State and Local Tax Services
State and local tax services help businesses manage complex, constantly changing tax obligations across multiple jurisdictions. As companies grow, expand into new states, or add new revenue streams, questions around nexus, taxability, compliance, and audit exposure become harder to answer with confidence. Small missteps can create compounding risk, while overlooked details can lead to missed refunds or cash flow opportunities.
LBMC’s state and local tax advisors work with businesses to reduce uncertainty, manage exposure, and make informed decisions across income tax, sales and use tax, franchise tax, gross receipts tax, and related areas. Our approach combines technical knowledge with practical advice to assist businesses in meeting their current needs while also planning for the future, no matter if they are based in one state or all 50.
How State and Local Tax Services Work in Practice
LBMC’s state and local tax engagements are designed to provide clarity without disrupting day-to-day operations. We focus on understanding your current position, identifying what matters most, and helping you move forward with confidence.
Our process typically includes:
- Discovery and current-state review: We start by learning how your business operates, where you have activity, and how state and local taxes are currently being managed.
- Nexus, exposure, and opportunity assessment: We evaluate filing obligations, taxability, compliance gaps, and potential refund or planning opportunities across applicable jurisdictions.
- Prioritization and planning: Findings are organized into practical next steps based on risk, materiality, and business goals.
- Execution support or coordination: We assist with implementation, whether that means supporting internal teams or coordinating with other advisors.
- Ongoing advisory and monitoring: As laws, guidance, and your business change, we remain engaged to help you stay aligned and prepared.
Questions About Tax Services?
Whether you’re planning for growth, preparing for tax season, or navigating complex regulations, our team helps you find the right tax strategy for your situation.
Why Businesses Work with State and Local Tax Advisors
Many businesses reach a point where state and local tax questions become harder to manage internally. Growth, change, and increased enforcement can introduce uncertainty that impacts both compliance and cash flow. Companies often work with state and local tax advisors when they face situations such as:
- Expanding into new states, markets, or sales channels
- Receiving audit notices or experiencing increased enforcement activity
- Uncertainty around nexus, taxability, or filing obligations
- A growing compliance burden across multiple jurisdictions
- Mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, or entity changes
- Concerns about prior overpayments or unaddressed exposure
- Limited internal resources or specialized SALT expertise
- Pressure to improve accuracy, consistency, and audit readiness
State and local tax advisors help businesses move from reactive decision-making to a more informed, proactive approach — reducing risk while identifying opportunities that may otherwise be overlooked.
LBMC’s State and Local Tax Consulting Services
LBMC provides comprehensive state and local tax consulting services that support businesses through both ongoing compliance demands and complex, time-sensitive tax matters. Our services are designed to adapt as your organization grows, changes structure, or enters new markets.
We help clients address foundational needs such as nexus, taxability, and compliance while also supporting more advanced planning, audit defense, and transaction-related work. Whether you’re looking to reduce exposure, recover overpayments, improve processes, or respond to an unexpected issue, our advisors tailor their approach to your specific situation. By combining technical knowledge with practical execution support, we help businesses manage risk, protect cash flow, and make informed decisions across their state and local tax footprint.
Diagnostic Services
Just like a routine health check, diagnostic state and local tax services help identify issues and opportunities before they become costly problems. Businesses often need a clear baseline understanding of their state tax position, especially as operations grow or change. Early insight helps prevent small gaps from turning into significant exposure and ensures opportunities are not lost due to timing.
A foundational diagnostic step is a nexus review, which determines where a company is required to file income tax returns or register and collect sales tax.
Additional diagnostic services include:
- Determining whether products or services are taxable in specific states through a sales and use taxability review
- Reviewing invoices and transactions for all years open under the statute (typically three to four years) to identify refund opportunities related to exemptions, credits, exclusions, special transactions, and tax base items through reverse sales tax audits
- Reviewing income tax returns for all years open under statute (typically three to four years) to identify refund opportunities related to tax base, apportionment factors, filing methodology (separate, combined, or consolidated), unitary group considerations, income classification, net operating loss utilization, and pass-through entity nonresident withholding and composite filings through reverse income tax audits
Preventative Services
You need a system in place — or an expert actively monitoring and maintaining areas where issues tend to develop. State tax compliance can create significant liabilities that grow over time if not properly managed. To help reduce that risk, LBMC provides consulting services focused on state tax compliance and provision requirements.
