This feature is only available for Lightspeed Retail merchants on select pricing packages.
Sales by Tax Rate Report
Use the Sales by Tax Rate report to see total taxable sales, non-taxable sales, an estimate of sales tax due, and a breakdown of estimated taxes by tax rate over any time period.
Table of Contents
Run the Report
From BackOffice, run the Sales by Tax Rate report for an overview of taxable sales, non-taxable sales, and estimated amount of tax due for a specific time period.
Click the Date icon to choose a preset or custom range, then click 'Retrieve'.
Click to Enlarge
Read the Report
Learn to read the Sales by Tax Rate report to understand the impact taxes have on the business.
Important Tax Information: Taxes are estimated based on how you have set up your tax rates and tax groups in BackOffice. For official filings, always verify your current local rates, then manually calculate tax using net taxable and non-taxable revenues. Tax laws can change at any time and you should contact a professional to obtain specific tax advice for your business. To learn how tax is calculated in Lightspeed Retail, visit the Understanding Sales Tax section below.
Summary Tiles
The summary tiles display an overview of sales and estimated sales tax due for the selected date range.
Estimated sales tax reflects the tax amounts charged and refunded at the register at the time that each transaction was performed.
Net Taxable Sales | Total pre-tax sales minus pre-tax returns for transactions where tax was charged. Net Non-Taxable Sales | Total amount of untaxed sales minus total untaxed returns. Estimated Sales Tax Due | Estimated tax amount collected based on Net Taxable Sales & related tax rates. *Multiplying ‘Net Taxable Sales’ by a single tax rate may NOT equal ‘Estimated Sales Tax Due’ due to differences introduced by rounding and other factors. Visit this section below to learn how tax is calculated.
Table View
The table view provides details about individual tax rates over the selected date range.
Estimated sales tax reflects the tax amounts charged and refunded at the register at the time that each transaction was performed.
Tax Rate | Name of the tax rate as it is currently entered in BackOffice. Tax rates for Lightspeed eCom (E) orders processed at the register and supported orders marked ‘Paid’ in the eCommerce Dashboard will appear in reporting as tax rates starting with the word ‘Online’. Percentage | Percentage of the tax rate as it is currently entered in BackOffice. Taxable Amount | Amount of Net Taxable Sales from items charged this tax rate. Estimated Sales Tax Due | Estimated amount of tax collected for the tax rate. *Multiplying ‘Taxable Amount’ by a single tax rate may NOT equal ‘Estimated Tax Due’ due to differences introduced by rounding and other factors. Visit this section below to learn how tax is calculated.
Click any header with arrows to sort the table ascending/descending.
Click to Enlarge
Filter the Report
Filter the report by tax rate to hide rates you don’t want to see or to display only specific ones. Filter by column to customize which table columns appear on the report.
Review the basics of sales tax and how it impacts a business. Learn how sales tax is calculated in Lightspeed Retail and why it is calculated that way.
IMPORTANT: Sales tax on this report is an estimate based on how you have configured the business’s tax rates and tax groups in BackOffice. For official filings, always verify current local rates, then manually calculate tax using net taxable and non-taxable revenues. Be aware that tax laws can change at any time and you should contact a tax professional for specific tax advice regarding your business.
Sales Tax in Lightspeed Retail
Tax figures in reporting are estimates based on how you have set up the tax rates, tax groups, and their assignments in your Lightspeed Retail account. Tax laws can change at any time, so it is important to verify local rates and manually calculate tax due before making any official filings. We recommend contacting a tax professional for specific tax advice regarding your business.
How Tax is Calculated
Sales tax is currently calculated at the item-level using the tax rates and tax groups you have configured in BackOffice. At the register, the relevant tax rate is applied individually to each item and rounded to the nearest penny. If an item is assigned to a tax group containing multiple tax rates, each rate in the group is applied separately to the item price and rounded, then the totals for each rate are summed.
Calculation Examples
Consider the examples below of a sale with two items, each priced at $5.50 and charged a single 9% tax rate.
Item-Level Tax (Current Calculation Method)
Item 1: $5.50, 9% tax
Tax on item = $5.50 x 0.09 = $0.495
Item’s tax is rounded to $0.50
Item 2: $5.50, 9% tax
Tax on item = $5.50 x 0.09 = $0.495
Item’s tax is rounded to $0.50
Total tax collected on sale = $1.00
Transaction-Level Tax
Item 1: $5.50, 9% tax
Item 2: $5.50, 9% tax
Subtotal of tax rate = $5.50 + $5.50 = $11.00
Subtotal’s tax = $11.00 x 0.09 = $0.99
Total tax collected on sale = $0.99
Item-Level vs. Transaction-Level Tax
Item-level tax makes it possible to return individual items, calculate taxable and non-taxable sales by tax rate, and develop certain reporting features.
In the example above, sales tax would be $0.99 if calculated at the transaction-level. If one item was returned, how much tax would need to be refunded: $0.49 or $0.50? Which item gets the extra penny? With transaction-level tax, there can be many “extra pennies” randomly assigned to items. When each sold item’s tax is summed, you may end up with a different total than what was actually collected at the register.
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