Streamlined Sales Tax Project

Sourcing Survey for Services

 

 

Name of State or Business                                                                            

 

Name of person completing survey                                                            

 

Telephone number of person completing survey                                                

 

E-mail address of person completing survey                                                            

 

 

Instructions - In each of the following scenarios assume that the service is subject to sales tax in all taxing jurisdictions involved. For 1 through 3, please indicate whether you agree or disagree with the suggested application of the sourcing rules. If you disagree, please indicate how you believe the sourcing rules apply to the scenario and why. For scenarios 4 through 6, please indicate which sourcing option applies.

 

1.      Services to real property (i.e., building cleaning, pest control, lawn care, security) are sourced to the property location where the service is performed.

 

Agree        Disagree      If disagree, please explain                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                             

 

2.      Personal services (i.e., tanning, barber service, massage service, veterinary service) are sourced to the location where the service is performed.

 

Agree        Disagree      If disagree, please explain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

3.      Admission tickets and reservation services (i.e., movies, sports events, concerts, seminars, lodging, golfing) are sourced to the location of the event or the location where the service is provided.

 

Agree        Disagree      If disagree, please explain                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

4.      Services to tangible items, such as car or appliance repair or laundry or dry cleaning. Example –

A customer drops off and picks up laundry in Minnesota, but the laundry service is performed in Wisconsin.

 

____ Source to the location where the service is provided regardless of where the customer takes possession of the serviced item. (The sale would be sourced to Wisconsin.)

 

____ Source to the location where the customer takes possession of the serviced item. (The sale would be sourced to Minnesota.)

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Sourcing Survey for Services

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5.      Services that in order to be completed may be performed in one or more taxing jurisdiction, such as vehicle towing, armored car, funeral, detective or investigative services.

 

A. A bank hires an armored car service to pick up money at their bank location in Minnesota and deliver it to their branch office in North Dakota.

 

____ Source to the location where the service begins. (The sale would be sourced to Minnesota.)

 

____ Source to the location where the service ends. (The sale would be sourced to North Dakota.)

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

B. A funeral home in South Dakota prepares a body at the funeral home in Pierre, the funeral service is held at a church in Miller and the burial is at a cemetery outside the city limits of Miller. The funeral home performs services at each of the locations. The charges are subject to the South Dakota State sales tax. How should the transaction be sourced for local sales tax?

 

____ Source to the location where the service begins. (The sale would be sourced to Pierre.)

 

____ Source to the location where the service ends. (The sale would be sourced to the cemetery location.)

 

____ Source to the address of the person contracting for the service.

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

 

6.      Professional services, such as attorney, accounting, consulting, detective, engineering services, investigation, investment counseling, real estate brokers, research services, surveying.

 

A.     The result of the service is a report or other document being provided to the customer. Example – An attorney located in Wisconsin is hired to prepare a will for a client who lives in Illinois. The client has the completed will mailed to her home in Illinois. 

 

____ Source to the location where the service is provided. (The sale would be sourced to Wisconsin.)

 

____ Source to the location where the client receives the will. (The sale would be sourced to Illinois.)

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                  

 


Sourcing Survey for Services

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B.     No report or document is received as a result of the taxable service, such as certain investment, legal, consulting or telemarketing services. Example – A client located in North Carolina contracts with a CPA located South Carolina to provide investment advice. The CPA sends a bill to the client for costs incurred in obtaining information and providing the results to the client over the phone.

 

____ Source to the CPA’s location in South Carolina.

 

____ Source to the client’s location in North Carolina.

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                  

 

Example – Same as above, except the client receives the investment advice at the CPA’s location in South Carolina.

 

____ Source to the CPA’s location in South Carolina.

 

____ Source to the client’s location in North Carolina.

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                  

 

 

C.     The seller delivers the results of the service to the client electronically. Example – A client located in Florida contracts with a surveyor to have land located in Michigan surveyed. The surveyor sends a report to the client electronically.

 

____ Source to the property location in Michigan.

 

____ Source to the client’s location in Florida.

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                  

 

D.     An attorney from Chicago, Illinois is hired to represent a client from Rockford, Illinois in a lawsuit. The client is billed for meetings at the attorney’s office in Chicago, depositions taken in Peoria, Illinois and Madison, Wisconsin, a professional witness to testify during the trial in Springfield, Illinois. The charges are subject to the Illinois State sales tax. How should the sale be sourced for local sales tax purposes?

 

____ Source to the attorney’s location in Chicago.

 

____ Source to the client’s location in Rockford.

 

____ Source to the trial location in Springfield.

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Sourcing Survey for Services

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E.      An accountant is hired to do tax returns for a business with locations in Oklahoma, Illinois and Ohio. The accountant completes the returns and mails them to the company headquarters in Michigan. The customer can provide the accountant with a Multiple Points of Use exemption certificate. In that case, the seller would not charge sales tax, but the customer is responsible for reporting and remitting tax to Oklahoma, Illinois and Ohio.

 

Agree              Disagree            Alternative                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

If the customer does not provide a Multiple Points of use exemption:

 

____ Source to the accountant’s location.

 

____ Source to the client’s headquarters in Michigan.

 

____ Other (please explain)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

7.      Please indicate any specific concerns that you have about sourcing services that have not been addressed in the scenarios above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.  State respondents only. Please include a list the specific services currently subject to sales or use tax in your state.