New York State Sales and Use Tax

Sales Tax - applies to retail sales of certain tangible personal property and services.
Use Tax - applies if you buy tangible personal property and services outside the state and use it within New York State.

 

Use Tax is a law in most states that says if you did not pay sales tax on an item for any reason, you must report it to your state and pay a "use tax". These laws have existed for many years, its not until recently when a Supreme Court decision allowed states to collect sales tax even when the seller does not have a physical presence in a state. This decision was made several years ago and since then each state has slowly started collecting tax on internet sales. This has absolutely nothing to do with Ebay or even Amazon...its the law and Ebay is just abiding by it.

Bottom line, if you buy an item from an individual on this forum, legally you are obligated to report that purchase and pay a use tax. Most people do not do this...that doesn't make it right. To combat this lack of self reporting, states are now slowly forcing sellers to comply at the point of sale...and this is what you are seeing. Eventually everyone will collect sales tax at the pos...or be subjected to fines and back taxes.

 

Fedex has forwarded these Customs forms to local states. States can then bill tax payer for unpaid use taxes. Plus penalties and interest of course.

 

If EBay collects tax from sales it keeps the governments happy.
Notice the big internet businesses not paying taxes media stories has slowed

Many logistics companies are doing this as they try to distance themselves from being in the tax / duty collecting business because that is the sellers responsibility. If it’s not collected by the likes of eBay it will be your responsibility. ( rumour has it all duty or taxes from parcel companies will be forwarded to the local tax system in your state or country and not be collected by FedEx and DHL soon. You get the watch and then get a letter a few weeks later )

 

Yes, these shippers are acting as the customs broker on your behalf when you import something using their shipping services. You can waive this if you want to use your own customs broker, or do it yourself if you feel you have the knowledge to do it correctly (most people don't).

FedEx rates for doing this are pretty reasonable - UPS on the other hand hasn't been, at least in the past.

Cheers, Al

 

Yup. Illinois has been doing this for over a decade. Bought a rosewood credenze in Canada and had it shipped to Illinois and some months later received a letter from the Illinois Department of Revenue outlining fees I am to pay for my skullduggery....lol. You can't hide.

 

Ironically enough, I've never paid import taxes on something shipped into the US via USPS .

I tend to take the philosophical view towards all of this: taxes are part of the bargain for living in a society with rules/infrastructure so when duly invoiced, I'll pay any valid tax bill after making sure it conforms to current statute and regulation. Part of that may also be that most of my work is government funded so without road, gas, and property taxes, I wouldn't get paid.

 

Interesting. I purchased two items on eBay yesterday. One was located in my state so as always taxes were collected because the seller is legally required to do so when selling within the state. The second item was from out of state from a company that apparently has no nexus to my state, and so no taxes were collected. With the clear decline of brick and mortar sales, and the growing popularity of online sales where sales taxes are not being collected, states in the U.S. are losing out on billions of dollars in tax revenue that is required to fund their budgets. Until now it has been impossible for states to collect sales taxes from online sales. Many states have "self-reporting" laws where buyers literally have a duty to report purchases from companies outside of the state to their local tax authority and then make arrangements to pay the tax. Good luck! It is only a matter of time until technology provides each state with the capability to collect sales taxes from companies like eBay.

Don't get me wrong, I don't love paying taxes! Goodness knows I pay too much in taxes as it is. Nevertheless, at the end of the day the taxman will get you one way or another because if sales tax revenues aren't making ends meet the state will raise taxes in another area where people not buying the tax free products are made to pay as well. At least with online sales taxes the consumer of the product is the one affected.

 

People here don’t like paying taxes because so many others don’t pay at all. If everyone paid proportionally and the money wasn’t wasted or earmarked for political pet projects, society would be better off. Greed is the culprit

 

A little light reading on Ebay tax collection.....so simple any Einstein can do it.
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Sellers' tax responsibilities
You are responsible for paying all fees and taxes associated with using eBay as an eBay seller. For more information on eBay's tax policy and your obligations, see our Tax policy and User Agreement.

Your tax-related responsibilities may include:

• Paying sales tax on eBay sales
• Paying income tax on eBay sales
• Informing overseas buyers about import charges

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of South Dakota - opens in new window or tab in June 2018, which removed the requirement that certain retailers have a physical presence in a state in order for that state to impose sales tax obligations on retailers. Regardless of where you're physically located, if you do business in certain states, those states may require you to collect applicable taxes on your transactions.

