Unsure where you owe sales or use tax or dealing with legacy compliance pain?
Check Your ExposureB2B businesses in California often assume sales tax exposure is minimal because transactions involve other businesses. In practice, exposure commonly develops when exemptions are misapplied, resale documentation is incomplete, district taxes are overlooked, or use tax obligations are ignored. This page explains how California B2B sales tax exposure forms and why liability frequently surfaces during CDTFA audits rather than day-to-day operations sales tax exposure in California.
B2B exposure is driven by documentation and classification, not transaction volume alone.
Key risk factors include:
Assuming “B2B equals exempt” is one of the most common and costly mistakes.
California sales tax treatment for B2B transactions depends on:
Even when a sale is exempt, the burden of proof remains with the seller. For statewide context, see sales tax exposure in California.
Exemptions are the single largest source of B2B exposure in California.
Common problems include:
During audits, the CDTFA frequently disallows exemptions that lack proper support.
Even when a transaction is exempt from base tax, district taxes may still apply depending on the exemption type and sourcing rules.
Exposure develops when businesses:
District tax misapplication is a common CDTFA audit finding for B2B sellers. To understand district tax mechanics, see district taxes.
B2B businesses establish nexus through:
Nexus often exists even when sales are largely out of state.For nexus fundamentals, see economic nexus thresholds.
B2B businesses commonly develop exposure when they:
These issues often remain undetected until audits review multiple years of activity.
Use tax exposure is frequently larger than sales tax exposure for B2B businesses.
Common triggers include:
Use tax is aggressively enforced during CDTFA audits.To understand use tax obligations, see Use Tax Explained.
Exposure grows when:
Because B2B transactions are often high value, even small errors scale quickly.To understand how exposure is identified, see identify sales tax exposure.
If your business sells to other businesses in California, identifying exposure requires reviewing exemptions, documentation, district rates, and use tax, not just current filings. Use the Sales Tax Exposure Calculator to uncover B2B-specific risk.
TaxMap helps California B2B businesses by:
TaxMap delivers exposure clarity before remediation or filing decisions.
If you suspect sales tax exposure in your California B2B business or want clarity before a CDTFA audit, early analysis matters.
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