Sales Tax Institute: What You Need to Know

Sales Tax Institute is a sales and use tax education provider offering continuing professional education (CPE)-eligible training for everyone from beginners to experienced tax pros.

Sales tax rules have constantly evolved for decades and have long been a challenge for accounting and financial professionals due to the variation in regulations across U.S. jurisdictions.

That's why Diane L. Yetter, a CPA and sales tax strategist, founded Sales Tax Institute in 1996 to offer CPE-eligible training on sales and use tax. 

Here’s an overview of Sales Tax Institute:

Sales Tax Institute has spent 30 years providing robust, accessible educational content to tax and finance professionals who manage indirect tax responsibilities. 

Offerings like its Sales Tax Jumpstart and Basics of Sales and Use Tax are especially popular. Timely resources, including the 2026 Mid-Year Sales Tax Update, also provide essential insight into key changes tax professionals must know.

Both its training and free resources have been widely praised for their depth of coverage and logical formats, while programs like the signature Basics of Sales and Use Tax workshop also offer networking opportunities. 

Numeral partners and collaborates with Sales Tax Institute to host educational webinars covering emerging trends. 

This guide covers what Sales Tax Institute is, who it's for, its training and free resources, why it's so trusted, and how it partnered with Numeral on the 2026 Mid-Year Sales Tax Update.

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What is Sales Tax Institute?

Sales Tax Institute is an educational provider that offers training and resources for sales and use tax professionals. It provides virtual and in-person CPE-eligible training, networking events, sales and use tax guides, and legislative updates.

Diane Yetter, better known as the "Sales Tax Nerd," founded Sales Tax Institute in 1996 along with the consulting firm YETTER Tax. Yetter brought a strong sales tax background, with prior roles at Arthur Andersen, Quaker Oats, and the Kansas Department of Revenue.

While YETTER Tax offers clients personalized guidance on key sales tax issues, Sales Tax Institute has a broader mission. Its goal is to "demystify the complexities of sales tax to empower individuals and companies to understand and manage their risks and responsibilities."

Sales Tax Institute has succeeded wildly in this mission, reaching over 18,000 sales tax pros monthly through its newsletter and educating countless others through live and virtual courses and events. 

Today, Yetter has become one of the foremost experts on sales and use tax policy. She has been named one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting multiple times, testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, and built a robust Sales Tax Nerd Community. 

Who Sales Tax Institute is for

Sales Tax Institute offers support for tax and finance professionals working with indirect tax. The expansive range of programs offers services at all knowledge levels. Those who can take advantage of the Institute's services include:

• Newcomers who are taking on sales and use tax responsibility for the first time (this often includes accountants or controllers at fast-growing companies)
• In-house tax specialists who want to deepen their expertise
• Experienced tax pros and CPAs who want to remain informed on current legislative updates while earning their continuing professional education credits
• Companies that want to provide custom training on sales and use tax issues for their teams

To serve a broad community of tax professionals, the Institute organizes training by experience level, including novice, specialist, and master. This makes it easy for learners to find the services and support they need.

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Sales Tax Institute courses and training

Sales Tax Institute offers courses and training in multiple formats, so those interested in expanding their knowledge can learn on a schedule that suits them, using their preferred methods. Here are some of the key training programs the Institute offers. 

Live courses

Sales Tax Institute offers multiple live courses both online and in-person. Popular offerings include the following courses:

• Sales Tax Jumpstart: This nine-week live online program offers 20 CPE credits and is aimed at newcomers building a sales tax knowledge base from the ground up. 
• Basics of Sales and Use Tax: This foundational live course is held in Chicago and offers 28.4 CPE credits. It spans four days and provides live interactive training as well as networking opportunities across 10 common sales tax industries. 
• Advanced Sales and Use Tax Workshop: This live in-person seminar offers 23 CPE credits and is designed for professionals with four or more years of experience. It delves into advanced topics with case study breakdowns and expert-led sessions.

Live courses give you the ability to ask questions of sales tax professionals who handle problems day-to-day, while prerecorded courses and webinars provide geographic and time flexibility.

Webinars and on-demand learning

Numerous webinars are also available on demand, and Sales Tax Institute has a comprehensive course library on a wide variety of topics, from foundational basics to timely updates. 

Sales Tax Institute also hosts live webinars on current topics, such as VAT for U.S. businesses selling into the EU and regional sales tax roundups.

The on-demand library includes a wide range of courses, including but not limited to:

• Sales Tax 101
• Minimize Tax Risks: Your Guide to Voluntary Disclosure Options
• The Strategic Power of Reverse Audits
• Finding the Right Sales Tax Software for Your Needs

The Finding the Right Sales Tax Software webinar is especially useful if you're weighing whether to automate. It walks through what to look for in a sales tax tool.

For professionals who want access to continuous learning, Sales Tax Institute offers an All-Access Webinar Pass for 12 months of webinars. 

CPE credits, memberships, and custom training

Sales Tax Institute is a NASBA National Registry sponsor, which means that eligible courses earn CPE credits for CPAs. Eligible courses include group live classes and internet-based courses for groups. 

In addition to general training, companies can access custom training to upskill an entire team. These personalized courses and programs can focus on sales and use tax issues most relevant to their industry. 

Sales Tax Institute goes beyond coursework, though. Professionals can also become Sales Tax Nerd Community members, unlocking access to ongoing learning and a peer group that provides support and networking opportunities. 

