Register in a jurisdiction

Introduction

Sales tax registration is essential for establishing your business's legal compliance with tax regulations in that specific area. There are various why registering a jurisdiction is crucial:

• Legal Compliance — Registering for sales tax in a jurisdiction is often a legal requirement once a business meets specific criteria like reaching a sales threshold or establishing nexus. Failure to register can lead to penalties, fines, or legal actions, impacting the business's operations and reputation.

• Tax Collection Responsibility — Upon registration, the business collects and remits sales tax from customers in that jurisdiction. Proper registration ensures the business fulfills its tax obligations, contributes to the local economy, and abides by tax laws.

• Avoiding Penalties — Non-compliance with sales tax registration can result in severe penalties or interest charges. Registering on time helps businesses avoid these penalties and maintain good standing with tax authorities.

Registering for sales tax in a jurisdiction is not only a legal obligation but also a way for businesses to uphold compliance, avoid penalties, and maintain credibility with authorities and customers. In the US, Anrok can take care of sales tax registration in any state or city that taxes SaaS, including home-rule jurisdictions.

Initiate registration in a jurisdiction

For any state where you have a taxable product, Anrok can handle the hassle of registration and schedule when you start calculating and remitting sales tax. All you need to do is initiate the registration and specify your preferred tax calculation date and tax collection method. See How do I know if I need to register in a state?

Try initiating registration in a jurisdiction in the demo above ☝️

1. In the Anrok app , go to Jurisdictions. Take me there!
2. Under the Action required tab, select an or jurisdiction. If you are not exposed or approaching exposure in the jurisdiction you want to register in, you can find it under the All tab.
3. Review the cause of exposure, then click Start registration.
4. Under Are you currently registered for Sales & Use Tax?, select whether you are already registered in the jurisdiction.
   • If you've selected Yes for this question, provide the required information for Anrok to access your existing sales tax account (i.e. sales tax account number, login information, PIN, etc.). See Submit an existing sales tax registration.
5. If you've selected No for the previous question, under Are you registered for income tax in this jurisdiction?, select whether you're registered for income tax.
   • If you've selected Yes for this question, you may be asked to provide additional information for Anrok to access your existing tax account (i.e. business identification number, UBI, etc.).
6. Under Do you have a physical office (this does not include a remote employee home address) in the jurisdiction?, select whether you have a physical office.
   • If you've selected Yes for this question, provide the address of the business location in the jurisdiction.
   • If you've selected No for this question, under Do you have 1 or more employees in this jurisdiction?, select whether you have an employee currently in the jurisdiction.
7. When you are finished, click Save and continue.
8. Under Who may we contact for follow-ups related to this registration?, select an email for our Registrations team to contact for updates related to your registration in the jurisdiction.
9. Under Have you completed a VDA with this jurisdiction?, select whether you've already completed a VDA.
10. If you've selected No for the previous question, under Are you planning to pursue a VDA with this jurisdiction?, select whether you plan to pursue a VDA.
    • If you've selected Yes for this question, our registration team will contact you from registrations@anrok.com within 2-3 business days to confirm the details of your Voluntary Disclosure Agreement.
11. If you've selected No for the previous question, under Do you want to remediate exposure from past filing periods using Anrok?, select one of the following options:
    • Yes, by filing historic returns and remitting all taxes, penalties and interest — Recommended option if you are not going to complete a VDA. The option to filing historic returns is only available on Anrok's Growth plan. Please reach out to hello@anrok.com to upgrade and unlock historic return filing capabilities.
    • Yes, by filing any historic liability on my first return — Placing exposure on the first return means you'll pay your tax owed, not the penalty and interest associated with that, leaving those amounts as potential risk items on audit.
    • No — Unpaid exposure will remain outstanding, and penalties and interest on these amounts will continue to accrue.
      
      

      Tip

      For more information on addressing your historic exposure, check out our Help Center article Approach your historic exposure.

      
      
      
12. Under When should Anrok begin calculating tax on transactions?, select one of the following options:
    • On my nexus date — Anrok will begin calculating tax on the same date you reached economic or physical nexus in the jurisdiction. Selecting this option can remediate exposure from past filing periods.
    • Immediately after registration is approved — Anrok will begin calculating tax on the same day as your official registration.
    • At a specified date — Anrok will begin calculating tax on transactions dated before or after your official registration. If you select a date after your registration, exposure amounts will continue to accrue until this date.
13. Under Should Anrok begin collecting tax from customers by adding tax to invoices?, select one of the following options:
    • Yes, immediately after registration is approved — Anrok will begin collecting tax from customers on the same day as your official registration.
    • Yes, at a specified date — Anrok will begin collecting tax from customers on a date before or after your official registration. If selected, for any transactions that occur between your tax calculation date and tax collection date, you will be expected to pay tax on your customer’s behalf.
    • No, taxes will be paid by the seller — Anrok will not begin collecting tax from customers after your official registration. If selected, for any transactions that occur, you will pay tax on your customer’s behalf.
14. Enter an email to use for your webfile account.
15. When you are finished, click Submit registration.

Registration fees

Some jurisdictions charge a processing fee for registering in a jurisdiction. Once you register for sales tax in any of these jurisdictions, you will see these charges hit your account. The table below lists the states which currently charge fees upon registering and their amounts: