What it is
A business can owe sales tax in a state where it has no office, once its sales into that state pass the state's limit. Each state sets its own limit, often $100,000 of sales a year, and its own forms, rates and due dates. Marketplaces such as Amazon usually collect the tax on their own sales, but sales through your own website, such as a Shopify store, are yours to handle.
Who needs it
- An online seller shipping to customers in other states
- A Shopify, WooCommerce or similar store whose sales are growing in states outside California
- A seller on Amazon or another marketplace who also sells through their own website
- A business that has received a letter or a questionnaire from another state's tax agency
- A business that realizes it should have registered in another state in past years
What we do
- Review your sales by state against each state's limit, and show which states you owe in now and which are close
- Register for a sales tax permit in each state where you must collect
- Separate marketplace sales from your own website's sales, so the same sale is not taxed twice
- Prepare and file each state's returns on its schedule, monthly, quarterly or yearly
- Answer letters from other states' tax agencies
- Where past years were missed, help you come forward through the state's voluntary disclosure program, which usually reduces penalties
What to bring
- Sales reports by state from your store or platform, for example Shopify's tax and sales reports
- Marketplace reports showing tax the marketplace collected for you
- Any sales tax permits you already hold, in any state
- Any letters from a state tax agency
What happens next
We start with a review of where you sell. Many sellers find they owe in only a few states, and knowing which ones lets you register before penalties build up. For California sales tax, see the Sales Tax page.
