State & Local Tax (SALT)
Tax advisors specializing in state and local tax obligations including sales tax, property tax, and tax credit programs.
- 5
- Verticals
Overview
State & Local Tax (SALT) advisors handle the tax obligations that sit below the federal level: sales and use tax, property tax, state income and franchise tax, unclaimed property, and credits and incentives. Multistate nexus — sharply expanded after the 2018 Wayfair decision authorized economic-nexus sales-tax collection — made this a structurally growing specialty.
Work blends recurring compliance (sales-tax return filing, often software-assisted) with higher-value advisory on nexus, audits, and incentive negotiation. It is a specialist discipline practiced inside CPA and law firms and at dedicated SALT boutiques, increasingly paired with tax-automation software.
Market snapshot
No discrete Census NAICS code — SALT services are embedded in CPA offices (541211) and tax-prep firms (541213) and are not separately sized by the Census Bureau.
Business model & economics
Revenue model
Recurring compliance filings plus project advisory and audit-defense fees
Key economics
- Recurring revenue
- Moderate
- EBITDA margin
- 20–30%
- Capex intensity
- Low
sales-tax filings recur; advisory is project-based
Characteristics
- Post-Wayfair economic nexus permanently widened the compliance burden.
- Tax-automation software (Avalara, Vertex) is both a partner and a substitute.
- Credits-and-incentives work can be contingency-priced on realized savings.
M&A deal context
Who’s acquiring
- National & regional CPA firms
- Tax-technology companies
- PE-backed tax advisory platforms
What’s driving deals
- Wayfair-driven demand pulling SALT boutiques into national firms.
- Convergence of tax software and advisory services.
- Specialty credits and incentives growing with reshoring and clean-energy programs.
Verticals in this segment
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