Unsure where you owe sales or use tax or dealing with legacy compliance pain?

Check Your Exposure

Sales tax and use tax exposure checklist

This checklist helps businesses identify potential sales tax and use tax exposure before registering, filing, or attempting remediation. It is designed to create clarity and prevent unnecessary or premature compliance actions. You do not need to answer yes to every item for exposure to exist. The checklist highlights areas that typically deserve closer review as businesses grow.

Sales activity

  • Have you sold to customers in more than one state?
  • Has your sales volume increased significantly over time?
  • Do you have customers in states where you are not registered?
  • Have transaction counts increased even when revenue remains moderate?
Growth in activity can trigger obligations even when total revenue appears modest.

Nexus triggers

  • Do you have employees, contractors, or offices in more than one state?
  • Do you store inventory in third party warehouses or fulfillment centers?
  • Have you crossed revenue or transaction thresholds in any state based on current or prior year activity?
  • Do you participate in affiliate or referral programs that may create sales tax nexus?

Marketplace considerations

  • Do you sell through online marketplaces?
  • Are you unsure whether the marketplace collects tax on your behalf in every state?
  • Have marketplace rules changed since you started selling?
  • Do you rely on marketplace reports without independently verifying your obligations?

Registration and filing

  • Are you registered in some states but not others?
  • Have you registered but not filed returns consistently?
  • Have you missed required or zero returns after registration?
  • Are you unsure which filing schedules, frequencies, or jurisdictions apply?

Use tax exposure

  • Have vendors failed to charge sales tax on purchases?
  • Do you purchase equipment, software, or services from out of state vendors?
  • Have you reviewed purchase data for use tax exposure?
  • Are use tax obligations tracked manually, inconsistently, or not at all?

Data and process gaps

  • Do you rely on spreadsheets or disconnected systems to track sales tax and use tax obligations?
  • Is your data spread across multiple systems or formats?
  • Do you lack visibility into when thresholds were crossed?
  • Are tax decisions made reactively rather than based on structured data and thresholds?

What your answers mean

If you answered yes to several of these questions, sales tax or use tax exposure may exist, especially for businesses operating across multiple states. This does not mean penalties are owed immediately, but it does mean the situation deserves structured review before taking action. Many businesses discover exposure gradually and address it successfully once they understand scope and options.

What to do next

A practical compliance decision process looks like this:

Step 1

Identify where exposure may exist

Step 2

Determine when obligations may have started

Step 3

Prioritize jurisdictions by risk and impact

Step 4

Decide whether registration, filing, or remediation is required

Clarity enables confident and defensible compliance decisions.

How TaxMap helps apply this checklist at scale

TaxMap helps you:

TaxMap supports structured, data driven compliance decisions without reactive or unnecessary filings.

Check Your Exposure

Frequently asked questions

The checklist highlights risk areas, but exposure and compliance decisions should be based on transaction data and jurisdiction specific rules.
No. Exposure does not always mean tax is owed or that immediate action is required.
Yes. Exposure often exists before registration.
Yes. Completing this checklist before filing helps avoid unnecessary or premature action.
Yes. Many businesses use this checklist as a starting point for internal review or advisor discussions before filing.