Frequently Asked Questions

Stellar Tax NJ LLC is a business consulting firm that specializes in all things sales and use tax. We offer a host of different service offerings to help your business with its sales and use tax obligations and assist in strategies to help your business save all while still remaining compliant. 

Sales tax and use tax are closely related and more often than not, are complimentary of one another. They are two sides of the same tax but they apply in different situations.

Sales tax is a tax charged by a seller/retailer at the time of purchase. For example, you buy goods or certain services from a seller and that seller collects sales tax and remits it to the state. 

Use tax is a tax owed by the buyer when sales tax was not collected. For example, you buy items out of state or online and the seller does not collect your state’s sales tax (for a number of reasons) and the item is used, stored, or consumed in your state. You are responsible for self accruing and remitting the tax on your state's tax return. 

Sales and use tax work together ensure equal treatment of in-state and out-of-state purchases and prevents tax avoidance by buying elsewhere (i.e., online vs retail) or in states that don’t have a sales tax (i.e., Delaware, New Hampshire, Oregon).

The short answer is yes but it truly depends on what your business sells, where your business operates, and how your business makes its purchases. 

There are a number of factors that determine if you should be collecting sales tax from your customers or not. If you sell tangible personal property (TPP) like physical products, certain digital services, and certain services, then your business more likely than not,  has to collect and remit sales tax to the proper state. Even if you have a physical presence in the state but do not sell taxable goods or taxable services, you may still need to register your business for sales tax. 

We specialize exclusively in sales and use tax, the area in which we are certified and highly proficient. By focusing our services in this niche, we are able to deliver informed, accurate, and dependable guidance, ensuring our clients receive the highest level of expertise and support they need.

While a CPA can assist you with income tax, sales and use tax is just as complex. A CPA receives broad training in accounting, financial reporting, and income tax. They are excellent for bookkeeping and financial statements and may handle sales and use tax, but often as one of many service areas. Sales tax is not just “another tax return” — it’s a transactional tax with very specific rules. We are sales and use tax experts and know the ins, outs, and everything in between to make sure you get the service your business needs. 

Yes! It is important for us to get to know you and your needs and it is equally important for you to feel comfortable with us. We offer in person consultations at your place of business or virtually via zoom or on the phone. We want you to leave our meeting feeling confident that we will be able to provide you with the professional services you deserve. Please hit the "Contact Us" tab above so we can connect!

Depending on the type of service you are looking for, generally a fixed fee or hourly rate fee structure is used. For example, if you are looking for a process review or want us to file your sales and use tax returns, a fixed fee structure would be best. If you are looking for on call services, an hourly rate fee structure would be best. It is hard to say how much a service would be without knowing the specifics of your business and what you are looking for.

For sales and use tax refunds, the fee structure is contingency/performance based. This means that if your business does not receive a refund/credit for sales and use tax, you will not receive an invoice from us and you will not pay us anything. 

For audit defense services, the fee structure would be contingency based as well where the fee would be a percentage of the reduced assessment (i.e., if the original assessment was $10,000 and we reduce the assessment down to $4,000, our fee would be a percentage based on the $6,000 savings). 

Your time is valuable and we recognize and respect that. We take pride in being readily available to our clients as we know how important your question is to your business. 

We are equipped and ready to answer your questions all hours of the day and even during the night. We will always respond within 24 hours of receiving your question. If you have a question about your business, we take pride in providing you a sound answer as soon as possible. 

Of course! We take client confidentiality very serious. All information shared with us in the course of our services—whether written, verbal, or digital—will be treated as strictly confidential. We do not disclose, share, sell, or distribute client information to any third party without prior written consent, except where required by law. Appropriate safeguards are in place to ensure that client data is protected and used solely for the purpose of providing our services.

Reviewing your current sales and use tax process can help identify gaps and potential errors and help correct them. This will prevent such errors from reoccurring again in the future. Errors in filing, remitting, or paying sales tax where you should not can put a financial burden on your business. We are here to help you alleviate that. 

Absolutely yes! We are not here to audit your business or have the final say in what you should do. After all, you built your business from the ground up. We are your advisors for all things sales and use tax. We provide you with the ability to make an educated business decision based on the services we provide. You are the ultimate decision maker and we are here to help you make that decision easier and less stressful. 

Looking for refunds should be a practice all businesses should adopt periodically. If your business is undergoing a sales and use tax audit, we can help to potentially offset the assessment with a refund, should there be opportunity. This could even lead into a net refund position as we have seen happen many times.