United States: State sales tax (no federal VAT)
Basic support for state sales tax is in place: where you owe it (nexus), exemption certificates and a per-state summary for your returns. We complete it together with early-access customers. US payroll stays with your current provider for now.
From early 2027Does Kinnow support State sales tax in United States? Basic support for state sales tax is in place: where you owe it (nexus), exemption certificates and a per-state summary for your returns. We complete it together with early-access customers. US payroll stays with your current provider for now.
- Tax system
- State sales tax (no federal VAT)
- E-invoicing
- None (no federal e-invoicing mandate)
- Tax ID
- EIN / state tax IDs
- Filings
- Per-state sales-tax returns
- Payroll
- Not in the first release; stays with your current provider
- Privacy
- No single federal law; state privacy laws (e.g. CCPA/CPRA)
- Marketing consent
- CAN-SPAM (physical address, honest headers, opt-out window) + TCPA
- Dates
- MM/DD/YYYY
- Numbers
- 1,234,567.89
Terms your team will see
US terms, in plain words
Your team will meet these words in Kinnow. Here is what each one means.
| Term | In plain words |
|---|---|
| Sales tax | A tax on sales charged by each state, and often by counties and cities on top. There is no federal sales tax and no national sales-tax return. |
| Nexus | A strong enough link to a state, such as an office, staff, stock or a high enough level of sales there, that you must register and collect its sales tax. Whether you have it is a decision for your tax adviser. |
| Exemption certificate | A document from a buyer, such as a reseller, that explains why you did not charge them sales tax. Auditors ask to see it. |
| EIN and state tax ID | The federal employer number from the IRS, and the permit or account number each state gives you for sales tax. |
| Federal withholding and FICA | Withholding is income tax an employer deducts from pay. FICA is Social Security and Medicare tax, paid by both employee and employer. |
| FUTA and Form 941 | Federal unemployment tax, and the employer's quarterly federal payroll tax return. |
| W-2 and 1099 | Yearly tax forms. A W-2 reports an employee's pay. A 1099 reports payments to contractors. |
| Foreign qualification | Registering a company to do business in a state other than the one it was formed in. Foreign here means out of state, not out of the country. |
| State annual report and franchise tax | A yearly filing and fee that each state asks of companies registered there, on that state's own calendar. |
| CCPA / CPRA, CAN-SPAM and TCPA | California's privacy laws, the federal rules for marketing email, and the federal rules for calls and texts. |
What Kinnow prepares for you
Each area below starts from early 2027. Each row says what Kinnow does and when it starts.
| Area | What Kinnow does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Indirect tax (state sales tax) | Works out sales tax per invoice line from the customer's state (the state base rate, with a local rate you can add), nothing on exports, and a starter list of exempt items. Flags an invoice that has zero tax but no exemption certificate or reason. The groundwork to build a summary of taxable sales and tax collected for each state is in place and is completed before launch. It is a summary, not a return. | From early 2027 |
| E-invoicing | There is no federal e-invoicing rule in the United States, so there is nothing to send. Kinnow does not invent one. | Not applicable |
| Payroll statutory | A groundwork calculator for federal income tax withholding and FICA on a payslip. It leaves state income tax out and says so on the payslip. Payroll stays with your current provider in the first release. | From early 2027, groundwork only |
| Data protection | Applies consent, retention and erasure rules under state privacy laws such as CCPA / CPRA, and the CAN-SPAM and TCPA rules for marketing. Financial records that the law makes you keep stay in place when someone asks to be erased. | From early 2027 |
| Registrations and calendar | Tracks your state sales-tax return dates once you record the states you are registered in, plus state annual reports, foreign qualifications and your EIN. | From early 2027 |
Tell us about a month of sales by state and we will show you how the summary will be built. Send us a sales export.
Payroll groundwork, in plain words
- Federal income tax withholding is worked out on graduated bands for the filing status on file (single is the default).
- FICA has three parts. Social Security stops at a yearly wage limit. Medicare has no limit. An extra Medicare charge applies above a higher threshold, on the employee only, with no employer match.
- State income tax is not included. Forty-one states charge one, with their own bands and sometimes city taxes, owed where the work is done. Each payslip says so, because the employee will receive less than the figure shown. For the nine states with no income tax, the payslip says that none is due.
- Minimum wage. Kinnow checks against a state or city minimum only if you provide it, because the higher local figure governs. Without one it declines to say you comply.