For more information on these new tax requirements, we recommend that you consult with your tax advisor. If you do not have a tax advisor, you may want to reach out to Avalara - opens in new window or tab and/or TaxJar - opens in new window or tab.

Charging sales tax on eBay sales
If you're required to charge sales tax, you can set up a tax table and apply it to your listings. We'll then add the tax to the buyer's total at checkout. You're responsible for paying the sales tax to the appropriate authority.

Contact a tax professional to determine whether you need to charge sales tax on your eBay sales, or if you have questions about any other taxes. We can't provide tax advice or guarantee that our sales tax features meet all tax requirements.

Setting up a tax table
You can specify a sales tax rate for each US state in which you're required to charge sales tax. You can also charge tax on shipping and handling, if it's required by law.

Buyers see your tax rates on the listing page. Once they confirm their shipping address at checkout, we automatically calculate the sales tax amount and add it to their order total.

Here's how to set up your tax table:

1. Go to Site Preferences - opens in new window or tab in the Account section of My eBay.
2. In the Payments from buyers section, select Show.
3. Select Edit in the Use sales tax table section.
4. Fill in the sales tax rate for any state where you want to charge sales tax. If you're also required to tax shipping and handling in that state, select the Also charge sales tax on S&H check box.
5. Select Save.

Important things to keep in mind when setting up a tax table:

• When you list your item you need to indicate that you charge sales tax in the listing form and associate your tax table with the listing.
• Changes that you make to your tax table won't be reflected in your live listings. You will need to revise any current active listings in order for your tax table changes to apply to those listings. Listing created after you have saved your tax table changes will reflect your tax table updates.

Once you've created your tax table, you need to specify in your listing that you are charging sales tax. Here's how:

1. On the listing form, check the box beside Charge sales tax according to the sales tax table.
2. You can open and make changes to your tax table by selecting View sales tax table.
3. Complete your listing and select Preview listing or Save and continue later.

eBay sales tax collection
Based on applicable tax laws, eBay will calculate, collect, and remit sales tax on behalf of sellers for items shipped to customers in the following states:

State

Effective Date

Additional Information

Alabama

July 1, 2019

Alabama - opens in new window or tab

The State of Alabama has a program for simplified sellers use tax (SSUT) under Statute § 40-23-192. eBay has collected simplified sellers use tax on taxable transactions delivered into Alabama and the tax of flat eight percent (8%) will be remitted on the customer's behalf to the Alabama Department of Revenue.

eBay Inc. – SSUT Account Number: SSU-R010250382

Arizona

October 1, 2019

Arizona - opens in new window or tab

Arkansas

July 1, 2019

Arkansas - opens in new window or tab

California

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Department of Tax and Fee Administration - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Colorado

October 1, 2019

Colorado - opens in new window or tab

Connecticut

April 1, 2019

Connecticut - opens in new window or tab

eBay Inc. is registered with DRS to collect Connecticut sales tax and will collect sales tax on all taxable Connecticut sales facilitated on our site.

District of Columbia

May 1, 2019

District of Columbia - opens in new window or tab

Hawaii

January 1, 2020

Please contact the Hawaii Department of Taxation - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Idaho

June 1, 2019

Idaho - opens in new window or tab

Illinois

January 1, 2020

Illinois - opens in new window or tab

Indiana

July 1, 2019

Please contact the Department of Revenue - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Iowa

February 1, 2019

Iowa - opens in new window or tab

Kentucky

July 1, 2019

Kentucky - opens in new window or tab

Maine

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Maine Revenue Services - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Maryland

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Comptroller of Maryland - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Massachusetts

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Massachusetts - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Minnesota

January 1, 2019

Minnesota - opens in new window or tab

Small business exemption - Minnesota has enacted a small business exemption for out of state unregistered sellers whose taxable retail sales into Minnesota are less than $10,000 in the previous 12-month period. These sellers are not subject to the Minnesota marketplace tax laws, and eBay will not be collecting sales tax on these transactions.

Nebraska

May 1, 2019

Nebraska - opens in new window or tab

Nevada

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Nevada Department of Taxation - opens in new window or tab for further information.

New Jersey

May 1, 2019

New Jersey - opens in new window or tab

New Mexico

July 1, 2019

Please contact the Taxation and Revenue Department - opens in new window or tab for further information.

