As services continue to evolve in a digital-enabled economy, the rules that once guided sales tax treatment are becoming harder to apply. What used to be a straightforward question— “Is this a service?”—now requires a deeper analysis of not only how value is delivered to the customer but also how the customer interacts with the service provider. This webinar explores the growing uncertainty around taxing services, with a critical focus on whether the true object test still works in today’s environment.
Participants will examine how states are expanding taxation into digital, data-driven, and platform-based offerings, where traditional distinctions between services and tangible property may no longer hold. The session will highlight the increasing risk associated with bundled transactions, in which services and software or digital goods are integrated, and why separating invoices or labeling offerings as “service” is often not enough in the eyes of the court.
We will challenge common assumptions and show how tax authorities are shifting toward an economic reality approach, focusing on what the customer actually receives rather than how the transaction is described. Attendees will gain insight into how contracts, functionality, and user interaction can drive tax outcomes, and how reliance on platforms or data aggregation can transform a non-taxable service into a taxable product or service.
This session is designed to help professionals rethink long-standing frameworks, identify hidden risks in modern service models, and build a more defensible approach to classification in an increasingly complex sales tax landscape.
Who should attend?
This webinar is intended for tax professionals, CPAs, finance leaders, and compliance teams across industries. It is suitable for all experience levels and especially relevant to businesses or advisors in traditional service businesses that use digital services or SaaS to perform or deliver there service It will also be relevant to those with bundled offerings that are adapting to changing tax regulations.
In this webinar we will unpack how and why service taxability is shifting so quickly as states modify their interpretations of legacy statutes and move away from older concepts. Some states are doing the work to modify their statutes and as these changes take hold, as depicted by Washington’s recent legislative efforts, long-standing distinctions based on human effort or service delivery methods are being phased out in favor of a focus on the end product delivered to the customer. Even offerings that rely heavily on human expertise can become taxable when delivered through automated systems, platforms, or structured data outputs.
At the same time, courts are reinforcing this shift by focusing on economic reality. If access to a platform, compiled data, or standardized outputs drives the transaction, that element may control taxability, even when advisory or customized services are included. What happens when your service is delivered through software your customer actively uses? Can long-standing concepts like the true object test still be applied consistently across states?
This evolving approach has important implications as more jurisdictions revisit their rules and expand their tax base. Understanding how legislative changes and judicial interpretation are aligning will help you anticipate where service taxability is headed and make more informed decisions about how your offerings are structured, delivered, and documented.
Webinar attendees can earn 1.8 hours of CPE credit in the “Taxes” field of study
Prerequisites: This course requires no prerequisites or advance preparation.
Program Level: Basic
Delivery Method: Group Internet-Based
Additional Information about CPE
Questions about the registration or webinar process, or need help troubleshooting? Visit the Live Webinar FAQ page to get answers.
Diane L. Yetter, President & Founder, YETTER and Sales Tax Institute
Diane L. Yetter is the “Sales Tax Nerd TM” as well as a strategist, advisor, speaker and author in the field of sales and use tax. She is president and founder of YETTER Tax, a sales tax consulting and tax technology firm in business since 1996. She is also the founder of The Sales Tax Institute, which offers live and online courses to educate business professionals about sales and use tax.
More About Diane L. Yetter
The All-Access Webinar Pass grants you the ability to attend an entire year’s worth of Sales Tax Institute live webinars and access all existing on-demand webinars!
As a busy tax pro, it can be hard to find quality professional development throughout the year. The All-Access Webinar Pass takes care of all your required sales tax training in one easy step. Learn from the experts about the sales and use tax issues that matter with access to the Sales Tax Institute’s monthly live webinars and full, unlimited access to the Sales Tax Institute’s on-demand webinars.