charging sales tax on ebay coupons

[dorothy122652]

not sure if the seller handles this or ebay but the tax in PA is 6% I placed and order where the tax should have been  2.70 they charged me 3.00, now I know that is only .30 but it is the principle of it that bothers me. I shouldn't have to pay tax on the 5.00 coupon. This has happened before but these little extra charges add up I think Ebay should adjust their policies

[alcoforever]

I can't speak for PA but in CA, tax is charged on coupons.   They are treated just the same as cash.   Now if a retailer has a sale where no coupons are needed, then the tax is on the amount actually paid.

[chapabargain]

Call ebay?

@dorothy122652 

[mudshark61369]

@dorothy122652,

 "not sure if the seller handles this or ebay but the tax in PA is 6% I placed and order where the tax should have been 2.70 they charged me 3.00".

eBay sellers do not handle the funds paid as sales tax. eBay as a Tax Facilitator takes the funds and distributes it to the states.  The extra .30 cents may have been charged on the shipping cost you paid if the seller give a cost.  Some states do charge sales tax on what you pay for shipping.

  " I shouldn't have to pay tax on the 5.00 coupon".

WHY NOT?  If you go to a store locally with a coupon, you are charged sales tax on the whole sale price, not the amount you paid after using the coupon. As alco mentioned a coupon spends the same way cash does.  eBay has no control over what state's decide to charge taxes on.

[allmoore00]

"WHY NOT?  If you go to a store locally with a coupon, you are charged sales tax on the whole sale price, not the amount you paid after using the coupon."

This is not accurate. In many states (if not all) sales tax is charged after any coupons and discounts are applied. This does not include gift cards, but that's not what were talking about. I believe several retailers have gotten in trouble for this practice. 

[kathiec]

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@allmoore00 wrote:

"WHY NOT?  If you go to a store locally with a coupon, you are charged sales tax on the whole sale price, not the amount you paid after using the coupon."

This is not accurate. In many states (if not all) sales tax is charged after any coupons and discounts are applied. This does not include gift cards, but that's not what were talking about. I believe several retailers have gotten in trouble for this practice. 

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Can you site your source for the statement "in many states (if not all) sales tax is charged after any coupons and discounts are applied"? Because in my state sales tax is charged on the total before coupons are applied. So I'd love to know where you're getting your numbers from.

[maytagginbird]

And your state is??  

Assuming we're talking retailer coupon (ex. home depot coupon vs duracell coupon presented in home depot (for which there is reimbursement) ... in California you generally will be charged tax on the full sales price of the item. This is because the manufacturer will reimburse the retailer for the value of the coupon redeemed. However, with store coupons, you only have to pay tax on the discounted amount you pay to the retailer 

https://www.cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub113/

Even in Texas sales tax is imposed on the actual selling price of the tangible property or the price after a cash discount has been deducted

Promotional Plans, Coupons, Retailer Reimbursement

Texas Admin RULE §3.301  ... (e) Coupons. When coupons or certificates are accepted by retailers as a part of the selling price of any taxable item, the value of the coupon or certificate is excludable from the tax as a cash discount, regardless of whether the retailer is reimbursed for the amount represented by the coupons or certificate.

https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=N&p_rloc=117245&p_tloc=14...

[kh-gary]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.