Remote employees create nexus
One salesperson working from Georgia, or a developer who moved to Colorado, can create income tax, payroll and sometimes sales tax obligations in that state.
Tax service
Multi-state & nexus planning
Growth creates filing obligations you did not sign up for. We map every state where you have crossed a threshold, quantify the exposure, and bring you current on your terms rather than the state's.
The problem
Nexus is created quietly
No one sends a letter when you cross a threshold. The first notice usually arrives years later, with penalties and interest attached.
Economic nexus needs no presence
After South Dakota v. Wayfair, most states assert sales tax nexus on revenue or transaction count alone. You never set foot there; you still owe.
Exposure compounds
Unfiled returns generally do not start the statute of limitations. A missed obligation from 2021 is still fully open, with penalties and interest accruing on top.
What we do
What we do
A nexus study is a factual exercise: where are your people, your property, your sales and your inventory?
- Nexus study across all 50 statesPayroll records, customer ship-to data, contractor locations, inventory positions and marketplace activity mapped against each state's current thresholds.
- Income tax versus sales tax exposureThe two follow different rules. Public Law 86-272 may still protect income tax on tangible-goods sales while offering no protection at all for sales tax or services.
- Exposure quantificationFor every state where a threshold has been crossed: estimated tax, penalty and interest, so you can size the problem before deciding what to do about it.
- Voluntary disclosure agreementsWhere exposure is material, a VDA typically caps the look-back to three or four years and abates penalties, but only if you approach the state before it approaches you.
- Registration and ongoing filingsRegistering in the right states at the right effective dates, and setting up a filing calendar that will not quietly lapse.
- Apportionment and sourcing reviewSingle-sales-factor versus three-factor, market-based versus cost-of-performance sourcing for services, and throwback rules that can pull income back to Florida.
- Growth guardrailsA threshold monitor so the next state is identified as you approach it, not two years after you crossed it.
How it works
A process you can follow
Four stages, with a defined deliverable at each one. You always know where the work stands.
1
Map
We collect payroll, sales-by-state, contractor and inventory data and build a factual footprint of the business.
2
Test
Each state's income tax and sales tax thresholds are applied to that footprint, year by year, to find the first date nexus arose.
3
Quantify
Exposure is estimated per state and per year, including penalty and interest, and ranked by materiality.
4
Resolve
Register prospectively, pursue a voluntary disclosure, or document a defensible no-nexus position, whichever the numbers support.
Who it's for
Businesses most exposed
If any of these describe you, there is a good chance you already have an obligation you are not meeting.
Remote or hybrid teams E-commerce and marketplace sellers SaaS and digital products Businesses using 3PL warehouses Traveling sales teams Construction across state lines Rapid revenue growth
Deliverables
What you get
- A state-by-state nexus map with the date each obligation began
- Quantified exposure including penalty and interest, ranked by materiality
- A recommended resolution path for each state, with costs
- Voluntary disclosure agreements negotiated and filed where appropriate
- A registration and filing calendar, plus a threshold monitor for next year
50
States tested, not just the obvious ones
3–4 yr
Typical VDA look-back versus unlimited
86-272
Federal protection tested where it applies
Questions
Frequently asked
Physical presence always does: an employee, an office, inventory in a warehouse, even a contractor performing services on your behalf. Economic nexus is separate and applies on volume alone: most states use a threshold around $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions, though the specifics vary and several states have dropped the transaction test. Both tests need checking, because either one is sufficient.
In most states, the statute of limitations only begins to run when a return is filed. If you never filed, the exposure period is open-ended. This is precisely why voluntary disclosure is valuable: it usually limits the look-back to three or four years and abates penalties, converting an unbounded liability into a known number.
Possibly, but its scope is narrower than most people assume. It only protects state income tax, only for sellers of tangible personal property, and only where in-state activity is limited to soliciting orders approved and shipped from outside the state. It offers no protection for sales tax, for services, or for SaaS, and several states now take the position that certain website functionality defeats it.
No. Registering creates a permanent filing obligation in that state, including returns for periods with no activity, and in some cases it invites questions about prior years. Register where you have an obligation, document a defensible position where you do not, and monitor the states you are approaching.
Related
Often paired with
Sales & Use Tax Compliance
Registration, filing and Florida DR-15s handled.
Learn moreStrategic Tax Planning
Multi-year projections that lower the bill before year-end.
Learn moreBusiness Tax Returns
Forms 1120, 1120-S and 1065 filed accurately and on time.
Learn more