This article covers the following:
Tax Groups can only be created if your firm's profile is set to tax clients for services.
- Setting Tax Options for a Law Firm Office
- Law Firm Office Taxpayer Identification Number
- Reusable Tax Items
- Tax Groups
- Standard Tax Types
Setting Tax Options for a Law Firm Office
Invoice fees (and in rare cases, expenses) can be automatically taxed during the upload process by setting preferences in the Law Firm Office profile. You can choose tax type and rate for expenses and fees.
This feature is useful because many invoice formats are not designed to handle tax information. For all new firms, the option is set to "Yes."
You must have the Admin role to perform this action.
- Click the link to your office in at the Profiles panel.
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Click the Office name under the Offices tab on the Law Firm Profile Overview.
The Law Office Profile Overview page displays.
- Click the Edit button.
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Make updates in the Law Office Settings section as necessary.
Field Description Tax Clients for Services Select YES if you are in a jurisdiction that requires adding taxes for services, or if you have a client outside the US. Select NO to bypass the tax page during the invoice import process. Services Subject to VAT/GST Taxes Select YES if you are located out the US and need to bill for VAT taxes. Accept New Assignments Select YES to accept new assignments from new corporate clients. - Click the Save.
Law Firm Office Taxpayer Identification Number
To capture the Law Firm taxpayer identification number (TIN):
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On the CounselLink title bar, click the user name entry, and click the Law Firm Profile option.
The Law Firm Profile page appears.
The Taxpayer ID and other pertinent information is displayed.
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Click the Edit button (pencil icon) to display the Law Firm Information screen.
- Complete all fields as applicable, where fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required fields.
- Click Save.
Reusable Tax Items
Admin users can create reusable tax items for use in invoices that are imported or created within CounselLink. These items help ensure that the tax names in CounselLink match those used in your billing software, promoting consistency and accuracy. Reusable tax items can be applied to either fees or expenses. You can choose from a list of standard tax types and label them according to your firm’s preferences.
Reusable tax items are useful for firms using the LEDES 1998B format, as tax data is not stored in that format.
Tax items can only be created if your firm's profile is set to tax clients for services.
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Access the law firm office page.
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Under the Tax Items section, click Create.
If the profile indicates clients are NOT taxed, this section will not appear.
The Create Tax Item page displays.
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Fill out the following as necessary. Fields marked with a red asterisk (*)are required.
Field Description Tax Type* Choose from the standard tax types. Tax Alias* Enter an alias for the tax item name. Use this option when the Tax Type name does not match the name from your billing software. If it is the same, you can just enter that. Tax Rate* Enter the tax rate in a percentage. Applies to Charge Type* Choose Fee or Expense. Use as Default Select this option if you'd like the Tax Group to be set as a default setting for this office. If checked, invoices will automatically populate with this tax group. This can only be selected if no other group is selected for default. Withhold Tax Check if the client is to keep this amount of this tax and pay the taxing authority themselves. In this situation, your firm will not receive the tax as part of an invoice.
If you select this option, the tax item can not be used as default.
Description Enter notes about this tax item. Law Firm Tax ID* The firm's ID will be entered in this field. Change if necessary. Taxing Country* Choose your country from the list. Taxing State/Province* Choose your state from list. Choose "Outside US" if this applies. Tax on Tax Item If this item is a tax applied to items that have already have one tax applied, then identify the initial tax. Harmonized Rate The system will compute the tax rate if this is a tax-on-tax item. - Click Save.
Tax Groups
Tax groups allow your firm to group one or more standard tax types at the charge line level. Tax groups help provide more accurate reporting.
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Access the law firm office page.
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Under the Tax Items section, click Create Tax Group.
If the profile indicates clients are NOT taxed, this section will not appear.
The Create Tax Group page displays.
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Fill out the General Information as necessary. Fields marked with a red asterisk (*)are required.
Field Description Tax Group Name* Enter a name for the group. Group Description Enter a description for the Tax Group. Use as Default Select this option if you'd like the Tax Group to be set as a default setting for this office. If checked, invoices will automatically populate with this tax group. This can only be selected if no other group is selected for default. Applied to Charge Type* Choose Fee or Expense. Taxing Country* Choose your country from the list. Taxing State/Province* Choose your state from list. Choose "Outside US" if this applies. Law Firm Tax ID* The firm's ID will be entered in this field. Change if necessary. Law Firm Office Tax ID* The office's ID will be entered in this field. Change if necessary. -
Enter Tax Items that will compose the group.
Field Description Tax Type* Choose from the standard tax types in the drop down menu. Tax rate Enter the tax rate in a percentage. Withhold Tax Check if this tax item should be withheld. - Repeat as necessary. Click +Add Tax Item to create additional rows.
- Click Save.
Standard Tax Types
LexisNexis® CounselLink® contains a list of standard tax types to be used on invoices. The following are available:
| Tax | Description |
|---|---|
| VAT | Value Added Tax |
| SALES | Sales Tax |
| EXCISE | Excise Tax |
| OTHER | Other |
| GST | Goods and Services Tax |
| HST | Harmonized Sales Tax |
| PST | Provincial Sales Tax |
| QST | Quebec Sales Tax |
| GSTTPS | GST or TPS |
| GSTPST | GST and PST combined |
| GSTQST | GST and QST combined |
| PSTTVQ | PST or TVQ |
| ÁFA | Általános forgalmi adó |
| ALV | Arvonlisävero |
| BTW | Belasting over de toegevoegde wwarde |
| CBL | Cáin Bhreisluacha |
| CSGT | Central Goods and Services Tax |
| COFINS | Contribution for the Financing of Social Security |
| CSLL | Contribuição Social Sobre o Lucro Líquido |
| DDV | Davek na dodano vrednost |
| DPH | Dan z pridanej hodnoty |
| IGIC | Impuesto General Indirecto Canario |
| IGST | Integrated Goods and Services Tax |
| INSS | Instituto Nacional de Seguro Social |
| IPI | Imposto Sobre Produtos Industrializados |
| IRPJ | Imposto de Renda sobre Pessoa Jurídica |
| IVA | Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto |
| JCT | Japanese Consumption Tax |
| km | käibemaks |
| moms | Merværdiafgift |
| Moms | Mervärdesskatt |
| MWSt | Mehrwertsteuer |
| PIS | Program of Social Integration |
| PTU | Podatek od towarów i uslug |
| PVM | Pridetines vertes mokestis |
| PVN | Pievienotas vertibas nodoklis |
| SGST | State Goods and Services Tx |
| SST | Sales and Service Tax |
| TDS | Tax Deducted at Source |
| TVA | Taxe sur la Valeur Ajoutée |
| USt | Umsatzsteuer |