The Software Sales Tax Recovery Guide: Do you really need to pay so much sales tax on your purchases of software?

Canned software is a commodity that virtually all businesses use. As its purchase usually entails a significant investment for a business, its taxability status should be considered. Certain software purchases may be exempt from sales tax depending on where, when, and how the purchases were made. If the software purchase is found to be nontaxable, it is the economic equivalent of a 6 to 10% discount on the transaction. Even if the software purchase were found to be tax exempt after the purchase had been made, the business may still obtain, with sufficient documentation, a tax refund from the software vendor or the state or local taxing jurisdiction—generally, whichever jurisdiction had initially collected the tax on the purchase. Thus, on purchases of $1 million of software, savings or refunds of as much as $100,000 can be obtained.


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