How and when will a Jack In The Box licensee be required to pay the specified taxes to the company?
Jack_In_The_Box Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- F. Company shall have no liability for any excise, property or other taxes levied by any governmental tax authority upon Licensee. Licensee shall make timely filings of all tax returns, and shall pay when due all taxes levied or assessed in connection with the possession, ownership or operation of the Licensed Restaurant and the Premises. Licensee may contest the validity or the amount of the tax in accordance with applicable procedures of the jurisdiction, but Licensee shall in no event permit a tax sale or seizure of the Licensed Restaurant, the Premises, or any equipment.
The term "Gross Sales" shall mean all revenue from the sale of all products and services, including delivery and catering services, as well as from vending machines or similar sources of revenue, and all other income of every kind and nature related to the Licensed Restaurant, including proceeds from stored value gift cards and gift certificates when redeemed but not when purchased, business interruption insurance, and revenue from off-site events, whether for cash or credit and, in the case of credit, regardless of collection. The term Gross Sales does not include the following: (1) any bona fide, documented federal, state or municipal sales taxes collected by you from customers and
paid by you to the appropriate taxing authority; (2) the sale of food or merchandise for which refunds have been made in good faith to customers; (3) the sale of furnishing, fixtures, equipment and supplies used in the Franchised Restaurant; (4) the discounted value of payments made by coupon, or other promotional discounts, approved by the Company; (5) the amounts of employee meal discounts; or (6) any other items that Company may expressly permit in writing to be excluded from Gross Sales, such as certain sales benefiting charity.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 94–634)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Jack In The Box Franchise Disclosure Document, the company is not liable for any taxes levied on the licensee by a governmental tax authority. The licensee is responsible for filing all tax returns and paying all taxes related to the possession, ownership, or operation of the licensed restaurant and premises. The licensee is expected to make these payments when they are due.
However, the franchisee does not have to pay taxes to Jack In The Box. The franchisee is responsible for paying taxes to the appropriate taxing authority. The FDD specifies that "Gross Sales" does not include "any bona fide, documented federal, state or municipal sales taxes collected by you from customers and paid by you to the appropriate taxing authority."
In summary, Jack In The Box franchisees are responsible for managing and paying their own taxes directly to the relevant government entities. The FDD does not specify a mechanism for franchisees to pay taxes to the company itself.