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Rubric Financial

Tax

Nexus

The connection between a business and a state that creates a tax filing or registration obligation.

Nexus comes in two main flavors: physical (office, employee, inventory in a state) and economic (sales or transaction thresholds, post-Wayfair). Crossing a nexus threshold creates obligations: register, collect tax, file returns.

Different tax types have different nexus rules; sales tax nexus is not the same as income tax nexus or payroll nexus.

Common pitfalls

  • Treating a remote employee in another state as 'no big deal' when they trigger payroll nexus, and sometimes income tax nexus
  • Ignoring economic nexus thresholds for sales tax; Wayfair changed everything

Have a Nexus situation in your business?

Federal, state, and local returns prepared and reviewed by a licensed CPA, with the planning done before year-end rather than after it.