Sales Tax Dubuque

Paying sales tax in Dubuque, Iowa is unavoidable. When you purchase a pair of pants in a department store, toiletries in a supermarket, or even food from a drive through, you will be paying taxes. Even if you own your own business, you cannot avoid it. Chances are, if you make a sale, you will collect sales tax. Once you collect it, your state’s jurisdiction will come with its hand out looking for its fair share. Like any tax collection, it has its due dates and consequences for not being paid. If your collections are not remitted in a timely fashion, the tax collectors will be looking for you.

Sales Tax Compliance

Keeping track of the sales tax your business collects is not hard. Simply gather the tax data from the many different sources within your company. Many times, you will need to check with different departments, such as engineering, marketing, legal, the corporate secretary, and operations. While some departments may not take in sales tax themselves, they may certainly be able to steer you in the right direction for tracking the sources. Sales journals, accounts payable, and fixed asset ledgers are great places to start.

Once you know where your sales tax is generated, you will need to evaluate and reconcile the data. This is where sales tax collected, used tax accrued, and tax collected versus tax due comes into play. Once you have these numbers, it becomes easier to put them into the appropriate tax forms. Each tax form should be reviewed thoroughly so you understand what is required and how to prepare them. Tax preparation usually varies by state. Sales data should be reported separately from purchase data. This could be on separate lines or the same return.

sales tax should be filed for return and paid on a timely basis. The due date applies to both the filing of the return and the payment of the tax. You should confirm the payment was received by the state’s department of revenue. You should also trace your funds back to the bank to be sure your payment will clear once it has been received. Developing a calendar update will help you track important filing information, including due dates, the amount of tax due, who prepared the return, the filing method, the date filed, the actual filing, payment confirmation, and more.

Any notices you receive from the sales tax process are generated by the taxing authorities when errors occur. These usually have short response times and require quick attention. You should provide any documentation you may have to support your case. You should also track your every step until the case is resolved. This is one process that does not go away. As long as you own your business and generate sales, you will have to repeat the same steps over and over again when it comes to sales tax obligations.

Why Pay?

Believe it or not, sales tax is an important part of the state and local governments’ revenue. Many government programs are funded through the collection of sales tax. Without its collection, some programs could suffer or be eliminated completely. Governments and local municipalities could be forced to raise taxes in other areas to make up for the lack of sales tax collection. Every homeowner would hate to see their property taxes raised even higher to replace the lack of funding from the missing tax.
You can rely on the experts at Buchheit Tax to help with all your Dubuque, Iowa sales tax needs.