Keep track of all the purchases you made but did not pay sales tax on!!!
When you shop at retail stores and many other business establishments in Alabama, the price you pay for the retail purchases you make usually includes Alabama sales taxes. This tax is calculated at the rate of 4% of the cost of the item(s) you purchased. When you make retail purchases for similar items from businesses located outside of Alabama (mail order, Internet, telephone, while on vacation, etc.), you are responsible, as the consumer, for ensuring that the Alabama sales tax (which is called a “consumer use tax”) is paid on these purchases if the business from which you made your purchase did not charge you Alabama sales tax for your purchase(s) and if the items you purchased are delivered to or brought back with you to Alabama. Examples of retail purchases subject to Alabama sales (or consumer use) tax: • Clothing • Books • Computers • Computer Software • Furniture • Magazine Subscriptions • Sporting Goods • Jewelry • Electronic Equipment • CDs, DVDs, Audio & Video Cassettes • Photographic Equipment • Musical Equipment • Automotive Accessories and Parts • All other retail purchases subject to Alabama sales taxes If you were charged a sales tax (other than Alabama sales tax) by the out-of-state business for the item(s) you purchased, you are allowed a credit against your Alabama consumer use tax due for the amount of the sales tax you paid with your purchase, not to exceed 4% of the purchase price. Use the "Consumer Use Tax Calculator" to keep track of purchases which are subject to Alabama consumer use tax. Add purchases to your calculator throughout the year and report the total on your Alabama Income Tax return for the year. When filing your Alabama Income Tax return, you only need to report the total amount of tax from your calculator on your return's Consumer's Use Tax Line. Math calculations will be done for you. EXAMPLE: You purchased some electronic equipment over the Internet for $2,000 from a business outside Alabama, and you were not charged any Alabama sales tax on your purchase. You also purchased $500 of clothing during the year from various businesses outside Alabama (both over the Internet and while away on vacation), and were not charged Alabama sales tax on your purchases, but did pay $10 in sales taxes in another state on some of the purchases. Based on this example, your Alabama Consumer Use tax would be calculated as follows: Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4 Column 5 Column 6 Column 7 Balance Due (Col. 5 minus Col. 6 but not less than zero) 80 10 0 90
Date of Purchase Description of Goods 2/15/02 Electronic Equipment 6/12/02 Clothing 9/25/02 Clothing
Retailer Joe'sElectronics.com justclothes.com Macys, NY
Tax Paid to Purchase AL Tax Due (.04 Another Price X Col. 4) Jurisdiction 2000 80 0 250 10 0 250 10 10 Alabama Consumers Use Tax Due
Keep track of all the purchases you made but did not pay sales tax on!!!
Note: Do not use the worksheet to compute use tax on the following items: • automobiles • trailers, truck trailers, semi-trailers, travel trailers • mobile homes • motor boats which must be titled in Alabama Tax on the above items will be collected at the time of registration by the appropriate county licensing official. For more information regarding Alabama consumer use tax call 334-242-1490.
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Date of Purchase
Description of Goods
Retailer
Purchase Price
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 If these represent all your purchases, then the figure on the right is your tax due. Report this amount on your Alabama Income Tax Return. Otherwise, please continue your entries on worksheet # 2.
Column 7 Balance Due Tax Paid to (Col. 5 minus AL Tax Due (.04 Another Col. 6 but not X Col. 4) Jurisdiction less than zero) Consumer Use Tax Due - This Page -
Column 5
Column 6
Column 1
Date of Purchase 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
Column 7 Balance Due Tax Paid to (Col. 5 minus Purchase AL Tax Due (.04 Another Col. 6 but not Description of Goods Retailer Price X Col. 4) Jurisdiction less than zero) Consumer Use Tax Due - This Page Consumer Use Tax Due - From Worksheet 1 Total Consumer Use Tax Due - Report this amount on your Alabama Income Tax Return ► -
Column 2
Column 3
Column 4
Column 5
Column 6