POS charging incorrect tax, directions to correct don't work.

Retail & Point of Sale

Topic summary

A merchant encountered an issue where Shopify POS charged only the 6.25% state tax rate instead of the correct 8.75% (state + county) rate at a pop-up event. The help documentation referenced a “Base Taxes” section that wasn’t visible in their settings.

Attempted Solutions:

  • Setting a specific location for the event didn’t trigger the correct county tax rate
  • Manual tax adjustment at checkout wasn’t available in POS (only on/off toggle)
  • The merchant previously had the ability to manually change tax rates, but this feature appears to have been removed

Working Solution:
The merchant implemented collection-based tax overrides through Settings → Taxes and Duties → USA → Illinois for future events. However, with 5,000+ products, this wasn’t feasible to configure during the busy event.

Recommendations:
Multiple users suggested third-party tax apps like TaxJar, Avalara AvaTax, or Vertex for businesses with complex, location-varying tax requirements. The discussion remains open regarding why Shopify removed manual tax rate override capabilities that previously existed.

Summarized with AI on October 27. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I had a problem at a pop up event yesterday. The correct tax rate was supposed to be 8.75% (state and county) but the Shopify POS app was only charging 6.25% (state only). I pulled up the help and got this information.

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However, I didn’t have a section called Base Taxes. When I click on USA under regions I have this.

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The three dots next to Illinois only allow me to edit my sale tax id and change whether or not I charge tax on shipping. I know a few years ago I had to change the tax rate because the county I was in for an event had a special event tax that I had to charge and I was able to change the tax rate at that time but I do not remember how I did it. I have an upcoming event soon that will have the same sort of special tax so I’ll have to edit the tax rate for that as well but I can’t figure out how to do it. Does anyone know?

Thanks

2

Hello @THFiberWorks ,

It looks like Shopify POS didn’t apply the correct county-level tax rate and only charged the state tax. Unfortunately, Shopify automatically calculates U.S. sales tax based on location and doesn’t allow manual overrides per county within its default tax settings. However, there are workarounds:

Solution 1: Use a Custom Location in Shopify1. Go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Locations.

  1. Add a new location for the event’s specific county (e.g., “Event - [County Name]”).
  2. Set this location as your POS selling location during the event. Shopify should now charge the correct tax rate based on that county.

**Solution 2: Manually Adjust Tax at Checkout (Temporary Fix)**1. In Shopify POS, tap on the cart.

  1. Click the tax amount and manually adjust it to 8.75% before completing the sale.
  2. This works as a quick fix but requires manual input for each transaction.

**Solution 3: Use Shopify Tax Overrides (Limited Options)**1. Go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Taxes and Duties.

  1. Click USA → Illinois.
  2. See if there’s an option to create a tax override for specific locations or product categories.
  3. If available, set the correct tax rate for your event location.

Solution 4: Use a Tax App for More Control

If you frequently sell in different counties with varying rates, consider using a third-party tax app like TaxJar or Avalara AvaTax, which syncs with Shopify POS for more precise tax collection.

Since you mentioned you were able to change the tax rate before, it’s possible Shopify changed the way tax overrides work. Try Solution 1 first, and if that doesn’t work, let me know!

Best,
Tracy

3

Thanks Tracy,

Unfortunately the first two suggestions don’t work.

For solution 1, I already had a location set for the specific event with the full address entered so it should have been able to charge the correct tax from that.

For solution 2, I don’t have the ability to edit the tax amount. When I click on the tax in the POS I can turn it on or off but I can’t adjust the number.

Right now solution 3 is the one I’m going to go with if this happens again. Unfortunately with over 5000 products I wasn’t able to get that set up at the show because it was just too busy but once I got home I set up the collection options for my upcoming shows in case it happens again. If it does keep happening I will look into a tax app but it’s disappointing I would have to do that considering I used to have the option to change the tax rate and Shopify took it away.

Thanks again,

Heather

4

Like another poster mentioned, it may be good to look at a larger tax solution like Avalara/Vertex if your business is growing and your tax needs changing.