Texas sales use tax penalties
The law imposes a $50 late filing penalty on every report filed after the due date, even if no tax was due for the period or the report was eventually filed.
If you are currently undergoing a sales tax audit, you may find that your auditor has the power to assess much higher liabilities for amounts determined to be under reported. For instance, the auditor has found sales to be $100000.00 higher than what was actually reported on a return. If the sales tax amounts to $825.00, the penalty could be approximately $15000.00, depending on the type of penalty assessed.
The sales tax applies to each total sale, not to each item of each sale. For example, if two items are purchased at the same time and each item is sold for $.07, then the seller must collect the tax on the total sum of $.14. Tax must be reported and remitted to the comptroller as provided by Tax Code, §151.410. When tax is collected properly under the bracket system, the seller is not required to remit any amount that is collected in excess of the tax due. Conversely, when the tax collected under the bracket system is less than the tax due on the seller’s total receipts, the seller is required to remit tax on the total receipts even though the seller did not collect tax from customers
Criminal penalties. A person who engages in business in this state as a seller of tangible personal property or taxable services without a tax permit required by Tax Code, Chapter 151, commits a criminal offense. Each day that a person engages in business without a permit is a separate offense. See §3.305 of this title (relating to Criminal Offenses and Penalties).
