TCA § 67-6-504 — Returns and payment. [Effective until July 1, 2021. See the version effective on July 1, 2021.]

The taxes levied under this chapter shall be due and payable monthly, on the first day of each month, and for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of tax payable under this chapter, it shall be the duty of all dealers on or before the twentieth day of each month to transmit to the commissioner, upon forms prescribed, prepared and furnished by the commissioner, returns, showing the gross sales, or purchases, as the case may be, arising from all sales or purchases taxable under this chapter during the preceding calendar month. At the time of transmitting the return required in this chapter to the commissioner, the dealer shall remit to the commissioner therewith the amount of tax due under the applicable provisions of this chapter, and failure to so remit such tax shall cause the tax to become delinquent. Gross proceeds from rentals or leases of tangible personal property shall be reported and the tax shall be paid with respect thereto in accordance with such rules and regulations as the commissioner may prescribe. Gross proceeds from the furnishing of things or services taxable under this chapter shall be reported and the tax shall be paid with respect thereto in the same manner as gross proceeds from the sale, rental or lease of tangible personal property and in accordance with such rules and regulations as the commissioner may prescribe. Any dealer who is liable for the tax imposed by this chapter may round off all figures used on the sales and use tax return to the nearest dollar amount. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, when a taxpayer is required to remit payments electronically as set forth in § 67-1-703(b), then all returns required by this chapter that are associated with such payments shall be filed electronically using a method approved by the commissioner. When any taxpayer is required to file returns and remit payments electronically for any one (1) outlet, location or other place of business, the commissioner may require the taxpayer to file returns and remit payments electronically for each place of business of the taxpayer. The requirement to file electronically shall continue thereafter until such time as the commissioner advises the taxpayer to file by another method. In extenuating circumstances, the commissioner is authorized to waive the electronic payment and filing requirements under this subsection (f) and under § 67-1-703(b) and permit the taxpayer to file the return in paper form. The commissioner is authorized to require that any such paper filing be accompanied by a manual handling fee, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00), that is reasonably calculated by the department to account for the additional cost of preparing, printing, receiving, reviewing and processing any paper filing so permitted. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, the commissioner is authorized to assess any taxpayer required to file returns by electronic means under subsection (f) a penalty, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), for each instance of filing a return by any other means. Such penalty shall be subject to waiver under § 67-1-803. In computing the tax due or to be collected as the result of any transaction, the tax rate shall be the sum of the applicable state and local rate, if any, and the tax computation shall be carried to the third decimal place. Whenever the third decimal place is greater than four, the tax shall be rounded to the next whole cent. A seller may elect to compute the tax due on a transaction on either an item or an invoice basis, and may apply the rounding rule provided for in subsection (h) to the aggregated state and local taxes. A seller shall not be required to collect the tax on a bracket system. Any dealer making sales subject to the tax imposed by this chapter may choose to collect and remit taxes as a Model 1 or Model 2 seller, subject to this subsection (j). For purposes of this subsection (j), tax includes any associated interest and penalty. A dealer choosing Model 1 shall contract with a certified service provider and shall permit the certified service provider to determine the tax due, collect the tax, file returns, and remit the tax to the appropriate state on all of its sales, leases, or rentals of tangible personal property or services that are subject to the tax levied by this chapter. A Model 1 seller's liability to this state for the tax levied by this chapter is limited to the tax due on its own purchases, the tax due on any of its sales, leases, or rentals made outside the system provided by the certified service provider, and the tax due in the event of fraud by the Model 1 seller. The certified service provider shall not have any additional liability for state or local option taxes imposed by this chapter, if: The Model 1 seller charged and collected an incorrect amount of sales or use tax in reliance on erroneous data made available for review but not discovered during the certification of the certified service provider's automated system; provided, that the error is corrected within ten (10) days of the date of notification by the commissioner to correct the automated system. The commissioner may allot additional time upon a showing by the certified service provider of the need for additional time to correct the automated system; or An item or transaction is incorrectly classified as to its taxability within the certified service provider's automated system that was certified by this state; provided, that the taxability error is corrected within ten (10) days of the date of the notification by the commissioner to correct the automated system. Beginning on the first day after the allotted period of time to correct the certified service provider's automated system, the certified service provider shall be liable for the tax, penalty and interest resulting from the failure to correct the certified service provider's automated system. This subdivision (j)(2) does not apply to errors in charging and collecting or remitting sales or use tax that are the result of classifying the item or transaction within a defined term or other classification within the certified service provider's automated system. A dealer choosing Model 2 shall use a certified automated system to determine the tax due on all of its sales, leases, or rentals of tangible personal property or services that are subject to the tax levied by this chapter. Model 2 sellers shall not have any additional liability for state or local option taxes imposed by this chapter, if the Model 2 seller charged and collected or remitted an incorrect amount of sales or use tax in reliance on the certification of the certified automated system; provided, that the error is corrected within ten (10) days of the date of notification by the commissioner to correct or notification by the provider of the certified automated system of the availability of updates to correct the certified automated system. Beginning on the eleventh day, the Model 2 seller shall be liable for the tax, penalty, and interest resulting from the failure to correct or update the certified automated system for errors resulting from reliance on the certification. A certified service provider has, and is subject to, all of the rights, liabilities, duties and responsibilities imposed by this chapter as if it were the Model 1 seller for whom the certified service provider has agreed to perform all sales and use tax functions, except the Model 1 seller's obligation to remit tax on its own purchases. The commissioner may enter into contracts with certified service providers for the collection and reporting of the tax imposed under this chapter. The commissioner may enter into the contracts in conjunction with other states. When reporting the local sales and use tax levied under part 7 of this chapter, out of state dealers shall provide sufficient information as prescribed by the commissioner to indicate the incorporated municipality or unincorporated area of a county into which the sale is shipped or delivered, even if the local tax rates of the municipality and unincorporated area of the county are the same.