Why am I being charged sales tax on item shipping from California to Florida?

[justagirl12]

I just went to purchase something. I’m in Florida. Seller is in California. Why is sales tax being added on? 

[justagirl12]

Ok. Thank you for answering @Anonymous

Sure is nice of them to do that when their not even required. I'm sure the state of Florida will be happy.

[lacemaker3]

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@justagirl12 wrote:

Ok. Thank you for answering @Anonymous

Sure is nice of them to do that when their not even required. I'm sure the state of Florida will be happy.

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@justagirl12 wrote:

Thank you @Trinton@ebay

But that is why I'm asking. Florida hasn't joined the other states. They are still not requiring sales tax on items purchased outside Florida. ...

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Actually, Florida DOES require you to pay the sales tax, whether the seller collects it or not. This is already law in Florida, and has been for a long time.

You have to either pay the sales tax now, nice and easy, or you have to file a Use Tax report to Florida four times a year, and pay the use tax for all untaxed purchases you have made during the quarter. You can save a few percent if you do this.

http://floridarevenue.com/taxes/Pages/consumer.aspx

Have you bought or received merchandise from out of state or through the Internet? You Might Owe Florida Tax

Many citizens are not aware that Florida has a "use tax." Use tax normally applies to items purchased outside Florida, including another country, that are brought or delivered into the state and would have been taxed if purchased in Florida. The use tax rate for consumers who are not registered dealers is 6%, the same as the general sales tax rate.

Examples include:

• Purchases made through the Internet.
• Mail-order catalog purchases.
• Purchases made in another country.
• Furniture purchased from dealers located in another state.
• Computer equipment ordered from out-of-state vendors advertising in magazines.

If an out-of-state seller fails to collect sales tax, it is your responsibility to comply with Florida law. You must submit payment directly to the Florida Department of Revenue. (This payment is required by section 212.06(8), Florida Statutes.) You can file and pay use tax online, or complete an Out-of- State Purchase Return (Form DR-15MO). If the tax owed is less than one dollar, you do not have to file a return.

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[lacemaker3]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@justagirl12 wrote:

Thank you @Trinton@ebay

But that is why I'm asking. Florida hasn't joined the other states. They are still not requiring sales tax on items purchased outside Florida. That's why I don't understand why it's being charged? Essentially, eastvaleluxe is collecting sales tax for Florida when Florida hasn't made that law yet.

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Hi @justagirl12, I can reiterate that while Florida may not have passed laws requiring the collection of sales tax, a seller is within their rights to collect sales tax and remit this to the state. I encourage you to contact the seller with any questions or concerns you may have about the sales tax or discuss this with a tax professional in your area.

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@Anonymous, the seller in this situation is the eBay Authenticate seller (eastvaleluxe).

Their listings do not show a tax table. The listings state that sales tax may apply for three states only:

yet they charge sales tax in every state that I tested. I understand why they are charging tax, and that is allowed by sales tax law. That's not what I'm asking about.

My question is: 

• why do their listings not show how much sales tax will be charged for each state, as is required by eBay policy?
• I believe that they have a tax table attached to their listing, but it is not being properly displayed to buyers since eBay started collecting sales tax for Washington and Minnesota.

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https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121Setting up a tax table

You can specify a sales tax rate for each US state in which you're required to charge sales tax. You can also charge tax on shipping and handling, if it's required by law.

Buyers see your tax rates on the listing page. Once they confirm their shipping address at checkout, we automatically calculate the sales tax amount and add it to their order total.

...

Important things to keep in mind when setting up a tax table:

• When you list your item you need to indicate that you charge sales tax in the listing form and associate your tax table with the listing.
• ...

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[Anonymous]

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@lacemaker3 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@justagirl12 wrote:

Thank you @Trinton@ebay

But that is why I'm asking. Florida hasn't joined the other states. They are still not requiring sales tax on items purchased outside Florida. That's why I don't understand why it's being charged? Essentially, eastvaleluxe is collecting sales tax for Florida when Florida hasn't made that law yet.

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Hi @justagirl12, I can reiterate that while Florida may not have passed laws requiring the collection of sales tax, a seller is within their rights to collect sales tax and remit this to the state. I encourage you to contact the seller with any questions or concerns you may have about the sales tax or discuss this with a tax professional in your area.

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@Anonymous, the seller in this situation is the eBay Authenticate seller (eastvaleluxe).

Their listings do not show a tax table. The listings state that sales tax may apply for three states only:

yet they charge sales tax in every state that I tested. I understand why they are charging tax, and that is allowed by sales tax law. That's not what I'm asking about.

My question is: 

• why do their listings not show how much sales tax will be charged for each state, as is required by eBay policy?
• I believe that they have a tax table attached to their listing, but it is not being properly displayed to buyers since eBay started collecting sales tax for Washington and Minnesota.

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https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121 Setting up a tax table

You can specify a sales tax rate for each US state in which you're required to charge sales tax. You can also charge tax on shipping and handling, if it's required by law.

Buyers see your tax rates on the listing page. Once they confirm their shipping address at checkout, we automatically calculate the sales tax amount and add it to their order total.

...

Important things to keep in mind when setting up a tax table:

• When you list your item you need to indicate that you charge sales tax in the listing form and associate your tax table with the listing.
• ...

