Sales Tax Registrations & Filings… Done.

As an e-commerce seller, you are generally required to have a sales tax permit in all states where you have sales tax nexus. Nexus is just a legalese way of saying a “connection to the state.”

For example, if you have an employee (including contractors and salespeople), location, warehouse, or other business connection to a state, then you are generally required to register for a sales tax license and collect sales tax from your buyers in that state.

You’re also required to register and collect if you have economic nexus in a state. Economic nexus is when your business makes a certain amount of sales or a certain number of transactions in a state. For example, a business has sales nexus in California if you make more than $500,000 per year in the state. But sometimes those thresholds are much lower. A business has sales tax nexus in Georgia if you make more than $100,000 in sales to the state per year OR more than 200 retail transactions.

Many high volume businesses, such as book, sticker or gift sellers, find themselves with nexus in a state simply because they exceeded that state’s 200 transaction threshold.

Economic nexus thresholds vary by state. We recommend a nexus analysis to help you determine where you are required to register for and collect sales tax.

As an e-commerce retailer, you are required to register for a sales tax permit as soon as you have nexus in a state. For example, you’ll always want to register for a sales tax permit in your home state as soon as you start doing business. The fact that you live and operate your business there gives you sales tax nexus.

It can be trickier to understand what other business factors give you sales tax nexus. For example, since each state’s economic nexus laws vary, you may not be aware when you hit $100,000 in sales in a state, or when your sales exceed 200 transactions. That’s why we recommend a nexus analysis to help you determine where (and when) you should be collecting sales tax.

Certain necessities like groceries, clothing and medical items are non-taxable in some states. In some cases, the state does not require you to register for a sales tax permit if you only sell those product types in the state.

But be wary here. State definitions of what constitutes a “grocery item” or “clothing” vary. For example, candy and other foods lacking nutritional value are often taxable even in states where groceries are non-taxable.

If you are unsure about whether or not your products are taxable in a state, we recommend a nexus study to determine whether or not you are required to register for a sales tax permit.

This all depends on the state. Many states require that you register for a sales tax permit if you are doing any type of business in the state, even temporarily.

But some states make exceptions for retailers who only do very limited business in the state. For example, the state of Washington issues a temporary sales tax registration for businesses who participate in no more than two events per year in the state as long as each event lasts less than one month.

The event organizer should have information on what type of sales tax permit you need in order to participate in the event.

It’s important to note that when you are registered to collect sales tax in a state, you are required to collect sales tax from all buyers in that state, not just your customers at that specific event.

We’re happy to help you determine when you have nexus and how to treat sales tax nexus even if you only sell temporarily in a state. Sign up for a sales tax consultation now.

Here at HOST, we see this scenario often. We have helped clients who went unregistered for a few months and clients who went unregistered for years.

The first thing to note is that you need to get sales tax under control as soon as you are aware of the issue. The longer you go without registering the more fines and penalties the state can levy as they catch up to you. Further, if you ever plan to sell your business or take on investment, your buyer will have to confirm that you are completely sales tax compliant. This is often a condition of financing.

HOST is here to help! We will determine your sales tax liability and work with our contacts at each state’s taxing authority to get you compliant all the while mitigating fines and penalties. But we have to do this before the state finds your business. If you have already been contacted by a state, it’s too late to negotiate.

Contact HOST today to take the worry of sales tax compliance off your hands.

Our handy guides point you in the right direction on how to register for a sales tax permit in each US state. 

But if you want sales tax completely off your hands, HOST has you covered. Just fill out this form above to get started with “hands off” sales tax registration!

Each state’s sales tax filing process is different. Filings are due on different dates and at different frequencies. A majority of states also require that taxpayers breakdown how much sales tax you collected from buyers not just in each state, but in each county, city, and special taxing jurisdiction in that state. Filing sales tax the right way quickly becomes a time-consuming hassle. HOST takes that hassle off your plate while guaranteeing that you are filing your sales tax returns correctly and on-time.

States generally charge a uniform penalty (generally around $50) for every failure to file, plus interest on the amount of sales tax due that goes unremitted. Many states even levy a fine on taxpayers who fail to file on their due date even if they don’t have any sales tax to remit! Further, a pattern of failure to file or late filing can also be an automatic trigger for a sales tax audit.

The team at HOST has been handling sales tax for e-commerce sellers for 25 years. We file every type of sales tax return, even the ones that automated software isn’t equipped to handle. If you have a special sales tax filing use case, we can file for you.