Does your state charge a sales tax when shopping online?

[luvmylittleboy2003]

So annoyed! I moved from KY to CO last year, KY didn't do this, but, CO does . I didn't even know that was a possibility to do that with online purchases. CO may be beautiful and all, but, some of the stuff here really annoys the heck out of me (taxes being one).

 

[onyx8]

The state of CT charges sales tax if the store has a B&M prescence in the state - e.g. I pay sales tax on Walmart.com but not on Amazon.com.

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

The state of CT charges sales tax if the store has a B&M prescence in the state - e.g. I pay sales tax on Walmart.com but not on Amazon.com.

Yea...thats how KY was. If there was a store in KY (Walmart, Target, etc) you would pay taxes.

 

[Dominus]

Tx. does if the store has a physical location in the state. National retailers like Target are subject. But if you order something from a lone store in Florida for example, it's exempt.

 

[nunzia]

I think that's how NM is also...Disney shopping, tax..Amazon, no.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

So strange.. my mom just bought us a laptop through Amazon and we have tax in our state but she did not get charged for it.. I thought that if the u had tax in your state and it was shipped to that state than you had to pay the taxes? or else everyone from this state would head to NH where they have No tax.. Imagine buying an new car with NO tax???

 

[ssawka]

As others have stated, most eTailers charge you tax if they have a B&M presence in the states. In VA, you are suppose to pay taxes for online purchases when you file your state taxes.

 

[prncess674]

First all you don't get to shop "tax free" online. If an online store does not have a physical presence in your state then they don't have nexus and they are not required to collect and remit sales tax to your state on your behalf. When you complete your state tax return there is section where you are asked if you purchased anything from out of state that did not include sales tax, this is where you self remit "use" tax which is equal to a state's sales tax. Online/mail order used to be a small portion of sales and hence states didn't go after offenders who didn't self remit "use" tax. So by not self assessing on online purchase you are considered a tax evader. Self remitted taxes on purchases are called "Use Tax" hence the common term "sales and use tax."

 

[minnie1928]

I just listened to a webinar on this topic about a month ago. States are really feeling the pinch from all the online sales that are not producing sales tax revenue. The webinar mentioned that one of the southern states (I think it was one of the Carolinas, but not sure) hired 10 additional Sales and Use Tax auditors and they increased the state revenues by $150 million dollars. Now other states are looking at that as the example and will be following with their own expanded audits. The revenue has to come from somewhere and if they can't get it this way, then eventually they will just end up raising the sales tax rates to compensate for the lost revenue.

 

[SondraC]

So strange.. my mom just bought us a laptop through Amazon and we have tax in our state but she did not get charged for it.. I thought that if the u had tax in your state and it was shipped to that state than you had to pay the taxes? or else everyone from this state would head to NH where they have No tax.. Imagine buying an new car with NO tax???

That is why we just bought our 2 MacBooks from Amazon. Not only were they discount on the ticket price, but no tax really adds up!!

 

[prncess674]

That is why we just bought our 2 MacBooks from Amazon. Not only were they discount on the ticket price, but no tax really adds up!!

There IS tax it is called USE tax! You may be choosing to evade the tax by choosing not to report it, but that is an offense and you can be audited by your state and would be assessed interest AND penalties if you do.

 

[luvmy3]

So strange.. my mom just bought us a laptop through Amazon and we have tax in our state but she did not get charged for it.. I thought that if the u had tax in your state and it was shipped to that state than you had to pay the taxes? or else everyone from this state would head to NH where they have No tax.. Imagine buying an new car with NO tax???

I'm pretty sure you will have to pay tax on your car when you register it in the state you live. When we ended our lease in a NY, we had to pay the difference in sales tax from where we originally leased the vehicle. Its been over 10 years so I don't rememeber the details but I know somehow we owed NY State money

I used to be able to shop Amazon tax free, but those days are long gone. Otherwise I only pay sales tax on purchases from a store with b&m in my state. I also report my internet purchases on my income tax every year.

 

[Lewisc]

You're required to pay "use" tax if the vendor doesn't collect sales tax. NY has a line on the income tax form where you indicate the amount of tax you owe. You can use a "safe harbor" amount, which is based on your income.

States can, and some do, get reports from mail order vendors. Allows them to bill use tax, and penalties, to residents who "forget" to pay the tax.

Amazon collects sales tax for products shipped to NY. NY was tired of losing tax revenue. Paying an affiliate commission to a NY company/resident is now enough of a presence to require collecting tax. NY won the court case. I'd think other states will follow.

 

[MEM]

You're required to pay "use" tax if the vendor doesn't collect sales tax. NY has a line on the income tax form where you indicate the amount of tax you owe. You can use a "safe harbor" amount, which is based on your income.

States can, and some do, get reports from mail order vendors. Allows them to bill use tax, and penalties, to residents who "forget" to pay the tax.

Amazon collects sales tax for products shipped to NY. NY was tired of losing tax revenue. Paying an affiliate commission to a NY company/resident is now enough of a presence to require collecting tax. NY won the court case. I'd think other states will follow.

Its the same here in Taxachusetts and my DH is a real stickler for reporting the amount of tax we owe.

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

I had no idea about the 'use' part...thanks for the heads up

 

[romburgundy]

no

 

[amylynne01]

So strange.. my mom just bought us a laptop through Amazon and we have tax in our state but she did not get charged for it.. I thought that if the u had tax in your state and it was shipped to that state than you had to pay the taxes? or else everyone from this state would head to NH where they have No tax.. Imagine buying an new car with NO tax???

You can buy the car with no tax, but you have to pay it to get it registered. In MA, you can buy a car, and if you choose to finance the purchase, you can roll the sales tax into the financing. If you buy a car in NH but live in MA, you pay the sales tax when you register the vehicle. So there's no perk to buying a car in NH - still pay the tax somehow.

I think it's so hard to calculate the use tax if you live in a border town. I live in MA on the NH line, and I do about half my shopping there. So it's a lot to keep track of especially since food is not taxed in MA, so I don't have to worry about that. But still a pain.

 

[lucyem]

So strange.. my mom just bought us a laptop through Amazon and we have tax in our state but she did not get charged for it.. I thought that if the u had tax in your state and it was shipped to that state than you had to pay the taxes? or else everyone from this state would head to NH where they have No tax.. Imagine buying an new car with NO tax???

You pay here in NH when you register your car and you pay yearly property tax on that car. Personally I would rather have less property tax and pay sales tax. You have some control over what you buy. It's very sad to watch elderly on fixed incomes having to sell property they have lived in for 30+ years because they cannot afford the property tax any more.

 

[cm8]

Tx. does if the store has a physical location in the state. National retailers like Target are subject. But if you order something from a lone store in Florida for example, it's exempt.

Yes, this!

 

[Darcy03231]

Since I live in NH I don't pay a sales tax in the stores (other than tax on prepared meals at the grocery store) whether shopping on-line or in a B&M store.