As a business owner, you wear many different hats. You have a seemingly endless list of daily tasks and responsibilities, so worrying about your accounting is probably the last thing you want to do. That being the case, it’s easy to make mistakes when you’re keeping track of your finances, and that includes when you’re getting ready to file your sales tax. We have compiled some common sales tax filing mistakes to avoid so that you can prevent penalties.
- Failing to collect sales tax even though you meet the criteria – If you are engaged in business in North Carolina, you sell taxable goods and services, and your customers are required to pay sales tax, then you need to file and register to pay sales tax. If you’re not sure whether you need to collect sales tax, you can contact the NCDOR.
- Filing sales tax late – If you do not complete your sales tax filing on time, it’s not the end of the world, but you’ll have to pay penalties and late fees that increase the longer it takes you to file your sales tax return. Save yourself the trouble and get it done early.
- Forgetting to include sales tax exemptions – When you don’t include sales tax exemptions, you end up charging customers too much. Plus, it will be a headache dealing with the error when you’ve already filed. Some goods and services that are exempt from sales tax or have a lower sales tax rate in North Carolina include groceries, clothing, and prescription drugs.
If you need sales tax filing assistance, contact us at Balanced Bookkeeping of NC.
