Sales tax collection refers to the government authorities who arrange to collect the monies due them from sales. A sales tax in the United States is essentially a consumption tax. It is usually restricted to the purchaser, although it is the seller who collects it to hand over to the government officials. Sales tax collection, therefore, is a 2-step process. It requires the seller obtaining the money either through an addition to the initial price or as inclusive in the price. In either approach, the retailer must let the buyer know the situation. Once the seller (acting as a tax collector's middleman or woman) has the sales tax, he or she most pass it forward to the designated government. The frequency of filing is based usually on the amount of sales tax you filed the previous year. As a result, depending upon this figure, a company may file quarterly, monthly or annually.