Sales Tax Considerations for Nonprofits: Navigating Applicable State Tax Law, Reporting Issues, Securing Exemptions

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Corporate Tax
- event Date
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
110 minutes
-
BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.
This course will provide corporate tax professionals and advisers guidance on state sales tax requirements and compliance issues for nonprofits. The panel will discuss state application and enforcement of sales taxes on products sold by nonprofits, securing sales tax exemptions, and handling audits, as well as offer best practices to ensure compliance.
Faculty

Ms. Bruns' practice includes state and local tax planning and income, sales, and excise tax, as well as property tax and tax controversy. She also assists with federal tax planning, business formation issues, and captive controversy.

Mr. Loyd's areas of practice concentration are state, local and federal taxation, tax litigation, tax controversy resolution and tax planning for multistate and multinational companies. Prior to joining his current firm, he managed the state and local tax function for Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, a multistate, multi-billion dollar corporation and U.S. subsidiary of British American Tobacco. He is also a CPA, having begun his career with Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr. Thorup is a practicing tax lawyer who also spends considerable time in lobbying executive branch and legislative branch officials in the state of Utah. He also represents clients before numerous state agencies, including the Utah State Tax Commission, the Utah Liquor Commission and Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. Mr. Thorup’s tax practice is a case and controversy-type practice representing clients before the IRS, the Utah State Tax Commission and Utah courts, but also includes tax planning and some work nonprofit/tax-exempt entities. As a registered Utah lobbyist since 1982, he spends full-time during Utah’s 45 calendar-day legislative session and the Utah Legislature’s interim committee study period lobbying state legislators and executive branch policy makers. Mr. Thorup is also involved in alcohol law and policy issues representing clients applying for alcohol licenses, defending against alleged violations, and seeking policy changes.
Description
Nonprofits are subject to a vast web of sales tax compliance duties, just as other businesses selling into the retail markets. When assisting nonprofits with meeting their sales tax compliance obligations, tax professionals must understand critical issues and requirements for securing sales tax exemptions and various state-specific challenges.
State sales tax rules can be complex and differ based on the activities of the nonprofit entity. When it comes to sales tax, nonprofits must either collect the tax or obtain documentation that exempts them from collection obligations. Tax professionals and advisers must recognize key issues that may have serious sales tax implications, such as the organization's home state, the type of nonprofit organization, nexus, and other factors.
Just as in other sales tax compliance areas, securing sales tax exemptions can be daunting. State law requirements can differ, exemptions may only be allowed for certain sales, and nexus and multiple jurisdictional compliance can be burdensome for most nonprofits.
Listen as our panel of experts discusses challenges in sales tax compliance for nonprofits and securing sales tax exemptions and recent state regulations disrupting compliance efforts, as well as offers best practices to ensure compliance.
Outline
- Requirements and challenges of sales tax exemptions
- Recent state sales tax exemption updates
- Key issues for resale certificates
- Retailer documentation
Benefits
The panel will discuss these and other key issues:
- What are the sales tax compliance issues for nonprofits?
- What are the requirements and key issues in obtaining sales tax exemptions?
- What are the challenges and methods to ensure compliance?
- How do states differ in their treatment of sales made by exempt organizations?
- How do sellers know what exemptions apply to a transaction?
- How can a nonprofit minimize exposure to audits?
NASBA Details
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Identify key state sales tax issues for nonprofits
- Recognize state requirements for obtaining sales tax exemptions
- Identify critical issues involving recent state tax law regulations hampering compliance protocols
- Identify challenges in retailer documentation for purposes of sales tax exemption as applied to nonprofits
- Field of Study: Taxes
- Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
- Advance Preparation: None
- Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
- Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
- Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
- Prerequisite: Three years plus business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization, preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other preparers/accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of practical guidance to avoid the most common and costly risk areas in sales and use tax compliance.

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.
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