Transaction types and tiers

Nine of the 23 enacted states have more than one rule, and the rules differ by who is paying whom. The engine represents each rule as a tier of the state record, and the transaction’s transaction_type selects the tier.

The vocabulary

Send one of these in transaction_type. The default is retail.

`transaction_type`	Meaning
`retail`	A merchant sale of goods or services to the public (default)
`government_retail`	A State or local government unit selling as a retailer (a museum shop, a park concession)
`government`	A payment to a State or local government unit that is not a tax
`tax_payment`	A tax, fine or fee paid to a government unit
`state_agency`	A payment to a State agency
`local_government`	A payment to a city, county or other political subdivision
`local_agency`	A payment to a California local agency under SB 1005
`school_district`	A payment to a school district
`liquor`	A cash liquor purchase at a state store, package agency, licensee or permittee
`abc_store`	A North Carolina ABC store sale
`gaming`	Lottery, horse racing or charitable gaming transactions
`mvd_fee`	A New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division fee
`wages`	Cash wages paid to an employee (Hawaii, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia)
`metals_recycler`	A Florida secondary metals recycler paying a seller (chapter 538)
`currency_exchange`	A Tennessee financial institution providing currency for a payment instrument

A type that no tier covers, and that the base rule’s accepted_transaction_types does not list, is out_of_scope for that rule and falls through to the next level.

How a tier resolves

A tier matches when its transaction_type equals the request’s type or its transaction_types list includes it. The first matching tier in the record wins. A tier carries its own method, obligation, citation, effective date, sunset, activation conditions and small-total rule, so two tiers of one state can differ on every one of those.

The tiered states

State	Tiers	What differs
North Carolina	`NC-RETAIL` (retail, government retail), `NC-ABC` (ABC stores), `NC-TAX` (in-person cash tax payments)	Retail permits symmetrical rounding. ABC stores permit it now and must from July 1, 2027. Taxing units must round down.
Kentucky	`KY-COMMERCE` (retail, government retail, gaming), `KY-GOV` (state agencies, local governments, tax), `KY-SCHOOL` (school districts)	Commerce is permitted; debts owed to the Commonwealth, local governments and school districts must round.
Indiana	`IN-BUSINESS` (retail, government retail), `IN-GOV` (taxes, fines, fees, state and local units)	Business entities must round the tax-inclusive total by the operator’s choice of method. Government collections round down. Both from January 1, 2027.
Virginia	`VA-GENERAL` (retail, government retail, wages), `VA-LOCAL-ORDINANCE` (local government, tax)	General rule permits symmetrical rounding including cash wages. Localities may adopt a temporary ordinance for bills owed to them; expires July 1, 2027.
California	`CA-MERCHANT` (retail), `CA-LOCAL-AGENCY` (local agency, government, tax)	Merchants must round from July 1, 2027, with the two-cent exclusion. Local agencies that adopt SB 1005 may round now.
Oklahoma	`OK-AGENCY` (state agency, government), `OK-SUBDIVISION` (local government, tax)	State entities must round from November 1, 2026, tax levies excluded. Political subdivisions may round from November 1, 2026 and must from July 1, 2027. Retail is out of scope.
Minnesota	`MN-AGENCY` (state agency, government)	State agency cash transactions only; one- and two-cent totals round up. Retail is out of scope.
New Mexico	`NM-TAX` (tax payment, MVD fee, state agency)	Amounts due to the Taxation and Revenue Department, under the Property Tax Code and under the Motor Vehicle Code; method delegated by rule. Retail is out of scope.
Utah	`UT-LIQUOR` (liquor)	Cash liquor purchases only. Retail is out of scope.

Florida also carries a FL-CH538 tier for secondary metals recyclers. The remaining enacted states carry one rule; most cover retail and government_retail, Hawaii, Maryland and Nebraska add wages, and Alabama covers retail only because it excludes payments to governmental entities.

What the response shows

"jurisdiction_tier": {
  "tier_id": "NC-TAX",
  "tier_name": "In-person cash tax payments to taxing units",
  "transaction_type": "tax_payment",
  "rounding_mode": "mandatory_round_down",
  "enforcement": "mandatory",
  "obligation": "obligates",
  "citation": "N.C.G.S. 105-357(a1) (S.L. 2026-31, s. 14.(e))",
  "effective_date": "2026-07-02",
  "applies_to": "In-person cash tax payments to North Carolina taxing units from July 2, 2026"
}

The tier id and citation are also sealed in statutory_basis.

If a POS cannot distinguish a tax payment from a retail sale, it should send retail and say so in its integration notes. Sending the wrong type produces a sealed record that cites the wrong section. The engine cannot tell the difference from the amounts.

Getting started

How the engine decides

Guides

Reference

The vocabulary

How a tier resolves

The tiered states

What the response shows