In Texas and other states coins are exempt from sales tax. However eBay is collecting sales tax.

[zgreywolf]

Texas Administrative Code Title 34 Part 1 Chapter 3 Subchapter 0 Rule 3.336

"Effective Oct. 1, 2013, the sales of gold, silver, or numismatic coins, or of gold, silver, or platinum is exempted from Texas sales and use tax. "

3.) "Numismatic coin- A coin that is not used as a medium of exchange or whose price depends more on characteristics such as beauty, rarity, or condition than on its metal content or face value."

Many other states exempt coins from sales tax yet eBay persists in adding sales tax illegally. Sellers do not add the tax and are powerless to remove the tax. I have had this problem with eBay for 2 years now. I have  spent hours on the phone with eBay flunkies that are powerless to remove the illegally charged tax. I have given them the above info to pass on to a "mythical tax team" and been told I would get a call back when the tax issue has been corrected. That was in Aug. 2023, it is now May 2024 and still no phone call or email or notice that the illegal tax has been stopped. So after buying thousands of dollars worth of coins on eBay for over 20 years I have stopped buying coins on eBay.

[simba6]

Save all the paperwork.  Contact your state's income tax office for the form to file for a refund of it.  You often can find it on-line and print it.

Growing pains of all the different tax laws in the country.

[kensgiftshop]

Are the items listed in the correct categories?

Some list them in the wrong category and you will be charged sales tax.

[retrogrademan]

THey have started doing the same thing to me in TN. Same blanket exemption for coins and bullion, all have been US silver coins like half dollars, all purchased in the US coins/half dollars category and although it doesn't matter... all are of silver bullion.  And yesd, its like talking to the brick wall, they don't know, their "experts" don't know and they will do nothing but say you have to pay the improperly assessed fees and you can file a complaint that they do not respond too.

[zgreywolf]

They have told me every time to pay for the coins and then contact eBay again and ask for a refund. They said it takes about 60 days. Why should we front a multibillion dollar company our money and hope to get a refund? Why should we be complicit in their illegally collecting taxes the state does not assess?

[zgreywolf]

In 2 minutes on the web eBay can find the tax exempt status of coins just like I did. I am not going to petition each state I buy coins from for a refund. The tax should not have been assessed by eBay in the first place. The states have not taken the money from me, eBay did.

[zgreywolf]

These sellers know how to list coins under coins. If there is a "secret" listing category eBay should share it with the sellers to stop this nonsense.

[krazzykats]

What Precious Metals Are Taxed?

Taxes must be collected on Palladium Bullion products, Platinum and Palladium Bullion Coins, certain Currency, certain Copper products, accessory items, and processed items.

Texas Bullion Sales Taxes - APMEX

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@zgreywolf wrote:

These sellers know how to list coins under coins. If there is a "secret" listing category eBay should share it with the sellers to stop this nonsense.

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@zgreywolf 

It is more than just "category". There are certain coins sub-categories that aren't automatically eligible for tax exemptions. In my state, .999 silver bullion is exempt, however listing in the bullion category and titling the listing .999 fine silver bullion isnt enough. The listing needs to state Fineness: .999 and Composition: Silver in the "Item Specifics" section. That initiates the tax exemption on eBay's algorithms.

In the Commemorative Coins category, many US Modern Commems will be taxed if the denomination isn't listed in the "Item Specifics" section of the listing.

I am yet to find an example of a listing in "Other Coins & Paper Money" to be tax exempt.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS EBAY DOES NOT PROVIDE SELLERS INFORMATION, RESOURCES OR TRAINING  THAT HELPS SELLERS UNDERSTAND HOW TO PROPERLY CRAFT LISTINGS TO CONFORM TO THEIR ALGORITHMS AND PROPERLY ASSESS SALES TAX.

One can argue, with this knowledge, sellers could exploit it. However, without it, sellers are none the wiser and make CONSTANT mistakes.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@zgreywolf wrote:

In 2 minutes on the web eBay can find the tax exempt status of coins just like I did. I am not going to petition each state I buy coins from for a refund. The tax should not have been assessed by eBay in the first place. The states have not taken the money from me, eBay did.

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1) the state you buy from doesn't matter. Its only your state. Taxes are based on your state, not the state they're sold from.

