Systems Division Support

The Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector’s role is to make sure that any entity who receives money from the City and County of San Francisco (City) follows applicable tax law, including registering as a business and remitting all applicable taxes and fees. Suppliers that are not in good standing should not be remitted funds. Further, under certain circumstances, the Treasurer’s and Controller’s Offices may offset payments to recoup funds owned to the City.

San Francisco Business Basics

Business Registration is required for all entities that conduct business in San Francisco and determines tax responsibilities. All businesses must go to CCSF Supplier - Business Registration review the requirements and complete an initial questionnaire.  Upon registration, the business receives a Business Account Number (BAN) and a Business Registration Certificate is mailed to them. The registration (and fee, if applicable) must be renewed annually.

Non-profits are required to register, but in many cases are exempt from paying the registration fee and other taxes.

Taxes

Businesses often owe multiple taxes and fees to the City. Delinquent taxes may include General Fund revenue, such as: Transient Occupancy Tax (Hotel); Parking; Payroll and Gross Receipts Expense Taxes; Business Property; and/or Registration.

Suppliers will not be paid if they owe any delinquent taxes.

Tax Status on Supplier ID

A supplier’s tax/registration status is updated daily on their Supplier ID under Compliance Summary > Business Tax Registration > Government Classification.

If a supplier’s government classification code is marked as “DLQ”, they owe delinquent taxes and should not be paid. The voucher to the supplier will not pass matching and the payment will be stopped as a match exception.

If the field shows “TAX” and the Certificate Expiration Date has expired, the business has an invalid (late) tax status. The voucher to the supplier will not pass matching and the payment will be stopped as a match exception.

The table below reflects the various codes/class in PeopleSoft and whether a voucher will process:

*“No” indicates that the voucher payment will be held as a match exception until resolved

What should Departments do if the payment is held?

The department should first inform the supplier that their payment cannot proceed until taxes owed to the City are paid.

The department then should contact TTX as follows:

• Email [email protected] and cc the Supplier. Put “[Dept Name] Supplier issue” in the subject, and provide the BAN, Supplier ID number and contact information for the supplier 
  1. Due to taxpayer confidentiality laws, TTX/BDR staff will contact the business directly, and will not include you on the response. The supplier should contact you to let you know when the issue is resolved, usually when the payment is being processed. TTX will change the status once payment is received and/or ascertain that it is in transit.

The Supplier can also do the following:

• Contact  311 or (415) 701-2311 (if calling from outside of San Francisco); TTX has a dedicated team at 311 to assist suppliers.
  1. Go to Payments | Treasurer & Tax Collector (sftreasurer.org) to review their outstanding obligations and pay online to resolve their delinquencies

• If held due to “TAX”, “EX”, and/or expiration dates:

The department should first inform the supplier that their payment cannot proceed until taxes owed to the City are paid and/or registration is validated.

The Supplier can contact 311 or (415) 701-2311 (if calling from outside of San Francisco); TTX has a dedicated team at 311 to assist suppliers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Supplier states they were never told or knew about the taxes, and it is not fair that their payment is being made.

A: Be assured that TTX contacts businesses at very regular intervals. Here are the details of how we communicate to all businesses who are delinquent:

1. Email notice by the 10^th day of delinquency
2. Send a letter on day 20
3. Second email notice on day 40
4. Second letter sent on day 60
5. Third letter sent on day 91

All communication includes instructions for paying online as well as contact information. 311 is trained to direct all calls related to delinquencies and online payments.

Q: The supplier does not know their information. How do they look it up?

A: All registered businesses can look up their Business Registration number on Data.sf.org.

Direct to data:

https://data.sfgov.org/Economy-and-Community/Registered-Business-Locations-San-Francisco/g8m3-pdis/data

Overview page:

https://data.sfgov.org/browse?category=Economy+and+Community

Q: How does this affect non-profits?

A: All entities must fill out the questionnaire, even if it is determined they may be exempt from business registration. In addition, their information is used for minimum wage and healthcare compliance by the Office of Labor Standards. Finally, many, while non-profit, still have taxes to pay.

Q: The supplier resolved their tax/registration obligation. What’s the next step?

A: Once resolved, the Supplier status will automatically update within three to five business days depending on payment method and posting.