No Federal Mandate, Five State Ones: Health Insurance Penalties in CA, MA, NJ, RI, and D.C.
No federal penalty ($0), but CA, MA, NJ, RI, and D.C. still charge $300–$4,908 per person — plus separate state employer filings.
#multi-state-tax
Multi-State Tax
Multi-state tax compliance, nexus rules, and withholding requirements for businesses operating across state lines
FUTA Credit Reduction States: Why Your Federal Unemployment Tax Bill Is Higher (and How to Report It on Schedule A)
California employers owe 1.8% FUTA for 2025 — $126 per employee instead of $42. Report the credit reduction on Schedule A of Form 940, due with the Q4 deposit.
Hawaii's General Excise Tax Is Not a Sales Tax: What the GET, County Surcharges, and the 4.712% Pass-Through Cap Mean for Small Businesses
Hawaii has no sales tax — the GET taxes your gross receipts at 4.5% including county surcharges, and 4.712% is the most you may legally show a customer.
City Tax Withholding for Multistate Employers: Ohio RITA, Pennsylvania EIT, NYC and Yonkers
Local payroll tax is the employer's liability, not the software's. Ohio's 20-day rule, Pennsylvania PSD codes, NYC resident-only tax and Yonkers' 0.5% levy.
Only 8 States Tax Manufacturing Equipment: How to Claim Your Machinery Exemption
Thirty-eight states exempt manufacturing machinery from sales tax, but the break works through exemption certificates you hand vendors, not automatic refunds. Alabama, Hawaii, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, and the Dakotas tax equipment in full or at reduced rates, while repair parts, utilities, and missing paperwork trip up makers everywhere.
You Own the Land but Not the Minerals: How Lease Bonuses, Royalties, and Depletion Are Taxed
Oil and gas lease bonuses, delay rentals, and royalties are all ordinary income reported on Schedule E — but royalties qualify for 15% percentage depletion that can continue after your basis hits zero. How each payment is taxed, where it goes on your return, and the state traps to avoid.
Missouri's PTET Election in 2026: A SALT Parity Act Guide
Missouri's SALT Parity Act lets partnerships and S corps pay tax at the 4.7% top individual rate on Form MO-PTE, moving the deduction past the federal SALT cap. Here are the 2026 rules, deadlines, and filing traps.
Moving Your LLC to Another State: Redomestication vs. Foreign Qualification
Three ways to move an LLC across state lines — domestication keeps your EIN, contracts, and tax elections when both states allow it; foreign qualification suits businesses staying active in both states; dissolve-and-reform means a new EIN and a new S election — plus a 7-item tax and paperwork checklist for the transition year.
New-Hire Reporting: The 20-Day Rule Every First-Time and Multistate Employer Must Know
Every U.S. employer must report each new hire and qualifying rehire to a State Directory of New Hires within 20 days of the first day of paid work, and electronic filers may batch reports 12 to 16 days apart. This guide covers the six required data points, the one-state designation that lets multistate employers file to a single directory, California and New York independent-contractor reporting rules, and the federal penalty cap of $25 per unreported employee rising to $500 for collusion.
Bulk Sale Notices and Successor Liability: How Asset Buyers Inherit the Seller's Tax Debts
An asset purchase does not automatically leave the seller's unpaid state taxes behind. State bulk sale statutes make the buyer liable unless notice is filed before payment or possession — New York requires Form AU-196.10 by registered mail 10 days ahead, California requires a CDTFA clearance certificate rather than escrow alone, and Illinois and Pennsylvania extend successor liability to income taxes. Here are the clearance rules, the non-tax liabilities that ride along, and a seven-step checklist to run before closing.
Is Shipping Taxable? A Practical State-by-State Guide for Small Businesses
Whether shipping is taxable depends on the destination state, the taxability of the items, who billed the delivery, and whether the customer could avoid the charge. This guide covers the five questions that control the answer, the main state-rule patterns in New York, Texas, California, Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina, how to allocate delivery charges on mixed taxable and exempt orders, and a monthly checklist for defensible shipping-tax records.
Back-to-School Sales Tax Holidays in 17 States: Dates, Price Caps, and Why Your Online Store Isn't Exempt
Seventeen states run back-to-school sales tax holidays in summer 2026, from Florida's 32-day window to Iowa's Friday-Saturday weekend, each with its own price caps — $75 clothing in Ohio, $300 in Connecticut, $40 on Maryland backpacks. Participation is mandatory for most registered retailers, and destination sourcing means online sellers with nexus must honor the holiday of the delivery state.