Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Refund of sales tax on returned merchandise?

This summary of a 2009 post on the Dept. of Revenue's own blog is particularly relevant in the post-holiday season. 

“The law is pretty straightforward: Retailers must refund the sales tax within 90 days of purchase of the item, as long as the consumer has the sales receipt or the retailer is able to verify the purchase from their store in Massachusetts.

After 90 days, the retailer may still return an amount equal to the sales tax, but the state is no longer required to in turn credit or refund the collected sales tax to the retailer, so if the retailer does return the sales tax in this instance, it is coming out of their own pocket.”

Check the 2009 post for additional information.  (Text of Letter Ruling 09-04)