Connect with DMA to evaluate your transaction tax data and uncover opportunities for recovery and long-term improvement.
Common Sources of Overpayments
Transaction tax overpayments can occur across multiple areas of the business and often go unnoticed without detailed, transaction-level analysis. Common sources include:
- Tax incorrectly charged by vendors
- Over-accrual of use tax on purchases
- Misapplied taxability rules within tax engines or ERPs
- Errors identified during audit assessments
- Missed input tax credits or exemptions, particularly in areas like sales tax credit recovery, where credits may go unclaimed due to system or certificate issues
- Incorrect treatment of complex transactions (bundled services, multi-state use, etc.)
These issues span all major transaction tax types, including U.S. sales and use tax, Canada sales tax (GST/HST, PST, QST), VAT, telecommunications tax, fuel and excise tax, and industry-specific gross receipts taxes.
A More Effective Approach to Recovery
Recovering overpaid tax is only part of the value. The greater impact comes from understanding why those overpayments occurred and using that insight to improve the process going forward. By connecting recovery findings to transaction data, tax logic, and operational processes, organizations can address underlying issues rather than repeatedly correcting the same mistakes. DMA’s approach combines recovery with analysis and improvement:
Transaction-level data analysis to identify patterns and root causes
Validation of tax determination logic across systems and jurisdictions
Identification of both overpayments and underpayments to support balanced compliance
Alignment of recovery findings with process and system improvements
This ensures recovery efforts are not isolated events, but part of a broader strategy to improve accuracy and efficiency over time.
What the Process Looks Like
Because refund opportunities are often limited by statute, timely identification and action are critical to maximizing recovery. DMA’s recovery process is structured, defensible, and designed to minimize internal burden while driving measurable results. We manage the full lifecycle of recovery by helping organizations:
- Identify and quantify tax refund opportunities
- Prepare detailed schedules and supporting documentation
- Cite applicable statutes, regulations, and case law
- File refund claims with tax authorities and vendors
- Manage correspondence through resolution
- Secure refunds or credits
For Canada sales tax, this also includes preparation of GST/HST, PST, and QST input tax credit claims for filing on a current return. All claims are supported with documentation aligned to jurisdictional requirements to help withstand audit scrutiny, and DMA works directly with tax authorities and vendors throughout the process—allowing internal teams to stay focused on core responsibilities.
Beyond Recovery: Reducing Recurrence
One of the most common challenges organizations face is repeat errors—recovering the same types of overpayments year after year without addressing the underlying cause. DMA focuses on breaking that cycle. By looking beyond the refund itself, organizations can use recovery findings to improve compliance, strengthen controls, and reduce recurring exposure. As part of every recovery engagement, we:
Identify the drivers behind overpayments and underpayments
Highlight gaps in processes, data, and system configurations
Recommend targeted changes to reduce future errors
Provide guidance on aligning tax logic across systems
Support implementation of technology or process improvements where needed
This transforms recovery from a reactive exercise into a proactive improvement strategy.
Why DMA
DMA brings a recovery approach grounded in transaction tax expertise, data analysis, and practical problem-solving. We don’t simply review transactions for refund potential—we evaluate the patterns behind those transactions to understand what went wrong and where improvements may be needed.
Our team combines technical tax knowledge with experience across complex systems, business processes, and jurisdictional requirements. That allows us to identify recovery opportunities, substantiate claims, and provide recommendations that internal teams can realistically act on.
What differentiates DMA’s approach
Data-Driven Analysis
Our proprietary data capabilities allow us to identify patterns and root causes that traditional, sample-based reviews often miss.
Focus on sustainability
Recovery is only part of the outcome. We help organizations understand how to reduce repeat errors over time.
Broad tax coverage
Experience across U.S. sales/use tax, Canada sales tax (GST/HST, PST, QST), VAT, telecommunications, and excise taxes enables a more comprehensive review.
Minimal internal disruption
We manage the heavy lifting, from data analysis through claim resolution—so internal teams can stay focused on day-to-day responsibilities.
The result is a recovery engagement that delivers more than refund claims. It provides clearer visibility into transaction-level tax outcomes and actionable insight to improve accuracy going forward.
Identify What You’ve Overpaid—And How to Fix It Going Forward
Frequently Asked Questions
When should a company consider a transaction tax recovery review?
Companies often pursue a transaction tax recovery review when they suspect overpaid sales tax, use tax, VAT, or other indirect taxes but lack the time or resources to investigate. This is especially common in high-volume, multi-jurisdictional environments or following system changes such as ERP or tax engine implementations.
What types of transaction tax overpayments can be recovered?
Transaction tax recovery can include sales tax refunds from vendor overcharges, over-accrued use tax, missed VAT or Canada sales tax credits (GST/HST, PST, QST), and errors identified through audit assessments. These overpayments often occur due to incorrect taxability rules, data issues, or misaligned system configurations.
How are transaction tax recovery services different from compliance?
Transaction tax compliance focuses on accurately preparing and filing returns based on current processes. Transaction tax recovery services focus on identifying overpaid taxes within those transactions and filings—often uncovering refund opportunities and process gaps that compliance alone does not address.
How do ERP or tax engine changes impact sales and use tax accuracy?
ERP implementations, tax engine updates, and acquisitions can introduce errors in tax determination, data mapping, or process execution. These changes are a common source of sales and use tax overpayments and often create recovery opportunities that require detailed, transaction-level analysis to identify.
Does a transaction tax recovery review help improve future tax accuracy?
Yes. In addition to identifying refund opportunities, transaction tax recovery reviews often reveal root causes such as misapplied tax logic, inconsistent processes, or data gaps. Addressing these issues can reduce recurring overpayments and improve overall tax accuracy and audit defensibility.