What Is an Exemption? 

An exempt receipt is not taxable and does not require reporting. If all receipts of a business or organization are exempt, it does not register with the Department unless it wishes to apply for nontaxable transaction certificates, or unless it must do so for another tax program; for instance, to withhold and remit withholding tax for employees. 

I have represented businesses that were audited even though their sales were exempt. The can be several reasons for this. An example of one case is that a real estate sales agent used an incorrect Standard Industry Code was used on the business's federal income tax return. The message here is that an audit letter can be avoided if the business registers, reports and deducts exempt sales. 

What Is a Deduction? 

A deduction is a receipt that is not subject to the tax but is reportable to the Department. Any business with deductible receipts registers with TRD and maintains proof of deductions taken. Proof may require a nontaxable transaction certificate (NTTC) or other evidence acceptable to the Secretary. The deduction means that there is no tax on a transaction, and consequently, no tax for the business to recover from the customer. The use of the NTTC system eliminates a layer of tax when possible. The law does not permit NTTC use in some cases. If all receipts of a business are 100% deductible, the law requires the business to file a “zero” CRS-1 Form.