The Wyoming Department of Revenue reminds vendors and direct payers that effective with the January 2012 payment reporting period, they are allowed to take a vendor compensation credit on their Wyoming sales and use tax returns. The credit is equal to 1.95% of the first $6,250 due in taxes and 1% of any amount exceeding $6,250, with the credit not to exceed $500 total in any month regardless of the number of business licenses held by a vendor. Tax returns and payments must be postmarked or filed electronically by the 15th day of the month in which the tax is due. Any vendor returns currently due must be filed and paid in full, and the account must not have outstanding balances. If an arrangement has been made to pay past-due balances, the payment plan must be current on all payments due. If a vendor is currently under audit, the vendor’s returns may still qualify for the credit as long as the audit balance is not delinquent.
If a vendor’s return is rejected because it is miscalculated, unsigned, or unable to be processed, the vendor may still receive the credit, so long as the initial return was postmarked within the vendor compensation time period and a corrected return is filed by the new due date printed on the return rejection notice. If a vendor amends a return that originally qualified for the credit and the amendment results in additional tax due, the vendor is entitled to a credit on the additional amount due provided that the amendment is filed before the 15th of the month that the tax is due. If a return is amended after the vendor compensation time period, the vendor is not entitled to any credit on the additional tax due. If an amended return results in a reduction of tax due, the credit will be recalculated based on the new amount, regardless of when the amendment is filed. The applicable reporting forms (Forms 41 and 42) have new lines for calculating and claiming the credit, and vendors filing electronically will see a similar change. If the Department of Revenue receives a return in which a vendor qualifies for the credit but the vendor hasn’t calculated the credit, the Department will calculate the credit and notify the vendor of the credit amount on their monthly account statement. (H.B. 147, Laws 2011, Taxing Issues, Wyoming Department of Revenue, Vol. 14, Quarter 4, December 2011)