| Tax FAQsSales Tax Overview
If you charge sales tax, you can setup a sales tax structure in Point of Sale so that sales taxes are automatically collected on sales of taxable merchandise or services.
How taxes are applied to sales depend on the tax codes and tax locations you have set up.
Tax codes specify the specific taxing instructions (taxable or not, tax rate, if price-dependent, and other tax options) and are assigned to your items in inventory. Learn more.
Tax locations allow you to customize the taxing instructions for each of your tax codes based on where the item is sold or to whom it is sold. Learn More.
A simple tax structure might have just two tax codes, one for taxable merchandise and one for non-taxable merchandise, in a single tax location with a single tax rate. If you entered a tax rate during the Setup Interview, such a structure was set up for you, using two default tax codes and one default tax location.
If your tax requirements aren't that simple, you can set up additional tax codes, tax locations, and other options in company preferences. Point of Sale provides support for the collection of different tax rates based on merchandise categories, item price thresholds, where an item is sold, to whom it is sold, and collection and reporting for multiple taxing agencies.
When you make a sale, sales tax is automatically calculated and added to all taxable items according to your tax setup. Customers can be flagged as tax exempt or assigned to a specific tax location, so that the correct sales tax is automatically calculated on sales to that customer. You can also change tax codes or locations on individual sales if needed for special circumstances.
Point of Sale provides sales tax reports to help you make your tax payments to the taxing agency or agencies. If integrated with QuickBooks Desktop financial software, Point of Sale sends sales tax information to QuickBooks Desktop along with other sales information each day. Sales tax reports can be ran in Point of Sale or in your financial software, broken out by tax codes, tax agency, store, or tax location for any time period.