Billing Taxes Calculator

The Billing Taxes Calculator in the web Product Catalog lets you validate addresses and calculate taxes for different billing scenarios without having to create an actual account. Tax estimates are based on:

• tax jurisdiction – establishes state and local tax rates.

• account type – to tax as a residential, business, or industrial account.

• service type – establishes tax class, and other service considerations such as per line or private line.

• catalog items – establish tax classes, and other product considerations.

• tax exemptions - both standard and extended.

Notes:

• You’ll need to obtain the IDI Tax API, subject to an additional service fee, to have the calculator available in your system. Contact your IDI account manager for details.

• The calculator is restricted to admin-level users with Manage Billing Taxes Calculator permission. This permission is included in the Product Catalog Admin role and can be added to other roles as required.

To display the calculator, click the link under Getting started on the Product Catalog landing page.

Note:

This link is only available with the IDI Tax API.

Or, if the Product Catalog is already open to another function, you can use the MANAGE > Billing Taxes Calculator option.

The calculator has three expandable/collapsible tabs. It initially displays with Address Details and Validation tab open.

Use each tab to enter the required criteria for a specific billing scenario and calculate the taxes.

Note:

Shortly after successfully entering the required information on a tab, it will close automatically. You can reopen tabs to change criteria prior to calculating as needed.

Address Details and Validation

Use this tab to enter and validate the address for which the taxes will be calculated.

Note:

In addition to City and State, you need to enter either the Zip or County. These fields accept only US addresses (states, territories, and armed forces bases).

The Validate Now button is enabled upon entering the required address details.

After the address has been successfully validated, the following tax jurisdiction details will be displayed: Tax Jurisdiction ID, City, County, and State. Also, the Address and Details tab will close, and the Settings and Catalog Items tab section will open to show fields for selecting account type, service type, and catalog items.

Settings and Catalog Items

Use this tab to select:

• An account type.

• A service type.

• The catalog items that contribute taxable charges.

• Tax exemptions can be added or managed by clicking the Tax Exemptions + ADD button.

  • Add additional extended tax exemptions from a grid with the ability to filter based on the same tax type and categories. 

Selecting Account and Service Type

Select the account and service types for this calculation. Available account types are configured in Admin Console Data Management.  Available service types are configured in the IDI Desktop Client Product Catalog.

Use the respective selectors.

Adding Catalog Items

Use the Search function to find and add one or more catalog items, Enter a text string that partially or completely matches the catalog item SKU or Description. The list will populate with matching items as you type. Or you can click the magnifying glass icon. To add an item, click the associated kebob and choose Add.

Added items are listed in the right panel. You can edit or remove items from the list by choosing the applicable option from the associated kebob menu.

The Edit option lets you adjust the quantity and charge for an item.

Adding Exemptions

To add exemptions, start by clicking +ADD.

This opens a form that lets you select standard and extended tax exemptions by tax type (Federal, State, County, City, Regional) and exemption category (Tax, Surcharge, USF, and E911).

Standard Exemptions

To apply standard tax exemptions, select the appropriate checkboxes that correspond to the required exemptions. For example, in the image below, State Tax and Federal USF are selected.

Extended Exemptions

To apply extended tax exemptions to the calculation,  select them from the Extended Exemptions list as needed. Note: All Extended Exemptions are listed by default. You can filter the list by selecting a specific Type and/or Category using the respective selectors.

To apply an extended tax exemption to the calculation, click the plus (+) icon next to an exemption to select it.

The selected exemption will be added in the panel on the right. Note: Duplicate selections are not allowed.

To remove an exemption, click the X next to it in the selected list.

Select additional extended exemptions as needed.

Managing Profiles

When you are done with standard and extended exemptions you can create a profile to facilitate using this setup for future calculations.

To create a profile, enter a name in the Profile Name field and click Save Profile. This will add the profile to the drop down for future use. A default profile can be chosen by clicking the checkbox ‘Default’. Only one profile can be set to the default and this profile will be the first one to be loaded when then page is opened.

Saved profiles can be selected from the Tax Exemption Profiles dropdown. When you choose a profile, its saved exemptions will automatically fill in. You can still add or remove exemptions manually if needed.

To update a profile, select it, make changes, and click Save Profile again. The tax jurisdiction is required in order to save a profile as well as a profile name.

To delete a profile, select it and click Delete Profile. This will remove the profile and clear all selections.

If any of the buttons are disabled, you can hover over them to see a potential error message or configuration issue that is preventing the button from being enabled.

To close the form without saving changes, click Cancel. To apply the selected exemptions, click OK. Once applied, the selected tax exemptions will appear in the Settings and Catalog panels. To make further changes, reopen the form.

Calculating Taxes and Viewing Results

When you’re finished with the Settings and Catalog Items tab, click Calculate Taxes.

When the calculation is complete, the Results tab displays the estimated billing taxes based on the specified criteria.

Note:

If the Amount column shows all 0.00 amounts, it is due to account type, service type, and catalog item configurations.