Our sales tax consulting services, in addition to the diagnostic services mentioned above, may include:
- Reviewing your compliance process
- Helping select and implement sales tax compliance software
- Co-sourcing or outsourcing sales tax compliance
- Assisting with ASC 450 provision positions
- Providing on-site, customized training for your team
- Evaluating the sales tax impact of mergers, acquisitions, or restructurings
Our income tax consulting services, in addition to the diagnostic services mentioned above, may include:
- Reviewing apportionment and revenue sourcing methods to assess whether income is fairly and accurately reflected in each state
- Evaluating separate, consolidated, or combined filing methods to reduce tax or improve net operating loss utilization
- Reviewing state tax add-backs and subtractions to identify additional deduction or addition opportunities
- Assisting pass-through entities with composite return options and nonresident withholding requirements
- Supporting amended filings related to federal RAR compliance
- Co-sourcing or outsourcing income tax compliance
- Assisting with ASC 740 provision positions
- Evaluating the income tax impact of mergers, acquisitions, or restructurings
Emergency Services
When a crisis strikes or unexpected issues surface, you need an advocate with technical expertise and practical solutions. Emergencies may arise from an audit notice or assessment, a vendor notification, or an internal review that uncovers multi-year errors. In these situations, having experienced guidance can make a meaningful difference.
LBMC advocates for clients before, during, and after audits. We help defend positions, challenge proposed adjustments, and reduce penalties and interest when possible. Our goal is to resolve issues efficiently, avoid unnecessary escalation, and reach the best possible outcome at the lowest cost.
Common audit and dispute questions include:
- Have you received a notice of intent to audit and feel overwhelmed by the volume of information requested?
- Are you being asked to sign forms, such as a statute of limitations waiver, that appear to benefit the state?
- Have you been selected for statistical sampling for the sales tax portion of an audit?
- Has the auditor proposed adjustments you disagree with?
- Are potential overpayments being considered along with deficiencies?
- If an audit has concluded, do you understand your options for disputing the results?
- Are you familiar with the department’s informal taxpayer conference process?
Emergency services may include:
- Identifying overpayments that may offset potential underpayments
- Managing audits and representing your company throughout the process
- Defending positions through written protests, informal conferences, or administrative appeals
- Requesting formal guidance through letter ruling requests
- Reducing historical exposure through voluntary disclosure agreement negotiation and representation
Local Expertise, Wherever You Are
With offices in Chattanooga, Memphis, Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville and Charlotte, plus remote offices, LBMC partners with businesses across the region and beyond.
Why Choose LBMC as Your State and Local Tax Firm?
State and local tax issues require more than technical knowledge — they require judgment, experience, and an understanding of how tax decisions affect the broader business. LBMC’s state and local tax advisors bring deep multistate expertise paired with a practical, relationship-driven approach.
Clients work with LBMC because we take the time to understand how their business operates, where risk truly exists, and which actions will have the greatest impact. Our team helps translate complex rules into clear guidance, supports informed decision-making, and remains engaged as laws, enforcement priorities, and business conditions change. With experience across industries and jurisdictions, LBMC delivers thoughtful solutions that balance compliance, risk management, and opportunity — helping businesses move forward with confidence.
Industries We Support
Our state and local tax team works with businesses across a wide range of industries, providing practical guidance tailored to industry-specific tax obligations and multi-state complexity. From managing nexus and compliance to supporting growth, transactions, and audits, we help organizations navigate evolving state and local tax requirements with clarity and confidence.
All Industries We Serve
Whether you’re navigating multi-state complexity, preparing for an audit, or planning your next phase of growth, LBMC’s state and local tax advisors can help you clarify exposure, identify opportunities, and move forward with confidence. Start with a conversation grounded in your business reality.
State and Local Tax Resources
FAQs about State and Local Tax Services
What do state and local tax services include?
State and local tax services support businesses with issues related to income tax, sales and use tax, franchise and gross receipts taxes, property tax, and unclaimed property. Services may include nexus analysis, compliance support, planning, audit defense, refund reviews, and transaction-related consulting.
When should a business work with state and local tax advisors?
Businesses often seek state and local tax guidance when expanding into new states, receiving audit notices, facing uncertainty around nexus or taxability, undergoing a transaction, or managing growing compliance requirements across multiple jurisdictions.
How is state and local tax consulting different from tax compliance?
Tax compliance focuses on preparing and filing required returns. State and local tax consulting addresses broader questions such as risk exposure, planning opportunities, audit readiness, process improvement, and how changes in the business may impact future tax obligations.
Which industries benefit most from state and local tax services?
Any business operating in more than one jurisdiction can benefit from state and local tax services. Industries with complex operations, high transaction volumes, or frequent structural changes — such as manufacturing, healthcare, real estate, and private equity — often face increased SALT exposure.
How do I find state and local tax services near me?
LBMC serves businesses across the Southeast and beyond, with offices in multiple markets and the ability to support clients remotely. Our state and local tax advisors work with organizations wherever they operate.
Why choose LBMC for state and local tax services?
Clients choose LBMC for our deep multistate experience, practical approach, and commitment to understanding how tax issues affect the broader business. We focus on clear guidance, proactive support, and advocacy when challenges arise.