AI-assisted research summary: Sellers may deduct qualifying bad debts from tax calculations, and may get a refund in some cases, but must pay and report tax if a previously deducted bad debt is later collected.
1. For the purposes of this section, “bad debt” means an amount properly calculated pursuant to section 166 of the Internal Revenue Code then adjusted to exclude financing charges or interest, sales or use taxes charged on the purchase price, uncollectible amounts on property that remain in the possession of the seller until the full purchase price is paid, expenses incurred in attempting to collect any debt, and repossessed property. 2. In computing the amount of tax due, a seller may deduct bad debts from the total amount upon which the tax is calculated for any return. Any deduction taken or refund paid which is attributed to bad debts shall not include interest. 3. A seller may deduct bad debts on the return for the period during which the bad debt is written off as uncollectible in the seller’s books and records and is eligible to be deducted for federal income tax purposes. For purposes of this subsection, a seller who is not required to file federal income tax returns may deduct a bad debt on a return filed for the period in which the bad debt is written off as uncollectible in the seller’s books and records and would be eligible for a bad debt deduction for federal income tax purposes if the seller were required to file a federal income tax return. 4. If a deduction is taken for a bad debt and the seller subsequently collects the debt in whole or in part, the tax on the amount so collected must be paid and reported on the return filed for the period in which the collection is made. 5. A seller may obtain a refund of tax on any amount of bad debt that exceeds the amount of taxable sales within the period allowed for refund claims by section 423.47. However, the period allowed for refund claims shall be measured from the due date of the return on which the bad debt could first be claimed. 6. For the purposes of computing a bad debt deduction or reporting a payment received on a previously claimed bad debt, any payments made on a debt or account shall be applied first to the price of the property or service and tax thereon, proportionally, and secondly to interest, service charges, and any other charges. 2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §114, 205 Referred to in §423.53, 423.57