Taxes - Based in Germany, trying to sell US-based products to US costumers

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

Germany-based seller plans to dropship US-based products to US customers via Shopify/Spocket, without setting up a US LLC. Core question: without US “nexus” (a taxable connection such as physical presence or employees), are US sales taxes owed, and how should Shopify tax settings be configured?

They report two accountants could only advise on German VAT, not US sales tax. Implicit question: does German VAT apply to goods shipped from US suppliers directly to US customers (i.e., outside the EU VAT scope)?

Another participant from Germany asks if an answer was found, specifically whether VAT registration is needed and how US taxes apply.

No resolutions, decisions, or setup steps were provided. Key issues remain open: confirming US sales tax obligations without nexus, clarifying any German VAT implications for US-destined sales, and the correct Shopify tax configuration for this scenario.

Summarized with AI on December 17. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello!
I would like to use Shopify to dropship US-
based products available on Spocket (suppliers are located in different places in US) to US costumers. I live in Germany. I have not set up a LLC or anything because I was told that I do not need to pay taxes on the US if I don’t have a nexus there (I am not based there/don’t have a dependant employee there/don’t have an independent employee that works mostly for me there). Is this correct, even though the supplier is based in US? How should I set up my taxes settings on Shopify?

I already spoke with two accountants but they’re not familiar with US taxes, they only clarified the German VAT taxes, which is not related to this case.

would appreciate any help!

2

Hello,

I am also in Germany and want to sell in the us. Did you find an answer? Do i need to make a vat? How about us taxes?