New York

June 1, 2019

New York - opens in new window or tab

eBay Inc. is a registered New York State sales tax vendor and will collect sales tax on all taxable sales of tangible personal property that it facilitates for delivery to a New York State address.

North Dakota

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Office of State Tax Commissioner - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Ohio

September 1, 2019

Please contact the Ohio Department of Taxation for further information.

Oklahoma

July 1, 2019

Oklahoma - opens in new window or tab

Pennsylvania

July 1, 2019

Pennsylvania - opens in new window or tab

Rhode Island

July 1, 2019

Rhode Island - opens in new window or tab

South Carolina

October 1, 2019

South Carolina - opens in new window or tab

South Dakota

July 1, 2019

South Dakota - opens in new window or tab

Texas

October 1, 2019

Please contact the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Utah

October 1, 2019

Please contact the State Tax Commission - opens in new window or tab for further information.

Vermont

July 1, 2019

Vermont - opens in new window or tab

Virginia

July 1, 2019

Virginia - opens in new window or tab

Washington

January 1, 2019

Washington - opens in new window or tab

West Virginia

July 1, 2019

West Virginia - opens in new window or tab

Wisconsin

January 1, 2020

Wisconsin - opens in new window or tab

Wyoming

July 1, 2019

Wyoming - opens in new window or tab

Prior to the effective date, you should continue to collect and remit tax in these states if required. Additional states will be added to this list at a later date.

Once eBay starts to collect tax in the above states, no action is required on your part, and there will be no charges or fees for eBay automatically calculating, collecting and remitting sales tax. The collection process will apply to all sales, whether the seller is located in or outside of the United States.

When a buyer purchases an item on eBay, and the ship to address is one of the above states, eBay will calculate and add the applicable sales tax at checkout. The buyer will pay both the cost of the item along with the sales tax. eBay will collect and remit the tax.

Sellers are not able to opt out of selling items into the states listed above or opt out of eBay automatically collecting sales tax.

1099-K forms and income tax on eBay sales
By law, sellers have to declare and pay taxes on income earned from eBay sales. We recommend checking with a tax advisor to understand your responsibilities.

If you’re a managed payments seller, and have more than 200 transactions and generate more than $20,000 in sales in a calendar year, you'll receive a Form 1099-K from eBay. This information will also be reported to the IRS and your state tax authority, where applicable.

Only managed payments sellers will be eligible to receive 1099-K forms from eBay. If PayPal or another authorized payment service processed any of your eBay payments during the calendar year, you may receive a separate form from them if your transactions meet the thresholds.

Sellers in Massachusetts and Vermont
Massachusetts and Vermont use a threshold of $600 and don’t have a transaction threshold, so if you're a managed payments seller, and reside in one of these states, you’ll get a Form 1099-K from eBay if your gross payments equals or exceeds $600, irrespective of the number of payments you receive.

We’ll also report this amount to the Massachusetts or Vermont tax authority as applicable. You should note that your gross payments won't be reported to the IRS unless you exceed $20,000 in gross payments and have more than 200 transactions.

For more information, read our article on eBay and Form 1099-K.

 

I’m perhaps going against the grain here... but I think locally based retailers (I’m in Aus) who have to accrue sales tax and give it to the government) have a right to an even playing field ... yep it’s shit for me as a consumer... but its a small price to pay to keep local business more sustainable (and arguably better fro me in the long run)

 

The problem is, this is coming 10-15 years too late for many small brick & mortar retailers who already closed up shop due to online shopping killing their business. Only the leanest and smartest of them have survived- economic Darminism I guess.

 

Economic Darwinism with a little Armageddon thrown in to spice the mix

 

I don’t think much of the outrage is coming from the tax roll-out itself, it’s the timing. We are living in a world where we are seemingly being nickled & dimed to death. Utility degregulation has caused soaring rates, crumbling infrastructure causing exorbitant rate and tax hikes (my water service has quadrupled in the last 2 years to offset the cost of a 130 year old sewage and delivery system) Every service (private or public) has gone to a subscription or alacarte model, “batteries not included” has become the norm. Salary’s have not been commensurate with cost of living increases over the last 20 years for the middle class, so when you squeeze a population to it’s financial limits- then throw another tax on top, don’t wonder why people stop spending.

 

We are all buying expensive items that none of us actually need. I don't think we have too much to complain about.