Boutique CPA Firm · Glendale · Burbank · Pasadena · Los Angeles Serving clients in all 50 states

T: 818-570-0071 info@gttaxcpa.com
GT Tax & Accounting logo Schedule a Consultation

Accounting for Manufacturing, Retail & Distribution

Business tax filings, federal and state credits, inventory tracking, margin reporting for manufacturers, retailers, distributors.

An aisle of stocked inventory racks with a clipboard and scanner on a workbench

Manufacturing Accounting Services

Inventory, cost of goods, multi-state exposure: these decide what the bottom line actually is for a manufacturer, retailer, or distributor. The accounting cannot be separated from operations.

GT serves these companies across Glendale, Burbank, Pasadena, Los Angeles. We find the federal and state credits, the cost savings, the liability strategies during the year, while you can still act on them.

Our Manufacturing Accounting Services Include:

  • Full-service accounting
  • Budgeting & financial forecasting
  • Multi-state tax planning & preparation
  • Federal and state tax credits
  • Cost-saving opportunity identification
  • Tax liability mitigation
  • Inventory tracking and expense monitoring

Selling into multiple states? Nexus questions overlap with our e-commerce practice, and we handle both. Inventory methods, cost accounting, credit qualification all feed the same return, so one firm across the books and the taxes means the credits get claimed.

Manufacturing & Distribution Tax Questions

Which inventory method should my company use for tax?
The method decides when the cost of goods bought or built becomes a deduction. FIFO, weighted average, and LIFO each produce a different taxable income in a year when costs move. A method, once adopted, needs IRS consent to change. Businesses whose average gross receipts for the prior three years are $32 million or less (the 2026 figure, indexed each year) can use simpler inventory accounting and are exempt from the uniform capitalization rules. We pick the method with the tax result in view, then keep the books on it.

What tax credits and exemptions apply to manufacturers?
Three come up most. The federal research credit covers work on new or improved products and processes, not only laboratory science. California offers a partial sales and use tax exemption on qualifying manufacturing or research equipment. Equipment purchases can also be expensed in the year placed in service under Section 179 or bonus depreciation. Each has documentation rules, so we identify them during the year, not at filing.

We ship to customers in other states. When do we owe tax there?
Two different tests apply. Sales tax follows economic nexus: once sales into a state pass its threshold, you register and collect there. State income tax is narrower. A federal law, Public Law 86-272, shields a seller of tangible goods from a state's income tax when its only activity there is soliciting orders that are approved and shipped from outside the state. Sales staff, inventory, or installation work in the state can end that protection, so we review where the company actually operates.

Get in Touch with Our Expert Tax Consultants

Prefer to talk? Call 818-570-0071 or email info@gttaxcpa.com.