Tax reports and exports
Learn how to use Billing's tax CSV exports to support your tax filing, reconciliation, and audit workflows.
Collecting tax is only half the job. You also need to file returns and remit what you collected. Billing's tax exports provide the transaction-level data you need to build filing summaries, support audits, and reconcile your tax liability with your accounting system.
From calculation to compliance
Every jurisdiction where you're registered will expect:
- Regular returns (monthly, quarterly, annually, or other).
- A summary of total sales, exempt or zero-rated sales, taxable sales, and tax due.
- Payment of the tax due by a specific deadline.
Failure to file or pay on time can result in penalties and interest.
What is a tax report?
A tax report aggregates transaction data into the formats expected by tax authorities or accounting teams. Common components per jurisdiction and period include:
- Gross sales (total revenue).
- Exempt or zero-rated sales.
- Taxable amount.
- Tax due.
Billing's tax exports are designed so you can build these summaries in a spreadsheet or feed them into other tools.
The tax report CSV export
When you use Automatic Tax Calculation, each transaction includes:
- Product tax categories.
- Customer locations.
- Jurisdiction breakdowns (country, state, county, district).
- Taxable amounts and tax amounts.
- Metadata such as filing currency and exchange rates for multi-currency scenarios.
The tax report CSV export has one row per jurisdiction per tax rate on a line item, so you can trace from summary lines back to individual transactions. A single invoice line item may produce multiple rows if taxes apply at different jurisdiction levels.
For example, a sale to a customer in South San Francisco, California may generate rows for:
- State level: California state sales tax (for example, 6%).
- County level: San Mateo county tax (for example, 1.25%).
- District level: Various local district taxes (for example, 0.5% each for transit districts and transportation authorities).
All rows for the same line item share the same Invoice ID, Line Item ID, and Total (incl tax) values, but differ in Jurisdiction, Jurisdiction Level, Tax Rate, and Tax Amount. The sum of all Tax Amount values across jurisdiction rows for a given line item equals the total tax charged on that line item.
Tax report column reference
The following tables describe each column in the tax report CSV export.
General information
Core identifiers and dates for each tax report row.
| Column name | Description |
|---|---|
| Tax Item ID | Unique identifier for this tax report row (primary key). |
| Origin | Whether the source document is an invoice or payment. Currently always invoice. |
| Invoice ID | The related Invoice ID for this transaction. |
| Invoice Currency | The currency of the original invoice (for example, USD, EUR, GBP). |
| Filing Currency | The currency required for tax filing purposes. Some jurisdictions require taxes to be filed in a specific currency regardless of invoice currency (for example, Singapore requires SGD). |
| Date | The date of the invoice in the merchant's local timezone. |
| Date (UTC) | The date of the invoice in UTC. |
| Tax Date | The date the tax calculation was performed, in the merchant's local timezone. |
| Tax Date (UTC) | The date the tax calculation was performed, in UTC. |
| Credit Note ID | The Credit Note ID, populated if this row relates to a refund or credit note. |
| Payment Intent ID | The related Payment Intent ID associated with the invoice. |
Merchant details
Information about the merchant (the seller or supplier) who is the taxpayer paying output tax.
| Column name | Description |
|---|---|
| Legal Entity ID | The merchant's Legal Entity ID in Airwallex. |
| Legal Entity Name | The merchant's legal entity name as registered. |
| Trading Name | The merchant's trading name, if different from the legal entity name. |
| Address | The merchant's registered street address. |
| City | The merchant's city. |
| State | The merchant's state or province. |
| Postcode | The merchant's postal or ZIP code. |
| Country | The merchant's country code (for example, US, AU, GB). |
| Registration ID | The merchant's indirect tax registration number for the jurisdiction (for example, VAT number, GST number). |
| Registration ID Country | The country of the merchant's tax registration. |
| Registration ID State | The state of the merchant's tax registration, if applicable. |
Customer details
Information about the customer (the buyer or recipient of the supply) for indirect tax purposes.
| Column name | Description |
|---|---|
| Customer ID | The customer's unique ID in Airwallex. |
| Customer Name | The customer's name. |
| Customer Type | Whether the customer is a Business or Individual. Determines B2B versus B2C tax treatment. |
| Customer Address | The customer's billing street address. |
| Customer City | The customer's city. |
| Customer State | The customer's state or province. |
| Customer Postcode | The customer's postal or ZIP code. |
| Customer Country | The customer's country code. |
| Customer Tax ID | The customer's tax identification number, if provided. |
| Customer Tax Registration State | The state of the customer's tax registration, if applicable. |
| Customer Tax Registration Country | The country of the customer's tax registration, if applicable. |
Line item details
Information about the specific product or service being invoiced.
