2021 Wyoming Statutes
Title 39 - Taxation and Revenue
Chapter 15 - Sales Tax
Article 1 - State Sales Tax
Section 39-15-107 - Compliance; Collection Procedures.

39-15-107. Compliance; collection procedures.

(a) Returns, reports and preservation of records. The following shall apply:

(i) Each vendor shall on or before the last day of each month file a true return showing the preceding month's gross sales and remit all taxes to the department. The returns shall contain such information and be made in the manner as the department by regulation prescribes. The department may allow extensions for filing returns and paying the taxes by regulation, but no extension may be for more than ninety (90) days. If the total tax to be remitted by a vendor during any month is less than one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00), a quarterly or annual return as authorized by the department, and remittance in lieu of the monthly return may be made on or before the last day of the month following the end of the quarter or year for which the tax is collected. If the accounting methods regularly used by any vendor are such that reports of sales made during a calendar month would impose unnecessary hardships, the department after receiving a formal request filed by the vendor may accept reports at intervals as would be more convenient to the taxpayer. Any vendor shall report whether the vendor sells nicotine products, as defined by W.S. 39-18-101(a)(xi), in this state to the department in the form and manner required by the department. The department may reject any report required under this paragraph of any vendor who does not comply with the nicotine sales reporting requirements. Every person purchasing goods or services taxable by this article who does not pay the tax owed to a vendor shall, on or before the last day of each month, file a return showing the gross purchases made during the preceding month and remit all taxes due to the department. The return shall contain such information and be made in the manner as the department shall prescribe by rule and regulation. The department, by rule and regulation, may allow an extension for filing a return and paying any tax due, but no extension shall be granted for more than ninety (90) days;

(ii) Every vendor and person liable for the payment of sales tax under this article shall preserve for three (3) years at his principal place of business, suitable records and books as may be necessary to determine the amount of tax for which he is liable under this article, together with all invoices and books showing all merchandise purchased for resale. All records, books and invoices shall be available for examination by the department during regular business hours except as arranged by mutual consent;

(iii) If any vendor or person liable for the payment of sales tax under this article fails to comply with paragraph (ii) of this subsection, he shall bear the burden of proof as to the correctness of any assessment of taxes imposed by the department for the period for which records were not preserved in any court action or proceeding;

(iv) If a vendor fails to file a return as required by this article, the department shall give written notice by mail to the vendor to file a return on or before the last day of the month following the notice of delinquency. If a vendor then fails to file a return the department shall make a return from the best information available which will be prima facie correct and the tax due therein is a deficiency and subject to penalties and interest as provided by this article;

(v) The department shall preserve returns and reports for three (3) years;

(vi) The vendor shall file a return within thirty (30) days after discontinuing or selling his business;

(vii) Taxes collected under paragraphs (b)(i) and (ii) of this section are due and payable and shall be remitted in full by the county treasurer to the department monthly or as required by the department together with reports as required by the department;

(viii) When applying for registration, every new owner of a motorcycle shall produce either:

(A) A receipt from the department showing that the sales or use tax has been paid;

(B) A receipt on forms provided by the department showing that the motorcycle was purchased from a Wyoming licensed dealer and that the dealer has collected the sales tax; or

(C) A certificate from the department that no sales or use tax is due.

(ix) As soon as practicable after the return is filed the department shall examine it and if it appears from the information on the return the tax to be remitted is incorrect, the tax shall be recomputed. If the amount remitted exceeds that which is due from the recomputed return, the excess shall be refunded or credited as provided in W.S. 39-15-109(c) and (d);

(x) Taxes paid on gross receipts represented by accounts found to be worthless may be credited against subsequent liability of the vendor. The vendor shall not take the credit for any bad debt until he has used the customary debt collection procedures as documented in writing by the vendor and has written off the debt; or until the debt qualifies as a bad debt under 26 U.S.C. section 166 excluding 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, any expenses incurred in attempting to collect any debt, and repossessed property. If any account is thereafter collected by the vendor, a tax shall be paid upon the amount collected. The amount collected shall be applied proportionally first to the taxable price of the property or service and the sales tax thereon, and then to interest, service charges and any other charges. Should the bad debt exceed the taxable sales for a subsequent period the vendor may request a refund of the tax on the bad debt from the department so long as the claim is made within three (3) years of the date of the return on which the bad debt could first be claimed. A certified service provider under W.S. 39-15-401 through 39-15-408 acting on behalf of a vendor may claim the bad debt allowance for the vendor and shall remit the credit or refund received to the vendor. Should the bad debt apply to more than one (1) state, the debt may be allocated between the affected states.

