Refund of Tax Paid on Software Purchases
Refund of Tax Paid on Software Purchases by Companies Located Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington or Utah

The multiple points of use (“MPU”) exemption is a provision in sales and use tax laws designed to address situations where software is purchased for use in multiple jurisdictions. The MPU exemption allows for allocation of tax based on the proportionate use in each jurisdiction. This results in a refund of sales tax paid on software purchased.

Why do companies overpay sales & use tax on software purchases?

The purchase of specific software licenses or many cloud-based products, such as SaaS, PaaS, and DaaS, products are subject to sales tax in various (but not all jurisdictions) across the country. Typically, sales and use tax laws require tax to be charged based on the location where the software is billed to as this is assumed to be location of ALL OF ITS use. Many companies, especially post COVID-19 have employees that are located in jurisdictions across the country either working out of satellite offices and / or working from their homes. In these situations, companies are overpaying sales & use tax on software purchases because they are paying tax for users that are located in jurisdictions outside of where the software purchases were billed to.

How does the company qualify?

There are no industry and / or purpose of use qualifications to meet in order qualify for this exemption. The only qualification for the MPU exemption is that the software should be capable of being used in multiple locations or by multiple users. While there may be other exemptions applicable to software, the MPU exemption is primarily for companies that are based out Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington or Utah.

What is the opportunity?

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Washington State Sales Tax Exemption

The state of Washington levies a 6.5% state sales tax on the retail sale, lease or rental of most goods and some services. Local jurisdictions impose additional sales taxes ranging between 0.5% and 3.3%. The range of total sales tax rates within the state of Washington is between 7% and 9.9%. Since July 1, 2008, the state of Washington has changed the way in which local sales taxes are to be collected. The local sales tax will now be based on the destination rate of the delivery.

Use tax is also collected on the consumption, use or storage of goods in Washington if sales tax was not paid on the purchase of the goods. The use tax rate is the same as the sales tax rate. Returns are to be filed on or before the 25th day of the month following the month in which the purchases were made. For example, purchases made in the month of January should be reported to the state of Washington on or before the 25th day of February.

Have a question? Contact Aaron Giles, Agile Consulting Group

What To Know About Intercompany Service Receipts In Washington

Washington state is known for its evergreen forests, beautiful mountains and for being the home of Starbucks. That said, for remote retailers, it should also be known as a state with several unique tax situations, one of which is its treatment of intercompany service receipts.

In general, the Washington Department of Revenue (DOR) takes a fairly aggressive stance in regards to the taxation of remote companies providing services to customers within the state.

However, companies have several avenues that could provide potential relief for these tax burdens.

Taxation Of Services Within Washington State

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Monika Miles On Washington State Tax Climate

Washington is a state in the Pacific Northwest. It is the 18thlargest state and the 13th most populous state. The state was admitted to the union as the 42nd state in 1889.

The Puget Sound in Washington is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean consisting of numerous islands, deep fjords, and bays carved out by glaciers. The remainder of the state consists of deep temperate rainforests in the west; mountain ranges in the west, central, northeast and far southeast; and a semi-arid basin region in the east, central and south, given over to the intensive agriculture. Washington is the second most populous state on the West Coast, after California. Mount Rainier, an active stratovolcano, is the state’s highest elevation, at almost 14,411 feet, and is the 2nd topographically prominent mountain in the continental United States, the first being Denali in Alaska.

Business Climate

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