Setting Up Tax Zones, Rates and Taxability Rules

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This guide walks through the Tax Rates page, where you tell ServiceVisit how to apply your own tax rules: whether you collect sales tax, where your rates apply, what each rate is, and which kinds of charge are taxed. ServiceVisit applies what you enter. It does not tell you what is taxable or what rate is correct, so confirm those choices with a tax professional.

Before you start

Open Settings, then Tax Rates. Changing settings needs access to configure tax. With view access only, the page is read-only.
Have your rates ready, with the authority each one belongs to and, if you file by code, its filing code.

Steps

Under How tax is calculated, answer Do you collect sales tax? Choose Yes - calculate it for me or No - I do not collect sales tax, then select Save. Choose No only if it is true of your business as a whole. It is not the same as having no obligation in one state.
In Tax Zones, fill in Name and State. Optionally enter ZIP codes, separated by commas; a trailing asterisk, such as 787*, covers every ZIP that starts with those digits. Leave ZIP codes empty to cover the whole state. Add Notes if you like, then select Add Zone.
If your service area contains ZIP codes that no zone covers yet, they are offered under From your service area, not yet in any zone. Select one to add it to the ZIP codes box.
In Tax Rates, fill in Name, choose the Zone, choose the Level, and enter Rate %. Optionally set a Filing Code, Effective From and Expiry Date. Select Add Rate.
Add one rate per level for each zone. The page shows each zone's combined rate under its name.
In Taxability Rules, switch each of Labor, Materials, Fees, Equipment Rental, Permits, Environmental Fees and Travel on or off, then select Save Taxability Rules.
Under Work on real property, set Capital improvements and Repairs and maintenance. Turning one off stops tax being charged on that work; it never adds tax to a charge already marked non-taxable. The page suggests leaving both taxed if you are unsure and asking your accountant.

Tips

If your state taxes a sale at the seller's location, a Your business address for tax form appears with City, State and ZIP code. Leave it blank to use your primary business location, then select Save Business Address.
Rates can be edited, deactivated, reactivated or removed. A rate with an expiry date shows Expired after that date, and one with a future start shows Scheduled.
Deactivating a zone means jobs inside it have no tax rate until it is reactivated. Removing a zone also removes its rates.
The Filing report button on the Tax Rates card opens the report described in the filing guide.

If something goes wrong

If a zone fails to save, read the message; an invalid ZIP code entry is named and the whole submission is rejected.
If you cannot add a rate, the Zone list is empty because no active zone exists yet.
If the Rate % field is rejected, enter a number from 0 to 100.
If you chose No by mistake, choose Yes and save. Invoices already issued are not changed either way.

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