Research Initiative 2026 · tax recovery on buyer side
Are you paying sales tax on inventory you're buying to resell?
If you source physical products from wholesale vendors across multiple states, you may be overpaying on every order, and your vendors might not refund it. We are interviewing business owners and CFOs at small and mid-size DTC, subscription, and eCommerce businesses about how they manage tax exemption certificates when buying from B2B vendors: what's being missed, what the audit exposure looks like, and where the cash leakage is happening. In return, you’ll receive your choice of reward and early access to the anonymized “2026 State of B2B Silent Overcharges” benchmarking report as soon as published.
Time commitment: a 30-minute research interview, scheduled at your convenience. This is not a product pitch. You will not be asked to buy anything during the session.
Interview slots are available to the first 50 qualified participants, and are open through May 31st, 2026.
Choose your reward
$150 digital gift card (Direct Reward), or
$500 credit toward TaxCSA professional services (Strategic Credit), and
Access to the anonymized “2026 State of B2B Silent Overcharges" benchmarking report
You’ll select one option when we confirm your interview slot.
What we’re exploring
How much sales tax DTC and subscription operators are paying on wholesale purchases, they shouldn't be charged for
Manual vs automated certificate validation
Internal controls, audit readiness, and risk tolerances
Pain points for other CFOs and Business Owners
Wish‑list capabilities for future portal and checkout tools to impact EBITDA
All findings are aggregated and anonymized. No company or individual will be named in research outputs.
Research analysis to map real-world processes, no sales pitch. TaxCSA is sponsoring the research. Your feedback directly impacts the understanding of current capabilities and gaps for B2B sales and use tax-exemption. Participants will receive an anonymized summary of findings and peer benchmarks.
Who we’re looking to interview
Business owners and finance leaders who buy physical products to resell
You’re a strong fit if
If you’re unsure whether you’re a fit, you can still submit the form—we’ll confirm eligibility before scheduling.
You source physical products: apparel, CPG, food, beauty, or other goods, from wholesale vendors to sell online, via subscription, or to B2B customers
You operate or purchase in at least one U.S. state or across multiple state lines, creating a high volume of varying exemption requirements
You want to ensure that if an audit occurred today, your "Use Tax" accruals and exemption documentation would stand up to scrutiny without manual cleanup
You’re at a small or mid-size company
How it works
Simple, confidential, and built around your schedule
We keep the process lightweight for you while ensuring we capture enough detail to make the insights genuinely useful for the SME community.
Step 1
Share a few details
Use the form below to tell us about your business, your B2B online purchases journey, and a few filter questions We’ll use this only to confirm eligibility and segment insights.
Step 2
Join a 30–min interview
We’ll schedule a video call at a time that suits you. A research consultant will walk through your current tax-exempt process, systems, and pain points—no prep work required.
Step 3
Receive your reward & insights
After the interview is complete, you’ll choose your reward (gift card or TaxCSA credit), and we’ll share the anonymized 2026 white paper as soon as it’s published.
Participant rewards
Select the reward that best fits your priorities
Every qualified participant who completes an interview receives one of the options below, plus the anonymized 2026 white paper for benchmarking your team and processes.
Option 1 · Direct Reward
$150 digital gift card
A straightforward thank‑you for your time. Delivered electronically after you complete the interview + processing time, with flexible redemption options.
Best for: leaders who prefer a simple, personal incentive.
Option 2 · Strategic Credit
$500 TaxCSA services credit
Apply this sponsored credit toward TaxCSA professional services or 1 hour of consulting — https://www.taxcsa.com/services.
Best for: operators who want to stop the cash leakage and have someone handle the paperwork.
Intel
2026 State of B2B silent overcharges benchmarking
All participants receive an anonymized report showing how DTC and subscription operators are losing an estimated 6-10% of inventory costs to avoidable tax charges, and what peers are doing about it.
Best for: Leaders who value external benchmarks and want to see how their team compares to peer SMEs or their broader industry segment.
You’ll confirm your preferred reward at the end of the session.
Anonymized, practitioner‑led research
Interviews are conducted by experienced researchers. We focus on workflows, decisions, and outcomes—not sensitive financials or customer lists.
- Your company name and individual identity will not appear in any published materials
- Findings are aggregated across multiple participants before sharing
- You can decline to answer any question during the conversation
- We’re happy to sign your NDA upon request before the session
If you have compliance or legal review steps, you can indicate that in the form and we’ll coordinate accordingly.
About the sponsors
Sponsored by TaxCSA, a tax consultancy, specializing in exemption certificate management for growing businesses, and DragonflyAI Consulting. This session is research-only, no sales pitch.
Register your interest for a 2026 research interview
Share a few details about you and your organization. We’ll follow up within 2 business days to confirm eligibility and schedule your session.
Questions about the 2026 research initiative
If you don’t see your question here, share it in the form and we’ll respond before finalizing your participation.
Is this a sales call in disguise?
No. This initiative is dedicated to research. The session is structured as a guided interview with a research consultant, not a product demonstration. You will not be asked to buy software or services during the call. If you later want to learn more about TaxCSA's certificate management services, that can be scheduled as separate conversation.
How will my data be used?
Your responses will be combined with insights from other small and mid-size businesses to identify trends, challenges, and best practices. Any published materials (such as the 2026 State of B2B Portal white paper) will only include aggregated and anonymized data. We will not attribute quotes, metrics, or examples to you or your company without explicit written permission.