Mississippi’s new direct pay permit for purchases of computer software and computer software services is now available on the Department of Revenue’s website.  The Mississippi Legislature authorized this new permit earlier this year as part of the state’s comprehensive legislation on the taxation of remote software and services (see prior coverage here), which went

Addendum – Estimated Tax Payments:  Just after our article went to press, we received some informal guidance from the DOR regarding estimated tax payments that presents a bit of a conundrum for those considering the PTE election.  As explained below, it may be necessary to make duplicate estimated payments at both the entity

This year, a number of state legislatures considered and passed legislation that creates a pass-through entity (PTE) tax as a workaround to the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) itemized deduction. Nearly 30 states have enacted a PTE tax. Mississippi is one of the more recent states to join the ranks.

Beginning

Mississippi recently passed a SALT cap workaround in the form of a flow-through entity election. Consistent with the roughly 26 other states having adopted similar schemes, the Mississippi bill presents several grey areas and questions that will need to be addressed through Department of Revenue guidance or possible technical corrections.

H.B. 1691, signed into

In anticipation of the upcoming public hearing on Mississippi’s proposed amendments to its sales tax regulation on Computer Equipment, Software and Services, Jones Walker recently submitted a letter to the Mississippi Department of Revenue summarizing a wide range of questions and issues raised by the proposal.  These questions were compiled as a result of discussions

UPDATE:  In response to widespread interest in these changes, the Mississippi Department of Revenue this afternoon scheduled a public hearing on the proposed amendments.  The hearing is set for Wednesday, November 3 at 1:30. Interested parties are encouraged to identify specific questions and issues to present to the Department at the hearing. Jones Walker

This afternoon the Mississippi Department of Revenue issued a notice containing updated information related to multiple extended filing deadlines and audit procedures. Among the changes are the following:

  • Income and franchise tax filing deadlines remain extended to May 15 (no change from prior notice)
  • Sales and use tax return filing deadlines remain unchanged, but

In December 2017, the Mississippi Department of Revenue finalized a new sales and use tax regulation addressing remote sellers and establishing a $250,000 bright-line nexus standard. The department began that process in January 2017 by issuing a proposed regulation and refined it following a public hearing held in February. The regulation positioned the state to take advantage of any repeal of Quill’s physical presence test, but the department stated it would not enforce the new rule until the Supreme Court took that step. Now that Quill’s physical presence rule has been invalidated in Wayfair, taxpayers should expect the department to move forward with these remote-use tax collection efforts. The following information should help summarize Mississippi’s current rules and identify several important details and questions that have yet to be answered.

Statutory Background

Mississippi law [Section 27-67-4(2)(e)] has long required remote sellers to collect use tax if they have nexus with the state by “purposefully or systematically exploiting the consumer market provided by this state.” This could be accomplished “by any media-assisted, media-facilitated or media-solicited means, including, but not limited to, direct mail advertising, unsolicited distribution of catalogues, computer-assisted shopping, television, radio or other electronic media, or magazine or newspaper advertisements or other media.” This collection obligation is contained within the use tax code, not the sales tax code as may be the case in some other states.

Regulatory Bright-Line Rule

The final regulation specifies that sellers have a “substantial economic presence” if their sales into the state exceed $250,000 for the prior 12 months. The original proposed regulation would have based the sales threshold on the prior calendar year, so this change means sellers should track Mississippi transactions on a rolling, monthly basis if they are not otherwise registered. Unlike other states, Mississippi does not specify any minimum number of transactions to create nexus, and Department of Revenue officials have stated informally that a single transaction may meet the requirement when coupled with the other “market exploitation” criteria discussed below.
Continue Reading The Taxman Cometh: Mississippi Sales and Use Taxes in a Post-Wayfair World