fileformatinstructionsforsalesandserviceprovdiertax.doc

File Format Instructions for Sales and Service Provider Tax Breakdown data. Maine Revenue Services internet filing system offers Sales and Service Provider Tax filers the convenience of uploading tax return information rather than typing this data in manually for each location. To utilize this feature users organize the required data in a Microsoft excel spreadsheet or pipe delimited text file, which is then uploaded into Maine Revenues internet filing system. When the file is uploaded, the system will insert that data in the appropriate fields on the Sales or Service Provider Tax Breakdown data screen. The user should then review the data in the fields to verify its accuracy. To take advantage of this feature, users must upload a file that conforms to the specifications below. Failing to format the file correctly will result in processing errors or inaccurate reporting. You can find sample test files at the end of this document. General Sales Tax File Specifications Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and pipe delimited text files will be accepted. The file will contain only data; no headers, titles, or footers of any kind are to be entered. The file must contain exactly fifteen columns as described below. The rows are to be continuous; no empty rows are allowed. Formulas are not to be used. Enter numbers only; do not include a dollar sign. If the data has cents to report, then the cents must be preceded with the decimal point and the value may not contain embedded spaces. A text file must contain the same columns and in the same order as detailed below. The Pipe character | used for text files can be found on your keyboard if you Shift back slash \. Each record or reporting location will start a new row. The fifteen required columns are as follows: Registration Number Account Name Account Location Prepared Food Sales @8% Sales Subject to 5.5% Tax Long Term Auto Rentals Rentals of Lodging Short Term Rentals of Autos Industrial Energy Purchases Other Taxable Purch