| Column name | Description |
|---|---|
| Line Item ID | Unique identifier for the invoice line item. |
| Line Item Name | The product name associated with the line item. |
| Line Item Description | The product description for the line item. |
| Quantity | The quantity of units for this line item. |
| Subtotal Amount (excl tax) | The line item subtotal amount excluding tax (after any discounts). |
| Total (incl tax) | The line item total amount including tax. |
| Tax Behaviour | Whether tax is inclusive (price includes tax) or exclusive (tax added on top of price). |
| Tax Code | The product tax category code assigned to this line item (for example, pct_0504020000). |
| Tax Code Description | A human-readable description of the product tax category. |
| Tax Nature | Whether the product is classified as Physical or Digital for tax purposes. |
| Tax Automation | Whether tax was calculated automatically (Auto) or manually entered (Manual). |
Jurisdiction tax information
Details about the tax jurisdiction and tax treatment applied to this line item.
| Column name | Description |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | The name of the tax jurisdiction (for example, CALIFORNIA, SAN MATEO). |
| Jurisdiction Level | The level of the jurisdiction: country, state, county, city, or district. |
| State Code | The state or province code (for example, CA, NY). |
| Country Code | The country code (for example, US, AU, GB). |
| Taxability Type | The tax treatment applied: standard_rated, zero_rated, reduced_rate, or exempt. |
| Reverse Charge | Whether reverse charge applies (True or False). If True, the buyer accounts for the tax instead of the seller. |
| Place of Supply | The jurisdiction considered the place of supply for tax purposes, which determines which jurisdiction's rules apply. |
Tax details
The actual tax calculation results for this jurisdiction line.
| Column name | Description |
|---|---|
| Tax Rate | The actual tax rate applied as a decimal (for example, 0.06 = 6%). |
| Tax Name | The name of the tax (for example, Sales Tax, VAT, GST). |
| Tax Type | The type of tax: sales_tax, vat, gst, and others. |
| Taxable Amount | The portion of the line item amount that is subject to tax, in invoice currency. |
| Non-Taxable Amount | The portion of the line item amount that is not subject to tax, in invoice currency. |
| Tax Amount | The total tax amount calculated for this jurisdiction, in invoice currency. |
| Total Amount | The total amount including tax for this line item, in invoice currency. |
| Filing Currency Exchange Rate | The exchange rate used to convert from invoice currency to filing currency. |
| Filing Currency Taxable Amount | The taxable amount converted to the filing currency. |
| Filing Currency Non-Taxable Amount | The non-taxable amount converted to the filing currency. |
| Filing Currency Tax Amount | The tax amount converted to the filing currency. |
| Filing Currency Total Amount | The total amount (including tax) converted to the filing currency. |
Automatic versus manual tax in reports
Tax reports differentiate between:
- Automatic tax lines: Calculated by Billing using your configurations and tax engine logic.
- Manual tax lines: Where you overrode the calculation or entered a custom rate.
This distinction is critical for:
- Audits: Auditors can focus on manual lines as higher-risk entries.
- Internal review: Finance teams can identify where human judgment, rather than system rules, drove a tax outcome. Manual overrides are labeled as Manual in exports.
Filing frequency
Each jurisdiction determines your filing frequency. For example:
- Monthly returns: Common for higher-volume or higher-risk registrants.
- Quarterly returns: Common for many small and mid-sized businesses.
- Annual returns: Available in certain simplified regimes.
Some jurisdictions require returns even when you collected no tax in the period (zero returns). Billing does not enforce or monitor filing obligations; it focuses on making your data easy to extract and use.
Example workflows
Quarterly US state sales tax filing
- Set the export date range to the quarter (for example, 1 April–30 June).
- Download the tax CSV export.
- Filter for United States and the specific state (for example, California).
- Group or pivot data by jurisdiction level (state, county, city, district), taxable amount, and tax amount.
- Use the totals to populate the state's online return form:
- Gross sales.
- Exempt sales.
- Taxable sales.
- Tax due.
Annual VAT return for a single country
- Set the export period to your fiscal year.
- Filter to the country of interest.
- Summarize:
- Standard-rated sales.
- Reduced-rated sales.
- Zero-rated or exempt sales.
- Corresponding tax amounts.
- Use those summaries to complete the VAT return or pass them to your accountant.
Practical tips
- Align periods: Ensure your Billing export date range matches the official filing periods (calendar quarters, fiscal quarters, and so on).
- Save copies: Store the CSV exports you used for filings as part of your documentation.
- Coordinate with accounting: Ensure your finance system and Billing exports use consistent base currencies and foreign exchange rules, and treat credit notes, refunds, and voids consistently.