Sales Tax Institute's commitment to educating and informing tax professionals runs deep, which is why it also offers the Sales Tax Nerd of the Year Award. Winners receive a course scholarship, a year of Sales Tax Nerd Community membership, and a year of mentorship with Diane Yetter.

Sales Tax Institute's free resources

While its course library is comprehensive, Sales Tax Institute is not only for members or those pursuing professional education. One of the main reasons Sales Tax Institute is widely known is its vast array of free resources. 

Here are some of its most valuable resources: 

Economic nexus state guide

The Economic Nexus State-by-State Chart is one of the most widely used resources Sales Tax Institute offers. 

It provides a simple, easy-to-understand summary of key rules that show when businesses establish economic nexus and must register in a specific state. The guide:

• Covers all U.S. states as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
• Includes the sales thresholds and transaction counts that trigger nexus
• Explains applicable measurement dates
• Details when you must register after crossing a nexus threshold 
• Specifies which transactions are included when calculating nexus
• Provides a link to a state-by-state guide with more information
• Lists the date each state's economic nexus rule took effect

The guide stays current as states impose regulatory changes, so companies can immediately determine when they trigger new tax obligations. The guide illustrates how complex it is to understand when you trigger nexus, with differing rules across US states.

However, companies that don't want to manually monitor these rules and track transaction count and volume across 48 jurisdictions may need more than a written guide.

Numeral offers free nexus monitoring with no long-term commitment. Companies can link their sales and billing software, and Numeral will monitor transactions across multiple sales channels and states, alerting you when you reach a nexus threshold and must register. 

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Other charts, guides and updates

Sales Tax Institute also offers other charts, guides, and updates that are invaluable to sales tax professionals. Examples include:

• State sales tax rates chart: This guide explains sales tax rates across the US.
• Remote seller nexus chart: Remote sellers may have additional circumstances when they trigger nexus beyond just sales volume, transaction count, or physical presence. This guide explains when they may trigger nexus and be required to register. 
• Sales tax holidays chart: This guide explains dates when companies are expected to pause collection of sales tax on eligible items.
• Sales tax amnesty chart: This chart provides information on the amnesty options provided by different states so that companies can voluntarily report when they have fallen out of compliance.
• Drop shipment guide: This guide explains how drop shippers are subject to varying tax rules across US jurisdictions.

And the Institute provides other features and helpful services as well, including:

• White papers on nexus, audits, and administration 
• A Sales Tax Administration Checklist
• An informational blog
• Weekly news and tips
• A monthly newsletter, read by 18,000+ sales tax pros

Unparalleled experience in indirect tax

Sales Tax Institute has a rock-solid, well-earned reputation. There is a long list of reasons why the Institute has stayed the go-to name in sales tax education for 30 years, including the following: 

• Courses are taught by practitioners: Instructors offer consulting services to real-world clients through YETTER Tax, so the training they provide is grounded in their experience with the practical application of sales tax rules and regulations. 
• Longevity through constant change: Sales Tax Institute provided education in the pre-Wayfair era and evolved with the seismic changes ushered in by the 2018 Wayfair decision that started the era of economic nexus rules. 
• Trusted by professionals: Sales Tax Institute's resources and charts are widely used, and Yetter's decades of experience give her voice weight on policy, as shown in her Senate testimony.
• It makes sales tax approachable: The Sales Tax Nerd branding and the Nerd Community make a complex, dry subject approachable and welcoming.

Is Sales Tax Institute worth it?

Yes. Sales Tax Institute is a valuable resource for tax professionals across industries and experience levels. Those who benefit most include:

• Anyone who has become newly responsible for sales tax compliance and who needs to quickly develop a solid foundation
• Tax and finance professionals who need to earn CPE credits and who want to stay current on a complex and evolving area of law
• Companies that need in-house expertise to make better, more informed choices on nexus, taxability, and audit risk

Training helps professionals and tax teams understand the rules and make sound decisions. For those who want to simplify compliance further, partnering with a service like Numeral can make sales tax compliance an effortless endeavor rather than a full-time job. 

Numeral offers free nexus monitoring and registers you automatically when you cross a nexus threshold. It also files and remits in every jurisdiction where you're registered, and the Numeral Guarantee covers penalties and interest if a filing is late.

Partnering with Numeral frees up tax professionals and accounting teams to focus on higher-level decisions that require expertise, while automating routine, time-consuming work.  

If you're tired of the tedium of day-to-day compliance tasks, get started with Numeral today to learn more and start free monitoring. 

You can also review Sales Tax Institute's upcoming courses if you're looking for opportunities to deepen your knowledge. 

Sales Tax Institute and Numeral

Sales Tax Institute has partnered with Numeral to further its mission of helping business and tax professionals keep up with evolving tax law changes.  

The partnership is a natural fit, as Sales Tax Institute teaches professionals how rules work while Numeral automates monotonous day-to-day compliance tasks like monitoring, registration, and filing so tax professionals and teams can put what they learn to use. 

Through this partnership, Numeral's head of research, Ken Webster, JD, LLM, joined Diane Yetter to present Sales Tax Institute's 2026 Mid-Year Sales Tax Update, a CPE-eligible webinar on the year's biggest legislative changes, including digital product and SaaS taxability, economic nexus thresholds, audit activity, and AI-driven enforcement. 

Browse Sales Tax Institute's course catalog for upcoming webinars and courses, and get started with Numeral to put what you learn into practice.

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