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Hi @lacemaker3, great question! I'm going to get this over to the appropriate teams for review, as the tax table should be visible for review before checkout. Thanks for getting my attention on this!

[justagirl12]

@lacemaker3 

Thank you lacemaker3! I was unaware of a tax table. Just when I hit buy it now I saw the tax added to the total. You are correct that it’s only showing tax for three states. I thought it was very odd when I saw it and that even though I wasn’t in one of those states I was/am still being charged the sales tax.

[justagirl12]

@Anonymous 

Eastvaleluxe is still showing tax for only three states but still charging sales tax to Florida.

[autopiacarcare]

There is definitely something wonky going on with the tax rate tables.  Our listings still show our tax rate table but don't show WA and MN like they should now that eBay has taken over collecting the tax in those states.  I reported this issue at the beginning of the month, but it still hasn't been resolved.

[techoes]

In some states (Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Virginia and Wyoming), separately stated shipping and/or handling costs are considered non-taxable. I don't know FL law, but here in IA it's illegal. I was asked to file a fraud complaint today by the Iowa Dept of Revenue because they've been doing it to me since Feb 1st, and file a refund claim through them for every dollar illegally taken from me. I don't believe eBay's lawyers are too stupid to know the difference between a free shipping listing with included shipping charges and a standard sale where it is separately stated and added on at checkout, but this small town "miner for truth and delusion" did. I doubt that extra money being taken from us will ever end up in state coffers. This scam is engineered for windfall profits for eBay. Instead of paying 7% tax on a $15 purchase today, they charged me $1.91 or 12.7%. It's basically a 6% "buyers premium" for eBay's pockets, & blatant robbery. These tax scams which were pushed by the big corporations benefit them while penalizing the small business owner and operator. Call your state Dept of Revenue, especially if you live in one of these 13 states, and get your money back.

[7606dennis]

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@justagirl12 wrote:

That’s the thing....Florida is NOT one of the states requiring sales tax collection. Yes, we have state sales tax, but, it only applies to in state purchases and businesses that have a location in Florida. So, eBay is collecting the tax illegally and making a lot of money on it too.

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Of course, you realize that Florida does have a USE TAX which you are liable for on all goods brought into the state unless they are being held for resale.  

[7606dennis]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@justagirl12 wrote:

That’s the thing....Florida is NOT one of the states requiring sales tax collection. Yes, we have state sales tax, but, it only applies to in state purchases and businesses that have a location in Florida. So, eBay is collecting the tax illegally and making a lot of money on it too.

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Hi @justagirl12, while eBay does currently collect and remit sales tax in states where it is required for the marketplace to do so, sellers may collect sales tax in other states as needed. The sales tax rate would not be set by county, but for the state overall. You can find more information here, and are always welcome to contact your seller with questions or concerns regarding the tax rate charged for your purchase. 

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Actually, Florida's sales tax rate varies depending upon where the item is delivered.  The base rate is 6% but local option surcharges can increase the rates to between 6-7.5%.  Alas!  It has always been a failing of eBay's system not to permit the programming of the actual rate based on the precise location of delivery.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I find it hard to believe a publicly traded company on the forefront of marketplace facilitator tax laws would be able to collect and pocket sales tax.

can they be calculating them wrong? Maybe. Outright theft I don’t believe.

[lacemaker3]

@techoes, eBay appears to be calculating the sales tax correctly for Iowa, and is not including shipping cost if it is a separate line item.

In the screenshot, if they had included the separate-line-item shipping in the calculation, it would have been (19.99 + 3.00) * 0.07 = $1.61.

Actually, it appears that they have rounded down somewhere in the calculation, because 19.99 * 0.07 = $1.39.

[techoes]

You honestly believe the company that charges sellers fees on shipping charges, is undercharging you? Your math is wrong. It's where eBay is also in error, and why I knew they were wrong before I contacted the Iowa Dept of Revenue, where I was instructed to file a fraud complaint. They ARE only charging 6% on the total transaction including the shipping charge. 6% of $22.99 which is the total in your transaction is $1.38, which they charged, to the penny. They haven't the slightest idea what they are doing. Their overseas call center employees argue over the phone that it's based on the new internet law, but provide nothing that states that, and keep telling me they are charging 6% even though I keep telling them that's the wrong amount. They shouldn't be charging tax on shipping in Iowa, but as you are aware should be charging 7% on the sale price. Better keep records of the tax your paying on shipping so you can file a refund claim through the state, as I was told to do. State officials stated, "They think your just some little fish that doesn't matter". They're going to rake in profits millions in profits from this illegal shipping tax before they rescind it, that I'll bet won't be returned to anyone nor given to the state of Iowa. Apparently you'd rather believe the big corporation over the whistle blower & state, rather than look at the simple math.

[lacemaker3]

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@techoes wrote:

... Your math is wrong. ...

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Not.

[techoes]

Do you work for eBay as most of those who post here? Otherwise, play the fool and let them rob you, I have the state on my side. Explain why I was charged $1.91 in tax for a $15 item on Monday with a $16.85 shipping charge. $1.91 is 6% of $31.85. That's basic math! YOU'RE WRONG!