How to Set Up and Manage Tax Rates
If you use Manual Tax Calculation, you can set up the tax rates Rentopian uses under your Financial and Payment settings.
Using Automatic Tax Calculation? You do not need to set up tax rates in this section. These tax rates are used when your account is set to Manual Tax Calculation. To learn more about Automatic vs Manual tax, please refer to our Knowledge Base article.
Important: Consult your CPA or tax professional.
Rentopian works with rental businesses in many different tax jurisdictions, each with its own rules and requirements for calculating and collecting sales tax. Because these requirements vary by location and business, the Rentopian team cannot provide specific financial or tax advice. Before setting up your tax rates, consult your CPA or qualified tax professional to determine the rates and tax treatment that apply to your business.
Find Your Tax Rate Settings
To manage your tax rates:
Go to Settings in the main navigation.
Select Financial/Payments.
Click Tax Rates.
Add a Tax Rate
To create an individual tax rate, click the green Add Tax Rate button.
In the pop-up window, enter:
Title: The name of the tax rate.
Agency: The agency associated with the tax.
Rate: The tax rate that should be charged.
Location: The area where this tax rate should apply.
The location can be associated with a state, city, or ZIP code.
Rentopian uses the transaction's delivery address to determine which of your manual tax rates should apply based on the locations assigned to those rates.
Once you have entered the tax rate information and location, click the green Confirm button.
Create a Grouped Tax Rate
Grouped tax rates allow you to combine multiple individual tax rates to create the full tax rate that should be charged.
To create one, click Add Group Tax Rate.
Enter a Title.
Enter the Agency.
Click the Tax Rates field.
Select the individual tax rates you want to combine.
As you select tax rates, Rentopian will show their combined rate in the Rate field.
Because the individual tax rates already have locations assigned to them, you do not need to assign a separate location to the grouped tax rate.
When you are finished, click Confirm.
Choose a Default Tax Rate
In your Tax Rates list, click the three dots under the Actions column to choose your default tax rate.
The default tax rate is used when Rentopian cannot determine the appropriate tax rate from the transaction's delivery location.
Important: Because the default rate may be used when Rentopian cannot determine the appropriate rate from the delivery location, consult your CPA or tax professional when deciding which tax rate should be set as your default.
Edit or Delete a Tax Rate
You can manage your existing tax rates from the Actions column.
Edit: Click the pencil icon to open the tax rate and make changes.
Delete: Click the red trash can icon to delete the tax rate.
Tax Rates Synced with QuickBooks
If your Rentopian account is connected to QuickBooks, you may see the green Sync with QuickBooks option.
When tax rates are being synced with QuickBooks, most of the normal Actions options will not be available. You will still have the option to select a default tax rate.
Changes to synced tax rates should be made in your QuickBooks account and then synced back to Rentopian.
Delivery and Damage Waiver Tax Rates
If your business uses separate tax rates for certain charges, those rates may be managed in other areas of your settings.
Delivery Tax: If you separate your delivery tax, use the Delivery Tax section under Financial and Payment settings to add the tax rate for delivery charges.
Damage Waiver Tax: If your Damage Waiver uses a separate tax rate, set that rate in your Damage Waiver settings under the Tax Rate section.
Before using your tax rates: Review your tax rate locations, grouped rates, default rate, and any separate delivery or Damage Waiver tax settings with your CPA or qualified tax professional. They can help confirm that your Rentopian settings match the requirements for the jurisdictions where your business operates.
Need Help?
If you have questions about how to create or manage tax rates in Rentopian, contact us at [email protected]. For questions about which tax rates or tax settings are appropriate for your business, please consult your CPA or qualified tax professional.