to the next business day, typically the Monday following the weekend or the day after the holiday. Where possible, we always suggest filing well before the holiday.
Paper: Not an option!
Electronic: File form ST-103 at INtax and submit payment via EFT.
Correct the return via the INtax website.
If you were required to collect sales taxes and failed to do so for whatever reason, that’s a big time whoopsy! You will ultimately be held responsible for the tax due. Always collect sales tax at the point of sale. Attempting to collect after the fact will be time consuming and most likely unsuccessful.
Protip: You are still responsible for remitting sales taxes even if you failed to collect them.
This is not a problem our customers tend to face, as we keep them on the straight and narrow. But in the interest of completeness:
Indiana's Department of Revenue charges a 10% penalty for late payments.
Yes, Indiana is one of many states that require businesses to file a “Zero-Tax” return. Yes, even when you have no sales during a taxing period!
Yes, Indiana requires businesses to file a “Final sales tax” return when closing a business in Indiana.
Yes! 🎉🎉🎉 Though teensy, the Indiana Department of Revenue offers a discount of 0.73% of the first $60,000 with no minimum or maximum.
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Now that we covered all our bases for filing and paying sales taxes in the state of Indiana, you should feel more at ease about the process.
Some things to remember:
Now, you are ready to file and pay your sales tax in Indiana. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact us.
Please note: This blog is for informational purposes only and the information is accurate as of 6/28/2019. If you want legal advice on sales tax law for your business, please contact a Sales Tax professional. Keep in mind that sales tax regulations and laws are subject to change at any time. While we strive to keep our blog current, this blog possibly may be out of date by the time you review it.
17 min read
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