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Minnesota Sales-Tax Audits Assessed $86M in Four Quarters
Sales and Use Tax Division records show 1,434 audits and about $86.0 million assessed from April–June 2025 through January–March 2026, alongside hundreds of voluntary disclosure agreements in calendar 2025.
What the Data Shows
- Minnesota Sales and Use Tax Division records list 1,434 sales-and-use audits and $86,013,692.81 assessed from April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026.
- Of those 1,434 audits, 220 were no-change audits, or approximately 15.3%.
- The dollar figures represent assessments, not amounts finally collected after protest, abatement, settlement, or other post-audit changes.
- Calendar year 2025 voluntary disclosure records total 247 agreements and $13,222,994 in a field labelled “VDA dollars.” The source does not separately define whether that amount represents assessed, reported, agreed, paid, or collected dollars.
- Blank cells in the Department’s industry-level NAICS data are suppressed values, not zeros.
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Minnesota Department of Revenue Sales and Use Tax Division figures show 1,434 sales-and-use tax audits and $86,013,692.81 in dollars assessed across April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026.
Of those audits, 220 were no-change audits, representing approximately 15.3% of the four-quarter total.
The records were produced in response to a May 28, 2026, Minnesota Government Data Practices Act request. This was a Minnesota state public-records request, not a federal Freedom of Information Act request.
A July 20, 2026, response transmitted records from the Sales and Use Tax Division. A July 29, 2026, follow-up clarified methodology, including how suppressed industry data and certain settlement-related figures should be interpreted.
Calendar year 2025 alone shows 1,407 sales-and-use tax audits and $73,963,538.83 assessed.
Separately, the Division’s voluntary disclosure agreement data lists 247 agreements and $13,222,994 in VDA dollars for calendar 2025.
The source labels the field “VDA dollars,” but it does not separately define whether those dollars represent amounts assessed, reported, agreed, paid, or collected.
Audit Counts and Dollars Assessed
Four-quarter total for 2025 Q2 through 2026 Q1:
1,434 audits · 220 no-change audits · $86,013,692.81 assessed
Within that four-quarter period, assessed dollars were highest in 2025 Q3 at approximately $26.4 million, followed by 2026 Q1 at approximately $23.9 million.
The records do not establish why assessment amounts changed from one quarter to another.
Assessments Are Not Collections
The approximately $86 million figure represents dollars assessed, not money ultimately collected by Minnesota Revenue.
An assessment may later be affected by protest, appeal, abatement, settlement, payment activity, or other developments.
The data therefore, should not be interpreted as showing that Minnesota collected $86 million from these audits.
Voluntary Disclosure Agreements
The Sales and Use Tax Division also provided quarterly voluntary disclosure agreement data.
Calendar year 2025 total:
247 VDAs · $13,222,994 in VDA dollars
The Department’s source data uses the term “VDA dollars.”
The records provided do not separately define whether those figures represent dollars assessed, reported, agreed, paid, or ultimately collected. For that reason, the amounts should be described using the Department’s own field label rather than characterised as collections.
Industry Detail and Suppressed Data
The Department also produced an industry-level breakdown organised using North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS, categories.
Some cells in that dataset are blank.
According to the Department’s July 29 methodology response, those blank cells represent suppressed values rather than zero activity.
The Department also explained that some negative dollar amounts in blank or uncategorised categories relate to settlement agreements and represent aggregate differences between original assessments and settled amounts.
Readers therefore should not interpret a blank industry entry as evidence that Minnesota conducted no audits in that industry.
Likewise, a negative assessment figure should not be interpreted as a “negative audit.”
What Do Minnesota Sales-Tax Audit Assessments Measure?
The records show Sales and Use Tax Division audit counts, no-change audits, and dollars assessed by quarter.
The four-quarter total of 1,434 audits and approximately $86.0 million assessed is calculated from the Department’s reported quarterly figures for 2025 Q2 through 2026 Q1.
The dollar amount represents assessments, not final collections.
What Is a No-Change Audit?
The Department’s workbook separately reports audits classified as “no change.”
Across the four-quarter period analysed here, 220 of 1,434 audits were listed as no-change audits.
The source materials do not provide enough information in this dataset to determine the reasons individual audits resulted in no change.
What Are VDA Dollars?
VDA stands for voluntary disclosure agreement.
The Department reported 247 VDAs and $13,222,994 in VDA dollars during calendar year 2025.
However, the source does not separately define whether “VDA dollars” means assessed, reported, agreed, paid, or collected amounts.
What the Records Do Not Explain
The records do not establish:
- How much of the assessed tax was ultimately collected
- The outcome of every audit after protest, appeal, abatement, or settlement
- Why assessment amounts changed between quarters
- The Department’s audit-selection or targeting criteria
- The contents of industry cells suppressed for taxpayer-identification reasons
High assessment amounts within one industry category also do not, by themselves, establish industry-wide noncompliance.
Related Minnesota Collection Data
The same Minnesota data practices production includes separate Collection Division records concerning bank levies, wage levies, liens, and web payment plans.
Those figures represent different collection measures and should not be treated as equivalent to Sales and Use Tax Division audit activity.
For related reporting, see:
Minnesota Bank Levy Actions Fell After Late-2025 Peak
Methodology and Resources
Primary sources:
- Sales and Use Tax – Audit and Assessment Request.xlsx
- SUT Audit Breakdown – NAICS_Redacted.pdf
- Minnesota Revenue July 20, 2026, production letter
- Minnesota Revenue July 29, 2026, methodology response
Calculations: GetTaxReliefNow calculated the four-quarter and calendar-year totals from the quarterly figures supplied by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Key limitations: Assessments are not collections. Suppressed NAICS cells are not zeros. Settlement-related negative figures are not negative audits. The meaning of the “VDA dollars” field is not separately defined in the supplied records.
Research Hub:
Minnesota Tax Enforcement Statistics
Official Resource:
Minnesota Department of Revenue
Facing a Minnesota Sales-Tax Audit or Assessment?
Aggregate audit statistics cannot determine the outcome of a specific business case.
If your business received a Minnesota sales-and-use tax audit notice, proposed assessment, or voluntary-disclosure question, request a confidential review of the notice, periods involved, and applicable response deadlines.
Confidential review with a Minnesota-based Enrolled Agent.
Disclosure
GetTaxReliefNow is published by MWB Tax Solutions.
This article provides general information only. Aggregate statistics do not determine any individual audit outcome.
Author: William J. McLee, Enrolled Agent
MWB Tax Solutions
5775 Wayzata Blvd., Suite 700
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
(888) 260-9441
If you need help with a tax issue discussed in this article, you can reach a licensed tax professional at Get Tax Relief Now at (888) 260-9441 or visit our contact page.
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