Tax modernization bill would authorize electronic notices, earlier sales‑tax due date and electronic notarizations for tax documents

The Department of Taxation presented Assembly Bill 594 to the Assembly Committee on Revenue as a package of statutory updates to support the department’s new integrated tax system, Project Mint. Department officials told the committee the changes are intended to streamline taxpayer service, reduce mailing costs and align statutory language with modern electronic processes.

“Project Mint or Mint” and a related MyNevadaTax account would allow the department to communicate directly with taxpayers through secure electronic accounts, the department said. Adrienne Roberts Larson, deputy director over administrative services for the Department of Taxation, told the committee the bill would authorize the department to deliver any notice, decision or written communication electronically unless a taxpayer expressly opts out or another law requires in‑person or mailed service.

The department said electronic delivery methods would include secure delivery to a taxpayer’s account, email where consented, or posting on a public website with separate email notice of the posting. Department staff said the change is tied to a budget efficiency estimate of $22,344 per fiscal year from reduced printing and mailing costs.

AB594 also would update NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) references used to determine commerce‑tax industry categories from the 2012 edition referenced in statute to the most recent 2022 edition. The bill directs the department to review each new NAICS publication every five years and return to the Legislature if any revisions would change a business’s applicable category or rate. Yvonne Navarz Goodson, chief deputy executive director, emphasized the bill does not by itself change tax rates and that any rate effects from NAICS changes would be subject to legislative action.

Another provision shortens the due date for sales and use tax remittance: rather than the last day of the following month, the bill would require payment by the 20th day after the month the tax was imposed, effective for taxable periods beginning on or after July 1, 2025. The department said the earlier date would allow more timely distributions on a cash basis; it also proposed a three‑month grace period through Sept. 30, 2025, to waive penalties and interest for taxpayers who pay after the 20th but before the end of the month during the transition.

The bill would also allow department employees who are already commissioned notaries to electronically notarize documents within the department’s system and provide that county recorders accept the printed copies of electronically notarized documents for recordation. The department said this aims to avoid the cost and administrative burden of requiring department notaries to register separately as electronic notaries with the Secretary of State.

Not all stakeholders supported every provision. Shani Garen, Douglas County recorder speaking for the Recorders Association of Nevada, urged deletion of the section requiring county recorders to accept department electronic notarizations. She said existing statutes (NRS 247.115 and NRS 247.117) and a 2021 papering‑out process provide a uniform mechanism for converting electronically executed documents to paper for recording and that county recorders already have electronic‑recording partners. “This bill would create inequities in how documents are accepted and processed,” Garen said, and the association asked to follow the established papering‑out process until a government‑to‑government electronic submission standard is developed.

Misty Grimmer of the Nevada Resort Association and Becky Dutra of the Nevada Taxpayers Association raised practical implementation concerns about the earlier remittance date and the July 1, 2025 effective date, saying some businesses — especially smaller taxpayers with manual systems or external bookkeepers — may need more time to change accounting processes. Grimmer asked the Legislature to consider a later implementation date for the 20th‑day requirement; Dutra asked the department to work with taxpayers to allow reasonable exceptions beyond the first quarter for those unable to adjust systems in time.

Several industry witnesses said they would continue discussions with the department. The department told the committee it would continue to coordinate with county recorders and stakeholders to address operational questions and said the NAICS change would not automatically alter tax rates without further legislative action.

The committee heard the testimony and did not record a final vote during this hearing. The department said the electronic communications provision ties to a budget decision unit in its budget request; the NAICS, sales‑tax remittance and e‑notary provisions are aimed at operational alignment with the new tax system rather than immediate budget changes.