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Tax Reports Documentation

Menu Location: Payments > Taxes > Tax Reports

Access Level: Manager and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

The Tax Reports page generates comprehensive sales tax reports broken down by state, city, county, and zip code. Essential for tax filing, accounting reconciliation, and compliance verification.

Primary Functions:

  • Generate tax reports by date range
  • View summary and detailed report modes
  • Break down taxes by jurisdiction (state/county/city/zip)
  • Identify total taxable amounts
  • Calculate actual tax rates
  • Export data for tax filing

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Breadcrumb: Payments \ Taxes \ Tax Reports
  • Force Update Button: Recalculate all tax records (admin only)
  • Info Alert: Explains "Show ALL THE PLACES!" report mode

Filter Controls

  • From Date: Start of report period
  • To Date: End of report period
  • Report Type: Summary, Detailed, or Show ALL THE PLACES!
  • Build Report Button: Generate report

Report Sections (when built)

  1. Overall summary table (all orders)
  2. By State breakdown
  3. By City breakdown
  4. By County breakdown
  5. By Zip breakdown (if zip tax enabled)

Report Configuration

Date Range Selection

From/To Dates:

  • Select any custom date range
  • Uses date pickers for easy selection
  • Reports include orders delivered in date range
  • Based on deliver_on date, not order creation date

Tips:

  • Match to tax filing periods (monthly, quarterly)
  • Use first and last day of month for monthly reports
  • Align with fiscal quarters for quarterly filing

Report Type Options

Summary (Default):

  • Single line per jurisdiction
  • Total orders in date range
  • Sum of all taxes collected
  • Most common for tax filing

Detailed:

  • One line per order
  • Shows individual order taxes
  • Useful for auditing specific orders
  • Includes order ID, delivery date, all tax columns

Show ALL THE PLACES!:

  • Special mode showing all distinct states/cities
  • Shows order totals (actual_total column)
  • Not true tax report - just location summary
  • Useful for expansion planning

Report Data & Columns

Overall Summary Table

Column Description Calculation
Order Count Number of orders Count of orders in date range
State Tax Total state tax collected Sum of state_tax column
Payment Total Total revenue Sum of payment_total column
Delivery Fee Total shipping fees Sum of delivery_fee column
City Tax Total city tax collected Sum of city_tax column
County Tax Total county tax collected Sum of county_tax column
Zip Tax Total zip tax collected Sum of zip_tax column (if enabled)
Individual Product Sales Tax Product-specific taxes Sum of order_prod_sales_tax column
Box Tax Subscription box taxes Sum of order_box_tax column

State Breakdown

Column Description
State State abbreviation
Tax Rate Configured state tax rate
Total Taxable Total taxable amount for state
Tax Collected Actual tax collected from state

City/County Breakdown

Column Description
City/County Name Jurisdiction name
Tax Rate Configured tax rate
Total Taxable Total taxable amount
Tax Collected Actual tax collected
Actual Rate Calculated actual rate (tax/total)

Actual Rate Column: Shows calculated percentage to verify against configured rate. Useful for spotting configuration errors.

Using Tax Reports

Generate Standard Monthly Report

Steps:

  1. Select From date: First day of month
  2. Select To date: Last day of month
  3. Select Report Type: Summary
  4. Click "Build Tax Report"
  5. Review overall summary
  6. Scroll to state/city/county breakdowns
  7. Use totals for tax return filing

Example:

  • From: 02/01/2026
  • To: 02/29/2026
  • Type: Summary
  • Result: February 2026 tax summary

Detailed Order Investigation

When to Use:

  • Auditing tax calculations
  • Investigating specific orders
  • Verifying tax accuracy
  • Troubleshooting tax issues

Steps:

  1. Set date range to period in question
  2. Select Report Type: Detailed
  3. Click "Build Tax Report"
  4. Review table showing each order
  5. Click order IDs to view order details
  6. Verify tax breakdown per order

Export for Accounting

Process:

  1. Generate desired report
  2. Copy table data to Excel
  3. Or use browser print > Save as PDF
  4. Save with descriptive filename
  5. Provide to accountant/tax preparer

Filename Example: TaxReport_2026-02_Michigan.pdf

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Monthly Tax Filing

Goal: Prepare tax return data for monthly filing

Steps:

  1. Wait until month ends
  2. Go to Tax Reports page
  3. From: First day of previous month
  4. To: Last day of previous month
  5. Type: Summary
  6. Click "Build Tax Report"
  7. Review overall totals
  8. Note state, county, city taxes separately
  9. Screenshot or export report
  10. File taxes using these totals

Example March Filing:

  • From: 02/01/2026
  • To: 02/29/2026
  • File by: 03/20/2026 (typical deadline)

Use Case 2: Quarterly Tax Reconciliation

Goal: Verify quarterly tax collection accuracy

Steps:

  1. Select quarter date range (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
  2. Generate Summary report
  3. Compare totals to:
    • Payment processor reports
    • Accounting software totals
    • Bank deposit records
  4. Investigate any discrepancies
  5. Run Detailed report if needed
  6. Document reconciliation
  7. File quarterly returns

Use Case 3: Audit Tax Configuration

Goal: Verify tax rates are calculating correctly

Steps:

  1. Generate Detailed report for recent period
  2. Review Actual Rate column
  3. Compare actual rates to configured rates
  4. Look for mismatches (actual ≠ configured)
  5. Investigate orders with wrong rates
  6. Correct configuration if needed
  7. Re-run report to verify

Red Flags:

  • Actual rate significantly differs from configured
  • Orders missing expected taxes
  • Taxes applying to wrong jurisdictions

