6 Accounting Questions Every Amazon Seller Should Ask Their CPA
Kimberly Green | 2026-04-14
6 Accounting Questions Every Amazon Seller Should Ask Their CPA Most Amazon sellers never ask their CPA the right questions. They hand over receipts and settlement reports, get a tax bill in April, and hope for a vetted. Meanwhile, their CPA might not understand the unique structure of Amazon's payout system, FBA nexus issues, or the tax deductions they're leaving on the table. Amazon accounting isn't like Shopify. It's not like eBay. It's not like traditional retail. The settlement structure is weird. The tax nexus is weird. The inventory rules are weird. A CPA who does small business taxes for dentists and plumbers will fumble Amazon questions. They'll miss Section 199A deductions. They'll overlook multi-state sales tax registration. They'll let you pay thousands more than you should. Here are six questions to ask your CPA right now. If they hesitate or give vague answers, it might be time to find someone who gets Amazon. 1. Have You Reconciled My Amazon Settlement Reports? Amazon's settlement structure is unique. You don't get paid on each sale. Instead, Amazon deposits money into your account on a rolling 14-day cycle, combining sales, refunds, fees, and chargebacks into a single number. Most accounting software can't map this directly to individual orders. If your CPA isn't reconciling your settlement reports line-by-line against your recorded revenue, they're missing discrepancies. A seller with $500K in annual revenue might have a $3K-$8K variance between what they think they earned and what actually settled. Ask: "Have you downloaded and reconciled my Amazon settlement reports?" If they say "no" or "we just use your bank deposits," find a new CPA. 2. How Are You Managing My Multi-State Sales Tax Nexus from FBA Warehouses? This is the question most Amazon sellers never think to ask—and it's the one that costs them the most. Because it creates liability. When you use FBA, Amazon stores your inventory in their warehouse network across multiple states. You don't decide which states; Amazon decides. But that inventory creates physical nexus in every state where Amazon warehouses your stuff. Physical nexus = you're legally responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax there, even if you've never visited. States and the IRS view FBA inventory as your property in their jurisdiction. The nexus is real. Most sellers don't register until they get a letter from a state tax board demanding back taxes, penalties, and interest. A seller with inventory across 8 FBA centers might owe $15K-$50K in unpaid sales tax on sales they forgot they made. Ask your...
