Taxes 22.2
Avalara Tax/Surcharge Exemptions
Avalara taxing in Customer Master has been enhanced to include the ability to exempt taxes and surcharges. A new Avalara Tax Type table was added and the Tax Exemption table was repurposed to include exemptions for both taxes and surcharges. After set up, the new Avalara Tax Types and Exemptions will be passed to Bill Master during Step 3 of billing. MACC will then pass the exempt information to Avalara through an API call. This is only available for companies utilizing the Avalara tax solution with Avalara enabled in their database.
Maintenance | Common | Taxes | Avalara Tax Type: A new maintenance table was created containing “Avalara Tax Types” defined by Avalara. The table is only available when Avalara has been enabled at Tools | Options | Billing. Upon upgrade. All the Avalara Tax Types are flagged as inactive so the grid will be blank until users edit the Avalara Tax Types they want to use and uncheck the Inactive checkbox to activate them. The Avalara Tax Types information is displayed in the grid and when the “Enable Grid Editing” button is clicked, users can edit the “Inactive” flag column and the “USP Code” column from the grid. Avalara Tax Types cannot be deleted from the grid, only inactivated. Standard grid functionality is available from the right-click menu. A “hover over” scroll bar at the bottom of the grid can be used to scroll to the right and see all the columns. In the example, eleven Avalara Tax Types rows have been activated and are displayed in the grid filtered on “Active.”
Maintenance | Common | Address: There may be times when an address should not be taxed for city taxes as it may be just outside of the city limits. A checkbox labeled “Unincorporated” was added to the Acct/Cust/Network Address Editor to indicate it is out of city limits and should not be taxed City taxes. Unincorporated is only available when Avalara has been enabled at Tools | Options | Billing. Once an address is flagged as Unincorporated a new “Unincorporated” column in the Address grid will have a checkmark. In-grid Editing of the checkbox is allowed in the address grid when the “Enable Grid Editing” button is clicked. In addition, the Unincorporated flag can be updated in mass on addresses using the “Mass Edit” tool (lightning bolt) from the address toolbar.
Maintenance | Common | Taxes | Tax Exemption Editor: The existing Tax Exemption Editor was repurposed with the ability to exempt Avalara taxes and surcharges. When Avalara has been enabled the screen includes a grid to set up both Avalara tax and surcharge exemptions. The Tax Exemption Editor has buttons below the grid to Insert, Delete, or Cancel rows in the grid. Clicking the Insert button will enable the drop-down selections in the grid. Thirteen Avalara Categories defined by Avalara are available from the “Category” drop-down in the grid. A hover-over scrollbar on the right side of the grid can be used to scroll down to see all the Categories. The Category is not required but can be selected if users want to set up exemptions by Category. The Avalara Categories (2-digit number) include:
- 00: All
- 01: Sales and Use Tax
- 02: Business Tax
- 03: Gross Receipts Taxes
- 04: Excise Taxes
- 05: Connectivity Charges
- 06: Regulatory Charges
- 07: E-911 Charges
- 08: Utility User Taxes
- 09: Right of Way Fees
- 10: Communications Services Tax
- 11: Cable Regulatory Fees
- 12: Reserved
- 13: Value Added Taxes
The Domain options represent where users are trying to exempt. Only one Domain can be selected on a single row. Every row in the grid must have both a Domain and a Scope selected to be valid. The Domain options include:
- 0-Federal
- 1-State
- 2-County
- 3-City
The Scope options represent what users are trying to Exempt. One or more box(es) can be checked for exemption. Every row in the grid must have both a Domain and a Scope selected to be valid. The four Scope options include:
- 0-Federal
- 1-State
- 2-County
- 3-City
In the example, selections were made to exempt the County surcharges from the City.
- Type 015 – Surcharge
- Domain = City (where we are trying to exempt)
- Scope = County (what we are trying to exempt)
- Business Rules to remember:
- Every Exemption code can have multiple Categories or Tax Types in the grid
- A single row in the grid is either a Category or Type not both
- Every row in the grid must have Scope and Domain selected to be valid
- You can have multiple Scopes on a single row
- You can only have one Domain on a single row
When Avalara is enabled, the existing Exempt Code in the Service Order will continue to function as it did, except the newly configured Avalara tax and surcharge exemptions will apply. The vertical Tax checkboxes are disabled and grayed on every tier in the Service Order/Sales Lead, the View screen accessed from Inquiry, as well as from Templates. Avalara does not use these flags. Additionally, the new Avalara Tax Types and Exemptions will be passed to the billing team at MACC during Step 3 of billing. MACC will pass the exempt information to Avalara through the API and they will calculate the tax/surcharge exemptions. Note: As before with Avalara, Data Master reports will not look the same and users will need to use Avalara’s website to see detailed tax reports.