701—12.1 (422) Returns and payment of tax. Every retailer collecting more than $50 in tax in any one month shall make a monthly deposit with the department. A retailer collecting between $50 and $500 a month shall deposit the actual amount of tax collected during the month or an amount equal to not less than 30 percent of the amount of tax collected and paid during the preceding quarter. A retailer collecting $500 or more a month shall deposit the actual amount of tax collected. This deposit is due by the twentieth of the month following the month in which the tax is collected and applies only to the first two months in the quarter.
On the quarterly return, every retailer shall report the gross sales for the entire quarter, listing allowable deductions and figuring tax for the entire quarter. Space is provided on the return for a deduction of tax deposited the first and second months of the quarter. The quarterly return is due on or before the last day of the month following the end of the quarter.
Effective January 1, 1983, retailers collecting $50 a month and not more than $4000 in tax in a semimonthly period shall deposit the actual amount of tax collected during the month or an amount equal to one-third of the amount of tax collected and paid during the preceding quarter.
Every retailer collecting more than $4000 in tax in a semimonthly period shall make a semimonthly deposit with the department. A retailer collecting more than $4000 in a semimonthly period shall deposit (1) the actual amount of tax collected or an amount equal to not less than one-sixth of the amount of tax collected and paid during the preceding quarter or (2) the actual amount of tax collected or an amount equal to not less than one-sixth of the amount of tax collected and paid during the same quarter of the previous year. The method of reporting selected by the retailer, either option 1 or option 2, shall remain consistent for at least four quarters. The first semimonthly deposit is for the period from the first of the month through the fifteenth of the month and is due on or before the twenty-fifth of the month. The second semimonthly deposit is for the period from the sixteenth through the end of the month and is due on or before the tenth day of the month following the month of collection. A deposit is not required for the last semimonthly period of the calendar quarter.
Retailers required to make semimonthly or monthly deposits under any of the above methods of estimating tax based upon a period when the tax rate was 4 percent shall adjust deposits for periods beginning on or after July 1, 1992, to reflect the increase in the tax rate to 5 percent as provided in Iowa Code section 422.43.
On the quarterly return, every retailer shall report the gross sales for the entire quarter listing all allowable deductions and figuring tax for the entire quarter. Space is provided on the return for a deduction of tax deposited for the previous five semimonthly deposits. The quarterly return is due on or before the last day of the month following the end of the calendar quarter.
A seasonal business retailer with gross receipts in only one quarter during the year may request, and the director may grant, permission to file and remit sales tax for only that specific quarter in which the retailer conducted business.
Effective January 1, 1980, if it is expected that the total annual tax liability of a retailer will not exceed $120 for a calendar year, the retailer may request, and the director may grant, permission to file and remit sales tax on a calendar year basis. The returns and tax will be due and payable no later than January 31 following each calendar year in which the retailer carried on business.
Following are nonexclusive examples the department could reasonably expect to be within the guidelines for annual reporting:
	  1. 	 A person selling tangible personal property or taxable services where a major portion of the business is the selling of tangible personal property or taxable services exempt from the imposition of tax; such as a wholesaler whose sales are primarily for resale, or a contractor whose business is primarily new construction.
	  2. 	 A person whose business is primarily seasonal, or a person engaged in part-time selling of tangible personal property or taxable services.
	  3. 	 A person whose sales are of a nontaxable service and who may, on occasion, sell tangible personal property incidental to the service.
When the due date falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the return or deposit will be due the first business day following such Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. If a return or deposit is placed in the mails, properly addressed and postage paid, and postmarked on or before the due date for filing, no penalty will attach should the return or deposit not be received until after that date. Mailed returns should be addressed to Sales/Use Tax Processing, P.O. Box 10412, Des Moines, Iowa 50306.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 421.14, 422.43, 422.47, 422.51, 422.52, and 423.2.