- No severance pay is made up. US law does not require it. Kinnow says so, and notes that the WARN Act requires 60 days' notice for a qualifying mass layoff, which is notice and not pay.
- The rate tables are still to be checked against IRS figures. Ask your adviser to confirm them before relying on a payslip.
A year of filings
The United States has no national sales-tax calendar, so what Kinnow tracks depends on what you register. Rules and dates vary by state, so your adviser confirms the date that applies to you.
| What | When | What Kinnow does |
|---|---|---|
| State sales-tax return | Monthly, quarterly or yearly, as each state assigns. Kinnow uses the 20th of the following month unless you record a different day for that state. | Builds the dates from the registrations you record. With none recorded it declines to show a calendar, because an empty one would read as “nothing to file”. |
| State sales-tax permit | Required in each state where you have nexus. Not renewed on a schedule. | Tracks the registration. Kinnow does not check permit number formats, since each state uses its own. |
| State annual report or franchise tax | On each state's own date | Shows a date only if you record it for that state. It will not guess one. |
| Foreign qualification | When you start doing business in another state | Tracked if you operate in more than one state. It has no renewal date. |
| EIN | Once. It does not expire. | Records the number. |
| Form 941, Form 940, W-2, 1099 and new-hire reports | Quarterly, yearly or on hire | Listed as obligations. Kinnow does not produce these. |
How a sales-tax summary will be prepared
Nothing is filed, paid or posted without a person.
- Your accounts team raises invoices with the customer's state. Kinnow picks the rate for that state. A sale with tax charged but no state is rejected, because the tax cannot be placed.
- A zero-tax invoice needs a reason. Kinnow asks for an exemption certificate or a stated reason before it accepts a taxable line with no tax.
- The period ends. Taxable sales, tax collected and exempt sales are added up for each state where you had activity.
- Your finance head asks for the summary. Once the groundwork is completed before launch, Kinnow lists each state's figures. Any taxable sale with no state is flagged, because it would otherwise be missing from the state totals.
- Your adviser decides where a return is owed. Appearing in the summary does not mean a return is due. Nexus is a judgement Kinnow does not make.
- A person copies each state's figures into that state's own return. Kinnow does not file. Purchases are not summarised, because tax you pay on your own purchases is generally a cost and not a credit.
- An authorised person files and pays in each state. The rates and any local layers are checked by your adviser.
Tell us about your invoices and we will show you how the state summary will be built.
What your adviser still does
- Decides where you have nexus and which states to register in.
- Confirms state and local rates. Kinnow uses state base rates, and local rates only if you supply them.
- Files every state return, pays the tax and keeps your permits current.
- Runs payroll with your current provider, including state income tax, 941, 940, W-2 and 1099.
- Handles state annual reports, franchise tax and foreign qualification.
Agents that help
Filing Prep
Builds the GSTR-1 file from your books and lists every document it left out, with the reason, for a person to clear before filing.
ReachConsent & Deliverability Gate
Stops any marketing message going out unless the person has given consent for that channel, with the time recorded. If consent is missing, nothing is sent and the reason is recorded.
Questions
Does Kinnow support State sales tax in United States?
Basic support for state sales tax is in place: tax by customer state, a check that untaxed sales carry an exemption certificate, and, completed before launch, a per-state summary to copy into your state returns. Whether you owe tax in a state (nexus) stays with your adviser. We complete it together with early-access customers. US payroll stays with your current provider for now.
Is Kinnow ready for United States today?
We are finishing this country setup together with early-access customers. Talk to us about joining.
How does Kinnow handle privacy law in the United States?
Kinnow applies the consent, retention and erasure rules for you. When someone asks to be erased, their data goes from files, search and AI memory too, while the financial records the law makes you keep stay in place.
Is there a federal sales-tax return?
No. Sales tax is set and collected by each state, and sometimes by counties and cities. The groundwork to give you taxable sales and tax collected by state is completed before launch, and you transcribe them into each state's own return.
Will Kinnow tell me which states I must register in?
No. Whether you have nexus depends on your presence and sales in each state and changes over time. The groundwork to show your activity by state is completed before launch. Your tax adviser decides where a return is owed.
Can Kinnow run my US payroll?
Not in the first release. Kinnow can work out federal withholding and FICA on a payslip as groundwork, but it leaves out state income tax and does not produce W-2, 1099, 941 or 940. Keep your current payroll provider.
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