Key takeaways
- Sales tax returns are filed in INTIME. Confirm the client's login is in INTIME before the due date.
- An average monthly liability of $1,000 or more makes a client an early filer, due on the 20th. Below $1,000, the client is a monthly filer, due on the 30th.
- An average monthly tax above $5,000 requires payment by electronic funds transfer.
- Food and beverage tax is a separate return, FAB-103, filed by county and city. It does not go on Form ST-103.
- Each return needs its own payment, and a $0 return is still required when no tax is due.
Get into the right INTIME account
Indiana sales tax returns are filed and paid in INTIME at intime.dor.in.gov. The Department of Revenue began moving business customers off INtax on September 8, 2020, and let existing INtax customers file and pay current periods only until December 31, 2020. If a past period is still open, the account has to be migrated to INTIME before that period can be filed.
After migration, bank account information has to be entered again in INTIME. Do that before the due date, because the bank details are the step most likely to hold up an EFT payment.
If you cannot find the migration path for an old login, ask the client for the account name and number, then send the question through INTIME secure messaging, which the DOR guide places under the All Actions tab, in the Messages section. For a new business, the DOR's food and beverage guide says to register through INBiz first, then add the tax in INTIME.
Work out the filing frequency from average monthly liability
The DOR's filing deadlines page sorts sales and companion taxes into two groups. An early filer has $1,000 or greater average monthly liability for the prior fiscal year. A monthly filer has less than $1,000. The fiscal year ends June 30 of the previous calendar year, so 2027 periods look back to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026. Check the frequency shown in the client's INTIME account, because that is the schedule the DOR assigned.
The DOR's business FAQ says the frequency is based on average monthly liability throughout the tax year, and that accounts are reviewed in November. A filer can move to a more frequent schedule but cannot move to a less frequent one. The DOR notifies taxpayers of changes before the next tax year begins.
I did not find a quarterly sales tax group on the DOR pages I read. Do not set a client to quarterly based on a third-party guide.
Set the due date and the EFT rule
Early filers pay by the 20th of the month after the reporting period. Monthly filers pay by the 30th. For January periods, monthly filers are due March 2, or March 1 in a leap year, according to the DOR deadlines page.
If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, it becomes the next legal business day, as the Form ST-103 instructions state. A monthly filer's due date for December 2026 sales is January 30, 2027, a Saturday, so the payment is due Monday, February 1, 2027.
The DOR's business FAQ says a filer whose average monthly tax exceeds $5,000 must pay by electronic funds transfer. At a 7% rate, that threshold is reached at roughly $71,400 of taxable sales in a month, so check any client near that level now. A taxpayer who pays by EFT still has to file a return for each period and enter the EFT amount on line 10.
Fill Form ST-103 line by line
Line 1 is total sales for the period only. Line 2 is exempt sales and deductions, including bad debts expensed in the period. Line 3 is excluded sales, such as sales where a marketplace facilitator collects the tax. Line 4 is line 1 minus lines 2 and 3. Line 5 is line 4 times the state rate, which is 7% under Departmental Notice #26, effective April 1, 2008.
Line 6 is the collection allowance, allowed only when the return and payment are made on or before the due date. Line 7 is use tax on items removed from inventory for personal use, given away, or used as a display model when no tax was paid. Line 8 is interest, line 9 is penalty, and line 10 is the EFT payment already made. Line 11 adds lines 5, 7, 8 and 9 and subtracts lines 6 and 10.
Worked example with hypothetical figures. Total sales of $30,000 on line 1 and $4,000 of exempt sales on line 2 leave $26,000 on line 4. Line 5 at 7% is $1,820. With no use tax, interest, penalty or EFT already paid, line 11 is $1,820 before any collection allowance. The late-payment penalty is 10% of lines 5 and 7, or $5, whichever is greater, so a $630 payment made 10 days late carries a $63 penalty plus interest. Interest is the amount due times the annual rate in Departmental Notice #3, divided by 365, times the days late.
The instructions show no county breakdown on Form ST-103, and I did not find a county distribution rule for state sales tax on the DOR pages. The county and city split that changes the return is the food and beverage tax.
Keep food and beverage tax out of the state return
Food and beverage tax is a county or municipal tax. The DOR's FAB guide says the FAB return (FAB-103) is separate from the sales and use tax return, and it is paid through INTIME. The total rate on a sale is the county rate plus the municipal rate. The guide's example is Carmel, Indiana, at a combined 2%: Hamilton County at 1% plus Carmel at 1%. The county and municipal amounts are filed and remitted separately.
Due dates depend on the monthly average. If the monthly average FAB tax collected is $1,000 or greater, the return is due on the 20th of the following month. Otherwise it is due 30 days after the end of the month. The guide's examples: a client averaging $1,200 files for June by July 20, and a client averaging $400 files for June by July 30.
Businesses base collections on the building where food is prepared or served, with two exceptions the guide names. A caterer serving outside its headquarters county pays FAB in the county where the food is served. A marketplace facilitator must submit FAB directly to DOR. The guide says FAB returns go to DOR except in Johnson County, so check Johnson County instructions before filing.
Avoid the e-file errors that cause notices
Wrong FEIN on the account. If the FEIN on the return is wrong, the instructions say to call (317) 232-2240 or visit INTIME.dor.in.gov. Do not try to correct it on the return.
One payment for several returns. The instructions say to submit a separate payment for each return. A single payment can be credited to the wrong period and draw a tax liability notice with penalty and interest. Send one payment per return and name the period.
A $0 return skipped. A return is required even when no tax is due, unless the account has been properly closed. If none is filed, the Department files an estimated return under IC 6-8.1-10-3. The DOR's business FAQ says late returns carry a penalty of up to 20%, with a $5 minimum.
Collection allowance on a late return. Line 6 requires the return and payment on or before the due date.
EFT initiated late. A payment postmarked or initiated by EFT after the due date is subject to the penalty and interest. Initiate EFT on or before the due date, and allow for the bank's cutoff time.
Send the client the right requests
Before each period closes, send: "Please send your total sales, exempt sales and any sales shipped out of Indiana for last month by the 5th. If you sell food or beverages, also send the city and county where each sale was made." The city and county drive the FAB rate, so ask for them when the sale is recorded.
When a client's average monthly tax crosses $1,000, send: "Your Indiana sales tax schedule will likely move to the 20th of the following month, so I am setting our calendar to the 20th now." Send it early.