State-by-state guide to electronic sales tax filing and payment

Technology allows us to do just about everything online these days. That’s true for sales taxes too. Gone are the days when you were required to fill out your paper tax return and mail it in with your paper check — although you can still do that in many states if you wish.

Every state now offers online or telephone options for filing and payment. However, these vary widely. For instance, all businesses are required to file sales taxes either online or by phone in states including Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Other states only require electronic filing and/or payment for businesses that pay more than a certain amount in sales tax. In Illinois, for example, the threshold requiring payments to be made electronically is $20,000 a year, while in Georgia, you are required to pay electronically if you owe more than $500 on any return.

Electronic payment can include credit card payments, although not every state allows it. Check out our blog for more details on which states allow credit card payments and the fees they charge for the privilege. 

Streamlining electronic filing for small businesses

If you are a small business filing sales taxes in several different states, it can be tricky to keep track of all the different filing requirements, and even online filing may not be that convenient when you have to log-in to each state’s website to file each return separately.

Automation, such as Avalara’s TrustFile, can help streamline the sales tax filing process for you. With TrustFile, you can import transaction data from your e-commerce or accounting platform and prepare all your sales tax returns at once in minutes, whether you are filing in one state or several. You can simply print out your return and file it manually or use TrustFile to electronically file it for you. A free 30-day trial allows you to test the benefits of automation with no risk. Learn more here.

State-by-state guide

Here’s a breakdown of the electronic sales tax filing and payment options for each state.