When talking to non-US based sellers, we often hear, “My country has a tax treaty with the United States. We don’t have to worry about US tax.” This is true. For income tax. But sales tax is a whole other ball of wax. And international sellers are often caught...
E-Commerce
When are the 2024 sales tax holidays?
States use sales tax holidays as a way to attract shoppers and stimulate the economy, as well as encourage consumer behaviors such as disaster preparedness or using energy efficient appliances. For e-commerce sellers, that means knowing about and understanding the...
Florida Home to First Back to School Sales Tax Holiday of 2024
In 2024, New Year’s Day isn’t just for ringing in the New Year, it’s for ringing up tax free sales. At least, in Florida it is. Florida announced a Back to School Sales Tax Holiday to take place from January 1st through 14th, 2023. According to the Florida Department...
Voluntary Disclosure Agreements (VDAs): Sales Tax Compliance Tool for Online Retailers
Knowing where your business is supposed to collect sales tax is complicated. It became even more complicated after the 2018 South Dakota v. Wayfair decision that allowed states to implement economic nexus. At HOST, we’ve worked with e-commerce businesses for 25 years,...
Preparing for Black Friday/Cyber Monday: Sales Tax Edition
This time of year many articles crop up to advise e-commerce sellers on how to prepare for the upcoming selling holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This good advice is meant to boost your bottom line and help you take advantage of an audience ready to click...
Sales Tax Sourcing: Origin vs. Destination Based Sales Tax, Explained
Forty-six US states and DC all have a sales tax. The fact that each state gets to make their own rules and regulations around sales tax can lead to some confusion. One confusing aspect of sales tax? Sales tax sourcing. What does “sourcing” mean in sales tax?...
Should I charge sales tax on shipping?
Everything sales tax-related is more complicated for e-commerce sellers. Sales tax on shipping charges is no different. As an e-commerce seller, the product has to get to the customer somehow. In most cases, that means the nice guy or gal in the big box truck places...
Texas Franchise Tax Explained for E-Commerce Sellers
E-commerce merchants are already accustomed to dealing with taxes in states where we don’t actually have a presence. (Thanks, economic nexus.) But in some cases, those taxes aren’t sales taxes. Take the Texas Franchise Tax for example. Under Texas law, entities either...
How to Collect Sales Tax Via Shopify and Other Online Carts
Recently we wrote about how easy online shopping cart onboarding can lead to sales tax disaster. Long story short, online shopping carts are very good at onboarding new e-commerce sellers. But there is sometimes a disconnect between setting up sales tax collection on...
Sales Tax Holidays, Explained
From time to time, certain states will declare a “sales tax holiday” or “tax free weekend” on certain items. The most famous sales tax holidays take place in the fall and are collectively known as “Back to School Sales Tax Holidays.” But some states declare sales tax...
