Sales Tax Compliance and Consulting
Sales tax compliance can become complicated quickly as your business grows, enters new markets, adds products or services, and expands across state and local jurisdictions. With rules, rates, filing requirements, and taxability varying by location, keeping up creates added pressure on your internal team and costly risks when obligations are missed. That’s where we come in.
Our sales tax pros work with you to understand where your business has tax collection and filing obligations, review ongoing compliance and identify any potential issues, and build a more efficient approach to sales tax so you can stay focused on growing your business with confidence.
Build a sales tax strategy that keeps pace with your business
Online sales, employees and subcontractors traveling into states, and the type of services and goods your company sells impact sales tax nexus and filing requirements.
Barnes Dennig’s tax team will work with you to provide tax research, analysis, advisory, and compliance services when your company needs information to make business decisions, minimize risk, and remain compliant with state tax requirements. Our sales tax professionals work with your team to understand how your business operates today and where it’s headed next.
From evaluating nexus and product taxability to improving processes, investigating compliance issues, and preparing for major transactions, we help you build an approach that reduces surprises and supports continued growth.
You get more than completed returns. You get an experienced partner to call when your business changes or a sales tax question arises so you can carry on operations with confidence.
Multi-state tax complexities facing today’s companies
The list is longer than you might expect. Our team of sales tax pros helps businesses that:
- Do business in multiple states
- Have multiple lines of business or affiliates doing business in multiple states
- Sell online or via a catalog
- Have rapid growth and need advisory on state sales tax nexus and filing requirements
- Manage a large number of SKUs or transactions
- Work with exempt products, services, or customers
- Have experienced a costly audit
- Have prior period sales tax obligations for overlooked filing requirements and are interested in voluntary disclosure programs to reduce tax exposure
- File sales tax in complicated states like AZ, CA, CO, KS, IL, LA, MN, NY, TN, TX, WA
- Have a foreign parent company doing business in the USA
Business changes that can affect your sales tax position
You do not need to wait for an audit or filing problem to review sales tax. Some of the best times to involve an advisor are when your business is changing.
It may be time for a fresh review if your company is:
- Expanding into a new state or geographic market
- Adding employees, offices, warehouses, or inventory in new locations
- Introducing new products, services, or sales channels
- Increasing e-commerce or direct-to-consumer sales
- Changing or upgrading your ERP, billing, or sales tax technology
- Integrating systems following an acquisition
- Buying, selling, or preparing to invest in a business
- Performing tax due diligence for a transaction
- Changing how products or services are bundled, priced, or delivered
- Increasing participation in trade shows or other out-of-state activities
Bringing sales tax into these conversations early can help your team identify potential obligations, evaluate alternatives, and build the right processes before problems become more difficult to correct.
Sales tax consulting services
Barnes Dennig’s sales tax management services help you address every angle:
- Sales tax software and compliance management services
- Nexus evaluation
- Taxable or exempt sales analysis
- State sales tax account registrations
- Sales tax return preparation and filing
- Exemption certificate advisory management
- Assistance with audit defense and notices
Guidance on U.S. sales tax for international companies
Expanding into the U.S. can open significant opportunities for international companies, but it can also create sales tax responsibilities sooner than expected. Unlike VAT or GST systems found in many countries, U.S. sales tax is largely administered at the state and local level. That means your company may have registration, collection, and filing requirements in multiple jurisdictions, even without a U.S. office or permanent establishment.
Sales activity alone may be enough to establish economic nexus in a state, while employees, contractors, inventory, warehouses, or other business activities can create additional obligations. Barnes Dennig’s sales tax professionals help international companies understand where they have exposure and build a practical approach to compliance as their U.S. operations grow. Our team can help with:
- Evaluating economic and physical sales tax nexus
- Determining the taxability of products, services, software, and other transactions
- Registering for state sales tax accounts
- Preparing and filing sales tax returns
- Managing exemption certificates and supporting documentation
- Evaluating sales tax implications when establishing a U.S. subsidiary, hiring employees, or storing inventory in the U.S.
- Addressing prior-period exposure, notices, and sales tax audits
Whether you’re preparing to enter the U.S. market or already selling across multiple states, planning ahead can help reduce surprises, manage risk, and create a more efficient approach to ongoing sales tax compliance.
Sales tax audit success story
Sales tax issues do not always begin and end with a return. See how our team helped a fast-growing manufacturer navigate a complex sales tax audit, identify opportunities, and ultimately turn a potential liability into a refund.
Can’t watch the video? Get the transcript.
If your business is growing, you may also be growing sales tax liability in other states – and the penalties add up fast. Take the 2-minute QuickTest to identify areas that may deserve a closer look.
Common state and local tax compliance issues and how to avoid them
Sales tax issues can develop in unexpected places, from nexus and taxability to exemption certificates, systems, and everyday business changes. In this short video, Barnes Dennig sales tax professionals Cheryl Ganim and Ryan Lauer discuss some of the issues they see most often and what businesses can do to address them proactively.
See what our experts say:
Can’t watch the video? Get the transcript.
Why work with Barnes Dennig?
No two companies have the same footprint, products, systems, customers, or growth plans. That is why our approach begins with learning how your business works, not simply reviewing what was filed last year.
Our sales tax professionals combine technical knowledge, industry insights, and practical business perspective to help you understand your obligations, evaluate risk, improve processes, and make informed decisions as your organization evolves. Whether you need help answering a specific taxability question, preparing for a transaction, improving your systems, responding to an audit, or managing ongoing compliance, you have an experienced team ready to help.
That is what looking beyond the numbers means to us: turning complex tax requirements into practical guidance you can use to take your business further.
Ready to get started? Contact our team today for a free consultation. As always, we’re here to help!
