As a tax preparer, it’s more than likely you’ve encountered the NAICS throughout the duration of your career. An essential tool for tax preparation, the NAICS can help you maximize accuracy and efficiency in the classification of businesses. In this post, we’ll explore the function of NAICS, its relevance and benefits for tax preparers, and successful applications.  

Overview of the NAICS Code 

The NAICS stands for the North American Industry Classification System. In short, it is a standardized system used to classify business establishments, collaboratively developed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Each business is assigned a unique NAICS code based on its primary economic activity, offering uniformity in reporting and enabling statistical analyses of economic data throughout the continent. Businesses are easily categorized by the distinct numerical code that is allotted to each industry. 

The NAICS is structured hierarchically, beginning with a two-digit sector code. This identifier represents broader sectors across the industry, such as agriculture, retail trade, or manufacturing. At that point, each sector is further divided into subsectors, industry groups, industries, and specific business establishments. As aforementioned, this ordered structure allows businesses to be categorized at increasing levels of granularity based on the primary activities they conduct.  

To learn more about the codes in effect currently, you can navigate to the U.S. Census Bureau website, as they are responsible for maintaining and updating the NAICS codes. Their site provides additional information about the NAICS manual, descriptions of industry categories, search tools, and other beneficial resources. 

Similarly, the official NAICS website provides a comprehensive overview of the code structure, as well as publishes any updates or revisions. They offer a company lookup tool, marketing resources, and detailed information on business counts from previous years.  

Function & Use of NAICS Code 

The primary function of the NAICS code is to serve as a category system for businesses to yield standardized consistency in reporting, critical analysis of differing industries across the countries in North America, and informed decision-making and policy development. By offering a common framework to understand industries on the basis of economic activity, the NAICS code supplements communication and cognizance of the diversified economic landscape.  

Moreover, the NAICS code is vital to statistical analysis of economic trends, helping to facilitate the compilation of industry data in a reliable and thorough manner. As a result, government agencies, researchers, and policymakers gain valuable insight into the growth, performance, and composition of numerous business sectors. The consequential data aids in the formulation of economic policies and informed decisions, as well as helps track changes throughout various industries. 

In relation to the tax realm, the NAICS code enables the IRS to benefit from the business category groups, which helps accurately apply tax rules and regulations. Since different industries may have distinctive tax provisions and requirements, the NAICS helps ensure that businesses are classified correctly, therefore easing the risk of potential errors in tax reporting and avoiding noncompliance.  

The NAICS also helps tax preparers identify deductions and credits that are specific to particular industries. Many tax professionals rely on the code to determine any applicable tax benefits, such as the Research & Development Credit, available to businesses that participate in qualifying research activities to develop products, processes, or software, or the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction, which applies to businesses that renovate or construct commercial buildings to meet standards for energy efficiency. With a broad knowledge of the NAICS code, tax preparers can accurately identify potential breaks for businesses based on their industry classification and help clients optimize their tax savings. 

NAICS Code Benefits 

This system of classification has a myriad of benefits. The NAICS chiefly provides a common language for businesses, government agencies, researchers, and policymakers to analyze industries, including across several countries in North America. Using the code, professionals can achieve consistency in data collection, enabling valuable comparisons of economic performance across sectors and nations. Similarly, the NAICS code contributes to the development of policies, research, and statistics by regulating a system of organization to categorize businesses.  

Specifically for tax preparers, as mentioned above, the code can aid in effective tax administration and analysis. Not only does this help you effectively accomplish successful preparation of returns while remaining compliant, but it can also support harmonious connections with clients. After all, trust and confidence in your services can only increase when you help clients maximize the benefits they receive from their taxes. 

Updating Your Code 

For tax preparers who provide services as part of a firm, it’s necessary to regularly review and update your NAICS code to ensure it aligns correctly with the business operations and services offered. Be sure to select the code that represents the primary activity of the business, verifying accurate industry classification and optimizing comparability with industry benchmarks.  

To review your code, we recommend visiting the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 NAICS Manual, which delves into a code directory that explicitly describes each code and its corresponding classification information. Remember to align your code with the description that best matches the primary economic activities of the firm. As described in this post from the NAICS association, there is no official method of changing a business’ NAICS code; rather, firms should reach out directly to any federal agencies who may utilize the previous code to update their records accordingly. It is recommended that tax professionals review their classification once per year to periodically ensure that any changes in products or services are appropriately reflected by the NAICS code.  

The NAICS code is an essential resource for tax preparers and can enable them to accurately categorize businesses and uphold compliance with tax laws. Understanding the NAICS code yields several advantages, including accurate reporting, personalized tax guidance, and industry benchmarking opportunities. Tax preparers can even leverage the code to assist clients in navigating their returns, maximizing credits and deductions where possible and ultimately increasing accord with their client base. Finally, tax preparers who offer services as part of a business can demonstrate their commitment to accurate reporting by regularly reviewing their NAICS code and updating as needed.