Use Case 4: Expansion Planning

Goal: Analyze sales by location for business decisions

Steps:

  1. Set broad date range (6-12 months)
  2. Select Type: "Show ALL THE PLACES!"
  3. Click "Build Tax Report"
  4. Review all states/cities with orders
  5. Note order totals by location
  6. Identify growing markets
  7. Plan warehouse/fulfillment expansion

Insights:

  • Which states have most customers
  • City-level concentration
  • Growth trends by region

Use Case 5: Multi-State Registration Check

Goal: Determine if sales trigger nexus in new states

Steps:

  1. Generate annual report (full year)
  2. Review By State breakdown
  3. Note total sales per state
  4. Compare to state nexus thresholds (often $100k)
  5. Identify states approaching threshold
  6. Plan tax registration before exceeding
  7. Monitor monthly going forward

Nexus Indicators:

  • Approaching $100,000 annual sales in state
  • Over 200 transactions in state
  • State-specific thresholds

Troubleshooting

Report Shows No Data

Symptoms:

  • Tables are empty
  • No tax totals appear
  • Date range appears valid

Check:

  1. Verify date range includes actual order deliveries
  2. Expand date range to confirm orders exist
  3. Check if orders were cancelled (excluded)
  4. Confirm you clicked "Build Tax Report"
  5. Verify orders have delivery dates

Common Causes:

  • Date range has no delivered orders
  • All orders cancelled
  • Didn't click "Build Tax Report"
  • Looking at wrong date range

Tax Totals Don't Match Payment Processor

Symptoms:

  • System shows $X in taxes
  • Processor shows $Y in taxes
  • Discrepancy needs resolution

Investigation:

  1. Verify same date range
  2. Check for refunded/cancelled orders
  3. Compare order count
  4. Look for manual adjustments
  5. Check if processor includes shipping tax
  6. Review detailed report for anomalies

Common Causes:

  • Different date ranges (order date vs. delivery date)
  • Refunds handled differently
  • Manual order adjustments
  • Shipping tax calculation differences

Actual Rate Doesn't Match Configured Rate

Symptoms:

  • Actual Rate column shows different percentage
  • Tax seems miscalculated
  • Configuration appears correct

Investigation:

  1. Note the difference (how much off)
  2. Check if multiple tax levels applying
  3. Verify product-specific taxes
  4. Look for rounding differences
  5. Check historical rate changes

Common Causes:

  • Multiple tax types combining
  • Rounding on small orders
  • Rate changed mid-period
  • Special product taxes
  • State Tax - Configure state tax rates
  • County Tax - Configure county tax rates
  • City Tax - Configure city tax rates
  • Zip Code Tax - Configure zip tax rates
  • Billing Payment Transactions - Payment reports
  • Orders - View individual order taxes

Workflow:

  1. Configure taxes (state/county/city/zip pages)
  2. Taxes auto-apply to orders
  3. Generate Tax Reports monthly/quarterly
  4. File tax returns using report data

Permissions & Access

Required Access Level: Manager or higher

Access Level Capabilities:

  • Manager: Generate all reports, export data
  • Administrator: All Manager + configuration access
  • Kiva Admin: All features + force update function

Best Practices

Monthly Reporting

  1. Generate report on first business day of month
  2. Review for anomalies before filing
  3. Reconcile with payment processor
  4. Save PDF/screenshot for records
  5. File taxes by deadline
  6. Archive reports with tax returns

Quarterly Reconciliation

  1. Run quarterly report within week of quarter end
  2. Compare to quarterly payment processor statements
  3. Match to accounting software
  4. Document any discrepancies
  5. Adjust as needed before filing
  6. Keep audit trail

Annual Review

  • Generate full year report for each state
  • Verify all tax jurisdictions
  • Check for nexus threshold triggers
  • Audit tax configuration accuracy
  • Plan for upcoming year changes
  • Consult with tax accountant

Tax Season Preparation

  • Run reports 2 weeks before filing deadlines
  • Allow time for discrepancy resolution
  • Coordinate with accounting team
  • Prepare supporting documentation
  • Test configuration if rates changed
  • Keep detailed records

Quick Reference Card

Task Action/Location
Monthly tax report From: 1st of month, To: last of month, Build
Quarterly report From: quarter start, To: quarter end, Build
Detailed audit Report Type: Detailed, Build
State-only breakdown Review "By State" section after building
Export for filing Copy table or print to PDF
Verify tax rates Compare Actual Rate vs. Tax Rate columns
Location analysis Report Type: "Show ALL THE PLACES!"
Current month From: first of this month, To: today

FAQs

Why do actual rates differ slightly from configured rates?

Small differences (0.01-0.02%) are usually from rounding. Each order rounds taxes to 2 decimal places, which can cause slight variance when aggregating hundreds of orders. Differences over 0.1% warrant investigation.

What date range should I use for tax filing?

Match your filing period. Monthly filers: first to last day of month. Quarterly: first to last day of quarter. Use the delivery date, not order date.

Can I export this data to Excel?

Copy the table and paste into Excel, or use browser print > save as PDF. For programmatic export, contact your system administrator about custom export features.

Why are some orders missing from the detailed report?

Orders with status "cancelled" (status = 5) are excluded from tax reports since tax was not collected on cancelled orders. Only delivered orders count.

What if I need to amend a previous tax return?

Generate the report for the amended period, review detailed orders, make any necessary corrections to orders, regenerate report, and file amended return with new totals.

How far back can I run reports?

Reports can access all historical order data. However, very large date ranges (multiple years) may be slow. For best performance, run reports one year or less at a time.

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.