Sometimes it feels like state and local tax compliance is an all out competition!
Trying to keep up with state and local tax law changes, understanding new services or products being sold or purchased by your business, and managing state and local tax audits seems like a never ending race. McDonald Hopkins’ Multistate Tax Services Practice can help you win that race with our R.A.C.E. - Refund Analysis & Compliance Evaluation service!
R.A.C.E.Benefits of running a
Recovering overpayments with little risk and effort is the main benefit from running a R.A.C.E. R.A.C.E. is a win-win because the overpayments recovered can be used to pay for the consulting services. At a minimum, R.A.C.E. provides a “check-up” for your compliance practices and positions. R.A.C.E. may also identify underpayments that you may resolve prior to discovery by a state tax auditor who may assess the tax with penalties and interest. Finally, R.A.C.E. provides the basis for continued future savings by identifying the root causes of the non-compliance.
.?R.A.C.EWho is a good candidate for
If you are paying substantial state and local taxes, then you are a good candidate for R.A.C.E. Successful R.A.C.E.s have been run for businesses in the following industries: manufacturing, retail, construction, insurance, banking, leasing, restaurant, hotel, printing, transportation, distribution and wholesale. If you are currently under audit (or have recently been audited), then you are a perfect candidate for R.A.C.E. as we can work with the state tax auditors to potentially offset any identified liability. Even if you have never been audited, you are a perfect candidate since the R.A.C.E. will give you a “check-up” on your past compliance.
R.A.C.E. is completed based on a partnership with our clients with the goal of identifying and recovering
any overpaid tax with a minimal effort on our clients’ part. We also will notify you of any unpaid tax discovered during our analysis. After the R.A.C.E. is won, we can work with you to fix the root causes of the overpayments/underpayments so we only need to run the R.A.C.E. once. R.A.C.E. can be performed for the following taxes:
- Sales
- Use
- Real Property
- Personal Property
- Gross Receipts
- Income
- Franchise
- Unclaimed Property
R.A.C.E.Stages of a
R.A.C.E. is performed in three stages to ensure the maximum amount of value is provided with the minimum amount of your time and resources.
Stage 1: Initial exam
Our experienced tax professionals will review the operations of the business to gain an understanding of its principal transactions, legal structure, past compliance procedures, internal controls, past and current audit history, and past refund history. The goal of Stage 1 is to estimate any potential overpayments or underpayments to determine how we will run the rest of the R.A.C.E. We will move to Stage 2 when there is mutual agreement regarding the issues to pursue.
Stage 2: Documentation review
Based on Stage 1, we will develop and implement an action plan to review and capture the appropriate detail to document the amounts to be requested as part of any refund claim. All refund claims will need your approval before we proceed to Stage 3.
Stage 3: Refund management
Based on Stage 2, we will complete and file the necessary refund claims or amended returns along with the necessary support documentation. Our focus is to provide the appropriate information to the taxing jurisdiction so that it can make informed decisions without needing additional documentation. We will monitor the refund claims to ensure they are processed as expeditiously as possible.
Why choose McDonald Hopkins?
Professionals from McDonald Hopkins’ Multistate Tax Services Practice are uniquely qualified to run your R.A.C.E. as they have experience working in industry and tax consulting. Our professionals have the necessary experience to quickly understand your business, assist in identifying refunds, and communicating with state and local tax department officials to expedite the recovery of your refunds.
To further discuss the benefits of or to schedule a R.A.C.E., please contact your McDonald Hopkins professional or a member of our Multistate Tax Services Practice.