Tennessee Department of Revenue webinar walks new businesses through registration, taxes and compliance

Billy Trout, who leads Taxpayer Education at the Tennessee Department of Revenue, and Jeremy Cain of the department’s Taxpayer Education unit ran a webinar for new-business owners explaining registration steps, which taxes are likely to apply, and how to stay current.

Trout said Tennessee collects a large share of state revenue through sales tax and walked attendees through the department’s website and participant guide. He told participants the department provides direct customer support and encouraged early registration: “If you call us, we will answer the phone,” Trout said.

The presentation focused on three main tax areas. Sales tax applies to the sale of tangible personal property (goods) when annual receipts for goods exceed $4,800 and to certain taxable services above $1,200. Trout repeated that the seller (the dealer) is responsible for collecting sales tax and remitting it to the state. State sales tax is 7% on most items (food is taxed at a 4% state rate), with additional local rates that can raise the combined rate by up to 2.75 percentage points.

Business tax, which applies to gross receipts rather than profit, generally becomes relevant when a business’s annual receipts reach $100,000. Trout said business tax rates are typically less than 1% and are filed by location; small operations under the $100,000 threshold generally only need local business licenses and not state business-tax filings.

Franchise and excise taxes apply to entities registered with the Tennessee Secretary of State (corporations and many LLCs). Trout cautioned that those entities must register and file franchise & excise returns annually even if activity is low; the franchise/excise obligation can include a minimum filing amount (the webinar cited an example minimum of $100) and estimated payments are typically required during the year.

The presenters reviewed filing frequency rules and consequences for nonfiling. Sales tax returns are typically due monthly (even zero‑sales months should be filed); business-tax returns follow their statutory schedule (Trout cited the fifteenth day of the fourth month after fiscal‑year end as a common due date) and franchise/excise follows federal timing and can be extended in certain cases. Trout described the Department’s administrative process for proposed assessments and penalties and said there is a petition-for-penalty-waiver process available through TNTAP.

Attendees asked a range of operational questions in chat. The panel confirmed several points raised in the Q&A: deposits and installment payments are reported on a cash basis when received; resale certificates must be kept by sellers and suppliers will not charge tax when presented; real‑property repairs are generally not charged to the end customer as sales tax (contractors are the user/consumer of materials and may pay sales or use tax on supplies); and exempt providers (for example, some medical professionals) may still have taxable sales of goods (eyeglasses) and should register only for the accounts they need.

Trout and Cain directed attendees to department resources (tax manuals, webinars, and FAQs) and to the TNTAP portal for registering accounts, filing returns and requesting waiver petitions. For assistance they provided a general support email (revenue.support@tn.gov) and call numbers (general: 615-253-0600; franchise/excise: 615-253-0700).

The webinar ended with a reminder to notify the Department directly when a business closes (closing with local clerks alone is not sufficient) and to file any outstanding returns to avoid collections action.