Unsure where you owe sales or use tax or dealing with legacy compliance pain?
Check Your ExposureCalifornia sales tax exemptions are narrow, fact specific, and heavily scrutinized during audits. Many businesses assume exemptions apply broadly based on industry or customer type. In reality, exemption misuse is one of the most common sources of California sales tax exposure. This page explains how California sales tax exemptions work, where businesses commonly make mistakes, and how exemption errors create exposure.
California sales tax exemptions apply only when:
The burden of proof always rests with the seller.
The most frequently misunderstood exemptions include:
Assumptions based on business type alone often lead to exposure.
Resale exemptions create exposure when:
During audits, unsupported resale exemptions are routinely disallowed.
Manufacturing exemptions in California are limited and partial.
Exposure often occurs when businesses:
Partial exemptions still require careful calculation and documentation.
Nonprofit and government related exemptions are commonly misapplied.
Common errors include:
Most nonprofit transactions remain taxable.
Even when base tax exemptions apply, district taxes may still be owed.
Exposure develops when businesses:
District tax treatment is a frequent CDTFA audit focus.
During audits, the CDTFA commonly requests:
Missing documentation typically results in full tax assessment.
Exposure grows when:
Exemption errors often result in large assessments.
If your business relies on exemptions, validating eligibility and documentation is critical before an audit. Use the Sales Tax Exposure Calculator to identify exemption related risk.
TaxMap helps businesses by:
TaxMap provides clarity before audits or remediation.
If you are unsure whether California sales tax exemptions are applied correctly in your business, early analysis matters.
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