The 2012 General Assembly passed a new mandate affecting Sales Tax dealers. Effective July 1, 2013, all dealers must file and pay Sales and Use Tax electronically. Dealers designated as Monthly filers were subject to electronic filing requirements beginning with their July 2012 returns.

 

Dealers who file on a quarterly basis will be required to file and pay electronically beginning with the July - September 2013 return, due October 21, 2013. Seasonal filers must file electronically beginning with the July 2013 return, due on August 20, 2013 or the first subsequent month the business has taxable sales. For those taxpayers transitioning to electronic filing and payment methods, please bear in mind the following information:

 

• Pre-printed sales tax return coupons will no longer be mailed to taxpayers.
• Sales tax returns must be submitted electronically each period they are due, even if there is no tax due for that month.
• Returns and payments must be submitted electronically on or before the due date to be considered filed and paid on time.

 

Not all of the Department's electronic filing options offer the same electronic payment methods. Taxpayers should consider their preferred method of payment when selecting an option for electronic filing. See the below comparison guide for information on the payment methods supported for each filing option.  

 

Filing Option	ACH Debit?	ACH Credit?
e-Forms	Yes	No
Business iFile	Yes	Yes
Web Upload	Yes	Yes

 

Click the name of any method in the above guide to start filing.

The Department's Sales and Use Tax Changes web page has been updated. The Question and Answer summary compiled from inquiries received during our Get Ready! Webinar on June 7, 2013 is now available.

 

A copy of the Department's June 18 e-Alert regarding the availability of the webinar recording and the topics it covered is provided below for reference.

 

If you were not able to attend our Get Ready! Webinar on June 7, 2013, or you would like to see the presentation again, the webinar recording is now available on our website.

 

The webinar presented a detailed overview of the sales and use tax changes from House Bill 2313, including:

• Statewide and regional rate increases
• Changes to returns and schedules (Forms ST-9 and ST-8)
• Sourcing rules for intrastate and interstate transactions
• Transitional provisions
• Discussions of some of the questions submitted by attendees

A note about the webinar content:  This broadcast, which was recorded on June 7, 2013, contains references to the Counties of Gloucester and Surry being in the list of localities included in the Hampton Roads Region.  As explained in Tax Bulletin 13-8, published on June 13, 2013, Gloucester County and Surry County are not part of the Hampton Roads Region, and are not subject to the additional sales and use tax rate increase of 0.7 percent.

If you were not able to attend our Get Ready! Webinar on June 7, 2013, or you would like to see the presentation again, the webinar recording is now available on our website.

 

The webinar presented a detailed overview of the Sales and Use Tax changes from House Bill 2313, including:

• Statewide and regional rate increases
• Changes to returns and schedules (Forms ST-9 and ST-8)
• Sourcing rules for intrastate and interstate transactions
• Transitional provisions
• Discussions of some of the questions submitted by attendees

A summary of over 100 questions received during the webinar, with responses, will be posted to our website shortly.

 

A note about the webinar content:  This broadcast, which was recorded on June 7, 2013, contains references to the Counties of Gloucester and Surry being in the list of localities included in the Hampton Roads Region. As explained in Tax Bulletin 13-8, published on June 13, 2013, Gloucester County and Surry County are not part of the Hampton Roads Region, and are not subject to the additional sales and use tax rate increase of 0.7 percent.

For calendar year filers who were out of the country on May 1, 2013, Taxable Year 2012 Virginia income tax returns are due by July 1, 2013. The extended due date for individuals who were out of the country on May 1, 2013, is January 1, 2014. 

 

Virginia law allows an automatic six-month extension for filing Individual Income Tax returns, but requires that at least 90 percent of the final tax liability be paid by the original due date. Taxpayers who do not meet the payment requirement may be subject to the extension penalty. Visit the Department's website for more details on penalty and interest charges.

 

Special note for military service members:  If you were out of the country pursuant to military orders, especially if you served in a combat zone, special extension provisions may apply.  Visit the Military Tax Tips page on the Department's  website for details.

The Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Investments Tax Credit is capped at $5 million annually by statute.  However, beginning with Taxable Year 2006, budget actions have imposed a lower tax credit cap for certain taxable years.  Under the budget bill for the 2012-2014 biennium (2013 House Bill 1500), the tax credit limit will be $4.5 million for Taxable Year 2013 and $5 million for Taxable Year 2014.  For taxable years after 2014, the tax credit limit will remain at the statutory cap of $5 million, unless the General Assembly takes future action to change it.  See Tax Bulletin 13-7 (P.D. 13-75) for complete information.

On January 25, 2013, the Department of Taxation ("the Department") published Tax Bulletin 13-1 (Public Document 13-8, 1/25/13), which announced that the indexed tax credit cap for the Land Preservation Tax Credit for Calendar Year 2013 was $113,909,000.  However, because House Bill 1398, enacted by the 2013 General Assembly,  removed the Land Preservation Tax Credit cap's adjustment for inflation, the tax credit cap for Calendar Year 2013 and thereafter has been reduced to $100 million.  See Tax Bulletin 13-6 (P.D. 13-74) for complete information.

In an effort to gain an insight on the various aspects of our e-File process, the Virginia Department of Taxation will begin conducting an informal survey of tax preparers each year. Survey responses will be used to identify possible improvements to our e-File system for the upcoming tax season. While not all concerns may be addressed, the Department will make every effort to implement changes based on the input received.

The survey questions for 2013 can be found here. 

Please e-mail your responses to ind_efile@tax.virginia.gov by May 24, 2013.

Protecting your personal information and preventing identity theft is very important to the Department. 

Over the next few weeks, the Department will be enforcing the current Commonwealth standard forpassword complexity in its Business iFile system. This affects all Business iFile users whose password does not currently meet these password complexity requirements, including users with Virginia Employment Commission accounts.

 

The password complexity standard is as follows:

 

1. Passwords must be between 8-12 characters in length with no spaces.
2. Passwords are case sensitive and cannot be the same as your User ID.
3. Passwords must contain at least 3 of the following characteristics: lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers or special characters $, #, %, (, &, ), +, !. Please note that periods and asterisks are not allowed as special characters.

Once this change is effective, Business iFile users with passwords that do not meet these requirements will be prompted to change their password upon their next Business iFile login. If your clients' password does not meet these requirements, you may wish to update it in advance of the upcoming changes.

 

For more information regarding how Business iFile could help you, go to the Business iFile FAQ.

Free Webinar:

Get Ready for the Virginia Sales and Use Tax Changes! 

Host:  Virginia Department of Taxation

Date:  Friday, June 7, 2013

Time: 1:00pm Eastern; 10:00am Pacific (60 minute session)

 

Register now

 

Sales tax rates will change on July 1, 2013 - are you ready? Join us for a free, one-hour webinar to explore the sales and use tax rate changes that take effect on July 1, 2013.  During this interactive session, Virginia Department of Taxation staff members will guide you through the provisions of House Bill 2313, including:

• Statewide and regional rate increases
• Complete overview of associated changes to returns and schedules (Forms ST-9 and ST-8, available now)
• Sourcing rules for intrastate and interstate transactions
• Transitional provisions

Participants will be able to submit questions for discussion throughout the broadcast.

 

Who should attend?  Retail dealers inside and outside Virginia and/or their tax accounting staff, tax professionals, and software vendors.

 

Space is limited - sign up today!

The Department has released Guidelines for the upcoming Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday.  

The holiday is a recurring, seven-day event beginning each year on May 25 and ending on May 31.  During the holiday, portable generators with a selling price of $1,000 or less per item, and other hurricane preparedness items, including, for example, batteries, bottled water, flashlights, and weather band radios with a sales price of $60 or less per item may be purchased exempt of the Retail Sales and Use Tax.

The full text of the Guidelines is available in the Laws, Rules, and Decisions section of the Department's website as PD 13-71 or available on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall here.  Additional information may be found  at:

http://www.tax.virginia.gov/site.cfm?alias=STHoliday