eBay now charging sales tax

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Brian10956

Brian10956

Member
Mar 15, 2017
1,804
52
New York, United States
I just made an eBay purchase and eBay added on sales tax so I guess depending on your state you may have to pay tax. I think they messed up I’m in NY an out of state vendor who does less than $300,000 in the last 4 quarters doesn’t have to register for sales tax but eBay decided to make it easy and they are charging anyway. I guess I will see if I can call companies direct to order. You have to check your state rules to see what’s going on 

link from eBay on the state tax rules

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=3&pos=3&query=Paying%20tax%20on%20eBay%20purchases&intent=Sales%20tax&context=DEFAULT_BUYER&lucenceai=lucenceai#section3
 
Ebay item are being taxed state by state and here is the list and dated they were activated, down the page a bit

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=2&pos=2&query=Paying%20tax%20on%20eBay%20purchases&intent=tax

some states the sales tax are low but here in Washington it is 10% +or- depending on the city, county but we don't have personal income taxes but the addition of the tax on Ebay has taken much of the fun out of it

as times goes by if you have a sales tax in your state you will join the growing club of payers
 
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Oddly, it shows Iowa as effective February 1, 2019. If you click on the link, it then says January 1, 2019. But I can attest that as recent as last year I paid tax on a few Ebay items in 2018. I just assumed that it was because Ebay has a large datacenter in central Iowa. Or maybe I just got duped.

PT
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They would collect tax from certain large retailers that sold on eBay which had a presence in your state. For example, you buy something from Best Buy’s eBay store and you’d pay tax since they have a physical store in Des Moines. Sellers used to be able to opt in to tax collections on their listings but now it’s mandatory.
 
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They would collect tax from certain large retailers that sold on eBay which had a presence in your state. For example, you buy something from Best Buy’s eBay store and you’d pay tax since they have a physical store in Des Moines. Sellers used to be able to opt in to tax collections on their listings but now it’s mandatory.
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That makes sense..
 
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The person I bought from told me he has a hobby business and does less than 20,000 a year in business last year he had 5 sales in NY average $34 each. NY sales tax law if a out of state vendor does less than $300,000 a year or less than 200 transactions they don’t need to collect tax. eBay seems to be treating all vendors as one. Hopefully their accountants will see they are making a mistake. 
 
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I just made an eBay purchase and eBay added on sales tax so I guess depending on your state you may have to pay tax. I think they messed up I’m in NY an out of state vendor who does less than $300,000 in the last 4 quarters doesn’t have to register for sales tax but eBay decided to make it easy and they are charging anyway. I guess I will see if I can call companies direct to order. You have to check your state rules to see what’s going on cheap tax preparation near me

link from eBay on the state tax rules

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/paying-tax-ebay-purchases?id=4771&st=3&pos=3&query=Paying%20tax%20on%20eBay%20purchases&intent=Sales%20tax&context=DEFAULT_BUYER&lucenceai=lucenceai#section3
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How did you solve the tax issue?
 
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I only use eBay when there is no other option. When possible I try to deal directly with an eBay vendor but it’s difficult to get their direct contact info. If you see it’s a vendor that that also has there own store you can call their brick and mortar location and talk turkey. Especially now with the messed up economy there are vendors that are willing to sell at more attractive prices. 

 
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yes , I am in Illinois one of the biggest ripoff money grabbing states there is , 3 governors have been in prison & probably more that should be, any way I purchase lots of semi truck & trailor parts , music gear (guitars, amps, speakers, ect), not all charge tax (truck parts), but the majority do(especially eBay) , I always ask the seller if they chg tax , & most say its up to ebay rules , its been going on since sometime in 2019 
 
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I have been seeing this for a while now as well, when purchasing from what appears to be businesses on eBay.

As someone else said, states are just catching up to the times now that so much is online. Many are working together to ensure that they can collect their money. Some are changing their laws to ensure they get the taxes they feel they deserve. There have been "use tax" laws in place in many states that require you to pay use tax when you don't pay sales tax. The problem is that most people completely ignore that, whether to save money or because they can't track it. In the end, these ways of changing sales tax collection will continue so that states get the money that people avoid paying. Just because someone isn't required to collect it from you, it doesn't necessarily meant you are supposed to pay it. 

I am not a fan of high taxes either, but these states are going to get their funds one way or another to continue their spending habits. 
 
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What I can’t understand eBay even charges sales tax in NY when the eBay vendor is not in the USA . I’ve ordered directly from Europe and Asia and never had sales tax added on. What like on camera gear anyway B&H photo in NY doesn’t charge sales tax anywhere in the USA if you use their credit card. Since their photo gear prices are decent and they have a good reputation I’m getting most of my camera gear from them. Hopefully other vendors will offer similar promotions to save the tax charge. What B&H is doing is paying the tax so the states stay happy but they do it out of their pocket not the customers 
 
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