How to correctly calculate sales tax for online orders across the US?

[Moodyhaus]

Okay; so, recently launched my online store, registered in Florida & shipping out of Florida. We do not have a store front & ship across the US. We’ve made multiple sales and finally realized we weren’t charging tax. We’ve fixed it now, I think, but it’s only calculating tax for people who are ordering in Florida, which doesn’t make sense & overall just really confused. How do we fix this or go about handling this? Do we only collect tax of a sale is shipping elsewhere in Florida or??

[PRP]

Hi There,

I'm not specialist on that, but have you selected all states you intend to charge taxes? 

[Moodyhaus]

To do that, we would need to be registered in those states?

[PRP]

Nope. 

[Andrew]

Hi @Moodyhaus,

Hyde here from Shopify.

First off, I want to ensure you've had a good look at our tax guides. When and how taxes are charged on orders depends on the tax status is of your state. Florida is a destination state, meaning it should charge taxes based on where the orders are being sent to.

Do you have any examples of the wrong taxes being charged on your orders? Could you provide screenshots and order information so that I can get a better sense of the context?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

All the best, Hyde.

[Moodyhaus]

Hi Hyde!

So our concern is mostly about sales tax for shipping out of Florida. We are alittle confused on how to make sure our store is charging for other states. We have fixed it for Florida(it is now charging) but our store is not charging tax on anyone who is ordering out of Florida. Are you able to help us understand why and fix this issue?

Thank you!

[Andrew]

As I mentioned in my previous response, I would need specific examples of what's happening at your end to better help you. Whether or not you charge sales tax depends on your business nexus:

There's more on this here. If you do not have a nexus, generally, there is no sales tax. However, each state may have different shipping tax regulations. When it comes to Florida, shipping is not taxable if it is listed on a separate line in the invoice:

 All the best, Hyde. 

[Moodyhaus]

Hi Hyde,

Thank you for all of your information, would I be able to call you with a few other questions?

Thanks!

[Andrew]

While I am not available by phone, I'd be happy to answer any and all other questions if you wanted to outline them here! Alternatively, if you go to this page and click Contact Support you will be prompted to either login or continue without a store. Once you have selected an option you will be asked to ask about a topic. Search for your query and relevant help docs will populate as well as the option to proceed to live chat or email. You can also reach our Support team @ShopifySupport on Twitter or through Messenger on Facebook here.

All the best, Hyde.