Sales Tax options

[CedarandPearl]

There is currently a thread in the Forums regarding sales tax issues for some states like NY where figuring in the tax rate is not as simple as putting in your location. NY charges sales tax based on county of the buyer, not the seller, and county doesn't always equal zip code. This certainly isn't an easy situation to deal with for any NY seller (or any other state that has similar interesting sales tax requirements).

Many of us currently have to refund a purchase and ask the buyer to REBUY the same items using the "other" payment option so we can issue them an invoice through Paypal. An absolute pain for all involved. The problem now is that with DC, there's really no way to do that sort of invoicing.

So... Admin... could you address this please? Perhaps have the buyer put in their county of residence during their purchase so it can calculate a tax rate? Or somehow let us put in a tax rate manually for a sale prior to completing the payment? We need some way to deal with this now that Paypal isn't really the standard form of payment on Etsy.

[AliciasFindings]

Also where does one find out how much sales tax to charge? An accountant or who? I am in NJ.

[OriginalsbyLauren]

Stephanie, I am in NY too and what I did was charge everyone 8% and then I have to figure each sale out and put in the difference myself.

I know , not the best system, but it is such a nightmare. Luckily I don't have too many NY customers.

I too wish there was an easier way.

[CedarandPearl]

Thanks Lauren for that information, I still just wish there was a way for us to put in by County instead of by Zip or by Zip range.

[CalliesCraftCottage]

Colorado has the same problem.

[CedarandPearl]

I've posted in a couple of places (as have others) requesting a change to the current sales tax calculation method. Technically, if we're able to put in by a range of zip codes, there should be no reason why we can't put a specific tax rate in by county instead. It would be more of a hassle for us to put in all of the rates than for ETSY to put in the county names... I think. But if multiple states have this problem, it should be addressed.

Maybe posting to the Ideas section of the Forum would get some response?

[LaurasLastDitch]

Could you charge the highest NY tax rate and refund the difference, as a stop-gap measure until Etsy can fix this?

[MaryMorrisJewelry]

In Washington, the Department of Revenue put out a list that breaks down all on the different tax rates. That makes it easier to set up the taxes I collect.
You might see if this is available in your state.

[Former_Member]

I am only guessing that the differences would be a fraction of a percent and for the time involved figuring out how to refund or charge the extra, it might be easier to just eat the expense and move on. I know all of these things add up and we all want to save what we can, but I always think of what I am worth per hour doing what I do best, so if I need to spend 5 minutes to save 3 cents, I am working for 36 cents an hour.

[CedarandPearl]

The owner of one of the NY shops here has done extensive research into this and has called the state office many times for the actual rules on this situation, and according to NYS law, as someone who has registered to collect sales tax, we are required to collect the amount from the buyer directly and cannot supplement the amount on our own. That's apparently a fraudulent activity. It just seems that there has to be some way to do this legally and still manage to do this through DC if that's the new payment form, especially if the trend will be for more and more people to use DC for their Etsy shopping.

Here's a thread from her about that information, 4th comment down:

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7714/ideas/discuss/10436616/

[LaurasLastDitch]

Oh, good grief. I hate to say it, but I think this just shows there are some laws you just have to break, while still doing the best you can.

[caroldelorenzo]

What are California sellers doing with sales tax and DC? Anyone have any good ideas? Thanks for the help!

[millabear]

Hi everyone,
At the moment, the best way to address this would be to charge the highest amount for NY and then refund buyers who are in a lesser amount zip code (since refunds work well). Being able to input tax rates by county is something on our radar, but until then, this might be the easiest way to address this.

Camilla

[cutterstone]

Carol -- Is there a problem with DC and CA sales tax? I have not done anything different! Gosh everyone, I though CA sales tax was a nightmare, and I don't see why the NY Board of Equalization or whatever they are called, should care who pays the tax, as long as it's paid. I mean, what if there's a legitimate error, you don't contact the customer 6 months down the road and ask for more tax.

[caroldelorenzo]

I haven't had a California sale yet with DC, but I'm still not clear on how we add the sales tax to the the DC invoice? John.n.Deni, how are you doing it? Or anyone else?

Thanks for the help!

Carol

[HomespunFabric]

Camilla - sales tax in NYS really needs to be by county where the item is delivered. In the near future that is going to be even more important as the USPS goes through all the proposed changes. NYS does require the sales tax to be based by county not by ZIP Code.

[CedarandPearl]

Thank you, Camilla, for letting us know we're on your radar. I'm pleased to know that this may be something available in the future... I just hope it's the near future if possible. There are lots of us who would really like to be able to do this an accurate way based on the state, and at this point it's not really possible at all.

I've heard from some people that are charging the average 8% sales tax in the state, but that's still not quite according to the laws (and Last Ditch Laura, you're so right... it's just not all that comforting to know that we have no alternative until this issue is really addressed directly)