A Guide to Understanding Sales/Use Tax Reports Idaho-registered vendors file Sales and Use Tax Returns.  Vendors making retail sales subject to tax are required to register and file a return in the month following the sales.  Therefore, a report for the month of May primarily covers April sales.  A first quarter report has December, January, and February sales.  Please note that all returns processed in a month are reported for that month, and an unpredictable number of those returns will be late filings of months in the near and far past.  Finally, companies and individuals who provide only nontaxable goods or services do not file reports. Total Sales are reported sales accrued for the period.  Vendors vary in how they report their total sales.  Some include nontaxable sales of products and services in this total while others do not.  Some vendors include sales shipped to other states.  Therefore, these numbers should not be viewed as the total economic activity in the state. Nontaxable Sales can include sales to exempt purchasers, sales of tax-exempt items, wholesale sales, and out-of-state sales and services.  This reported number is subject to the type of inconsistency noted in Total Sales. Taxable Sales are Total Sales less Nontaxable Sales Use Taxable refers to taxable purchases of items that the seller did not tax.  Many vendors, including those doing business through catalogues and on the Internet, who reside in other states and have no stores and employees in Idaho, cannot be forced to collect our sales tax.  Since the buyers owe the tax, the purchase is subject to use tax. This tax is also due on items withdrawn from a resale inventory for a retailer's own use.  Since the retailer bought the items with the intent to resell them, the purchase was never taxed. Total Taxable is the sum of Taxable Sales and Use Taxable amounts. Tax Due is the result of multiplying the Total Taxable amount by the tax rate.  The Tax Due shown on the report may be different from the expected amount because of adjustments made to some of the sales tax returns.  Tax Due is not the amount actually received by the state, as some returns are not accompanied by payments. Multicounty is a line for the sum of sales made by businesses that are headquartered in Idaho and have stores in more than one county.  Since these businesses file a single report for more than one store, no sales breakdown by county is available. Out-of-State is a line for the sum of sales made by businesses that operate in Idaho but report their sales from an out-of-state location. Since these businesses may file a single report on multiple store totals, no sales breakdown by county is available.   Click to return to Sales/Use Tax Reports

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