The quick answer
Run Preview Tax after the vendor, delivery address, date, and item classifications are complete. In Tax Details, group rows by each item’s Tax Details Reference, and read the returned Tax Type, Tax Code, Tax Basis, and Tax Amount. Label a row seller’s use or consumer use only when the configured engine’s returned type or code supports it. A purchase-order preview is not a posted tax liability.
The screens use sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional; use your own records and values.
Before you start
This is a configured partner-engine example; the native SuiteTax Engine need not return separate seller’s-use and consumer-use rows. It requires SuiteTax, an engine assigned to the applicable nexus, purchase-order tax support, effective rules and item mappings, and a complete structured Nevada delivery address. The role needs purchase-order, Preview Tax, and Tax Details access. The prepared order is for Summit Supply Group at Western Plant on October 1, 2026 in USD. One manufacturing component is 4 × $275 = $1,100; one shop cleaning kit is 5 × $32 = $160. The subtotal is $1,260. A manufacturing description alone does not grant an exemption.
01. Check the two purchase lines
Open the prepared purchase order and confirm vendor Summit Supply Group, US Operations, Western Plant, date, currency, and complete ship-to address. On Items, verify four drive assembly components at $275 and five shop cleaning kits at $32. The amounts are $1,100 and $160, subtotal $1,260.
02. Check the tax controls
Open Tax Details. Read nexus, registration, and tax point date where shown. Confirm that manual nexus or tax-detail overrides are not active. Verify the intended partner-engine item classifications and purchaser-use setting before calculating; a difference in item names alone does not explain tax treatment.
03. Preview and compare returned rows
Click Preview Tax. For each item, follow Tax Details Reference and read Tax Type, Tax Code, Tax Basis, Tax Rate, and Tax Amount. In this configured partner-engine result, use-tax labels differ between the two lines. Describe only the returned labels; another engine may not produce these rows. Do not add repeated line bases as extra purchases.
04. Reconcile the preview
Sum the returned tax components according to the account’s rounding rules and compare them with the transaction Summary, grouping Tax Amount by type and allowing for rounding. Keep any fee rows separate if the engine presents them separately or excludes them from transaction total. If an expected row is absent, check engine assignment, address, rule dates, vendor status, item mapping, and overrides. If the PO is saved, its order-stage details persist, but they still do not establish the vendor bill’s treatment. Review the later vendor bill, item cost, and accounting entry before claiming a booked use-tax liability.
Product reference: U.S. Consumer’s Use Tax.
Common questions
Does manufacturing use automatically exempt an item?
No. The applicable rule, item classification, purchaser-use setting, and effective jurisdiction setup determine the result.
Why are there several tax rows for one purchase line?
The partner engine can return multiple components. Follow Tax Details Reference to see which rows belong to the same item.
Does the purchase-order preview create a payable use-tax balance?
No. Review the later vendor bill and accounting entries to establish what was posted.