2) If you petition the state, they'll tell you it's on the merchant. If you go to eBay, they'll say they complied with the law based on the information they were provided by the seller. The listing and all it's info and details are the seller's responsibility. The seller will say "Duh, I don't know, ask eBay". You'll be spun in circles.

The seller is at fault for improperly listing. EBay is at fault for not providing resources and education to sellers on this topic. Inevitably, the buyer gets shafted

[zgreywolf]

Check the Texas statute I listed at the start of this topic. Apmex and other sellers website info is not exactly what Texas Administrative Code says. Platinum is exempt, so are copper coins. Any numismatic coin is exempt including world (foreign) coins. The Texas Code is very clear. EBay simply fails to apply Texas tax code.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@zgreywolf wrote:

Check the Texas statute I listed at the start of this topic. Apmex and other sellers website info is not exactly what Texas Administrative Code says. Platinum is exempt, so are copper coins. Any numismatic coin is exempt including world (foreign) coins. The Texas Code is very clear. EBay simply fails to apply Texas tax code.

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EBay doesn't know what a seller is selling. Only the seller knows what the seller is selling. The seller must enter the proper information and details for eBay's algorithm to properly identify the item for tax purposes. It falls upon the seller, although eBay has not provided proper training.

There have been times I have been charged sales tax improperly because of a seller's mistake. I have never had a problem asking a seller to relist the item properly in order to avoid improper taxes. There have been times I ate the tax because I was already aware of it ahead of time, I didn't feel like dealing with the seller (those sellers in particular were idiots), or the tax was small enough to not be worth the effort. In any case, those were the seller's fault, not eBay's, and I just didn't have the patience or time. However, in other cases, I've had no issue working with the seller to relist. 

[monroe67]

"These sellers know how to list coins under coins. If there is a "secret" listing category eBay should share it with the sellers to stop this nonsense."

Approximately two months ago, my eBay selling ID sold -- on eBay -- the last of her inherited collection of American Eagle Silver Dollar coins.  The buyer of that coin and, for the most part, buyers of the other coins in that smallish collection did not pay sales taxes to their states on those eBay sales of those coins.  

Why?  Perhaps because of my overly-obsessive obsession with accuracy and truth.  It's not a matter of choosing a secret category; it just requires sellers to have the mindset and take the time to  choose the most accurate category.  I made sure that the eBay item category those coins were listed in were coins and/or bullion and/or silver.  (These sales spanned the last 3 1/2 years, and at this point I can't remember every detail.)  


I have some questions for you and other people who post their concerns over the sales taxes you/they pay to their states based on purchases you make on eBay:  
How much sales tax did you pay on this particular purchase?  Was it like 45 cents or maybe $6.00, $7.00 or more?
Are you aware of whether your state also chooses to impose sales taxes on the amount you pay for postage on your eBay purchases?  
You do realize those sales taxes go to your state's Treasury or Revenue Department, whatever your state chooses to call it, don't you?
Do you think your state is going to use your, let's say, $6.00 wisely?  I have no idea how every state disburses their sales tax revenue, but I imagine these sales taxes help to pay for state-wide functions such as a state-wide highway patrol, or upkeep of public land, buildings, and property, or the state court system, or state universities.  I don't know; these are w.a.gs.  

Could you possibly find it in your heart to allow your state to keep  those sales taxes?  Maybe your $6.00 sales tax on this purchase will help to plant another three or four flowers in front of your state's Capitol building.  Or help your state's highway patrol keep their vehicles in perfect operating condition.  

If you can't find any justification for your state to keep those six dollars when you could use that money to much better advantage, the thing for you to do is try to retrieve them from your state's treasury.  You'll want to research your state's sales tax policies and procedures for info on how to get the money back; this eBay forum is not the best place to find that answer.  

Oh, by the way -- yes, eBay is required to calculate, collect, and remit sales taxes to the states to which eBay purchases are sent (via USPS, FedEx, UPS, whatever).   All of the 45 states with state-wide sales taxation have incorporated the Marketplace Facilitation laws into their own state laws.  See the US Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v Wayfair, Inc., June 21, 2018.  The sales-tax-free states are Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, and Delaware.  Alaska has no state-wide sales taxes, but some communities do impose sales taxes.  

[edeus66]

Not in Texas. ALL NUMISMATIC ITEMS are untaxable.