(b) Payment. The following shall apply:

(i) Except as provided by paragraph (viii) of this subsection, no vendor shall collect taxes imposed by this article upon the sale of motor vehicles, house trailers, trailer coaches, trailers or semitrailers. The taxes imposed shall be collected by the county treasurer prior to the first registration in Wyoming and not upon subsequent registration by the same applicant. The county treasurer shall collect and remit to the department the tax in effect in the county of the owner's principal residence;

(ii) Except for those vehicles specified under paragraph (viii) of this subsection, the tax imposed by this article upon the sale of a motor vehicle, house trailer, trailer coach, trailer or semitrailer purchased as a gift shall be collected from the donee prior to the first registration based upon the fair market value of the gift at the time of the gift;

(iii) Motor vehicle vendors and vendors of house trailers, trailer coaches, trailers or semitrailers shall not be required to pay sales taxes on motor vehicles, house trailers, trailer coaches, trailers or semitrailers if they are registered in the vendor's name, are included as a part of the vendor's inventory and are held principally in the conduct of the vendor's business for sale, demonstration or delivery prior to sale and use, except a motor vehicle vendor shall be liable for payment of sales or use tax on the transfer of a motor vehicle with less than one thousand (1,000) miles on the odometer he purchases if:

(A) The vendor is not a properly licensed dealer under W.S. 31-16-101 et seq.;

(B) The vehicle he purchased was transferred with a manufacturer's statement of origin or manufacturer's certificate of origin from a properly licensed dealer; and

(C) The vehicle was transferred into his inventory for sale, demonstration or delivery.

(iv) A person regularly engaged in the business of making loans or a supervised financial institution, as defined in W.S. 40-14-140(a)(xix), that forecloses a lien or repossesses a motor vehicle on which it has filed a lien, or an insurance company that acquires ownership of a motor vehicle pursuant to a damage settlement, shall not be liable for payment of sales or use tax, penalties or interest due under this section or W.S. 39-16-107 for that vehicle;

(v) The taxes are due and payable on the last day of the month following the month in which they were collected or as required by the department as specified in this article;

(vi) If a sale is made on credit, contract or conditional basis and title does not pass until a future date, there shall be paid upon each payment that portion of the total tax which the amount paid bears to the purchase price. If a vendor discontinues business, the tax shall be computed and paid on the outstanding amount of all credit, installment and conditional sales;

(vii) If any vendor collects a tax in excess of that imposed by this article it shall be remitted to the department after making reasonable attempts to identify and refund the excess tax to the taxpayer that originally paid the tax;

(viii) Notwithstanding W.S. 39-15-107(b)(i), the tax imposed under this article upon the sale of mopeds and motorcycles as defined in W.S. 31-5-102(a) and off-road recreational vehicles defined by W.S. 31-1-101(a)(xv) shall be collected by the vendor in the manner prescribed by this section;

(ix) When the department has reason to believe the collection of any tax, penalty or interest will be jeopardized by delay it shall immediately levy a jeopardy assessment and the amount assessed shall be immediately due and payable. Notice of the assessment shall be given to the vendor personally or by mail. If the jeopardy assessment is not paid within ten (10) days after the service of notice upon the vendor, the deficiency penalty and interest provided in W.S. 39-15-108(c)(ii) shall attach to the amount of the jeopardy assessment;

(x) The department may enter into contracts with collection agencies for required collection services on deficiencies of sales tax occurring under W.S. 39-15-101 through 39-15-111. Any taxes recovered by the collection agencies and remitted to the department shall be distributed in accordance with W.S. 39-15-111(b). Any person owing a tax submitted to a collection agency may be assessed a fee in an amount necessary to cover the cost of collection, not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the tax owed, as provided in W.S. 9-1-415(a). The collection agency shall collect the fee with the tax that is submitted for collection and the amount collected as a fee may be deducted from funds remitted to the department. The contracts entered into under this paragraph shall not be for a term of more than two (2) years and shall be awarded only after competition;

(xi) If a vendor or direct payer pays taxes due and payable under this chapter on or before the fifteenth day of the month that the taxes are due under paragraph (v) of this subsection, a credit shall be allowed against the taxes imposed by this chapter for expenses incurred by a vendor or direct payer for the accounting and reporting of taxes. For the first six thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($6,250.00) of tax due, the credit is equal to one and ninety-five hundredths percent (1.95%) of the amount of tax due. For any tax due in excess of six thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($6,250.00), the credit for that additional amount shall be one percent (1%) of that amount, provided that the total credit under this paragraph and W.S. 39-16-107(b)(viii) shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00) in any month. The vendor or direct payer shall deduct the credit for each tax period on forms prescribed and furnished by the department. The credit shall be deducted only from the share of the tax that is distributed to the general fund under W.S. 39-15-111(b)(i).

(c) Timelines. Except as otherwise specifically provided, there are no general applicable provisions for timelines for this article.