Tips for Finding the Best Rate in our Sales (and Use) Tax Tables

We all know that navigating the labyrinth of sales tax jurisdictions tied to those 5-digit ZIP code Tables can feel like a headache waiting to happen! Here are some tips to help you find the right rate more efficiently.

• When searching the data, use ZIP Code / COUNTY / CITY together to narrow down the possibilities. Just the ZIP Code will not narrow it down other than the 5-digits.
  
• If you are not using the Multi-County table, consider changing (at no cost) so that you have all the ZIP codes in more than one county. This is a fairly new format, and it is exact same layout as the Full Breakout....it just has more rows.
  
  
• Use this handy Comparison Chart to see the difference in formats.  The table format with the least information is the .csv Unique ZIP.  It has one ZIP, one row.  Simple, but not very accurate.
  
  These formats are all available to download to see the samples. 
  
• Will the Primary Record field help?  Not in a search.  Some municipalities share ZIP codes such as ZIP 85087 for New River and Phoenix.  We mark the location of the ZIP Post Office, in this case New River, with the Primary Record.  So again, using the City Name in your search is always better.
  
  
• Cross-State ZIP:  we have a separate blog on that topic!  See "USPS Adds More Cross States" for more information.

Check out our Q&A section for additional information about our tables.