A new sales tax just for resellers | Selling

onlinecentral · 2025-09-27T18:43:51.932000Z

Resellers will pay a sales tax on their final value fees, which are now considered to be a Taxable Data Processing Service in Texas. A new sales tax just for resellers 7:25 Midwest Picker Resellers Beware: Texas Passes a New Tax Law 6:45 ChaChingKinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMcgb_QIGPc Resellers Beware: Sales Tax on Marketplace Fees has begun 12:19 Nikki Buyshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfQCap4AVsc

glorybells

·1 year ago

1477 View listings

So, a reseller would be someone who buys items specifically to resell them here, right?

Then it doesnâ€™t sound like (even if I lived in one of those states), it would effect someone in my situation, where Iâ€™m selling unneeded items from my house, plus items I make. I know Iâ€™m not the only one who does this.

mam98031

·1 year ago

Owner / Operator19752 View listings

@glorybells wrote:
So, a reseller would be someone who buys items specifically to resell them here, right?

Then it doesnâ€™t sound like (even if I lived in one of those states), it would effect someone in my situation, where Iâ€™m selling unneeded items from my house, plus items I make. I know Iâ€™m not the only one who does this.

Good questions. Ones I have no answers for, but my guess would be on the items you make and sale would fall under the tax rule. However for reasons I previously stated, I'm not sure how a state can do that. But I have not read through the article that Christworks gave in their post yet.

dolcetreasures

·1 year ago

4666 View listings

This is completely bonkers, nuts.

bashort

·1 year ago

12014 View listings

In Illinois the corrupt state government taxes EVERYTHING to the absolute max and is always looking for new ways to tax, I can not imagine that they will not pile on this also.

meme6253

·1 year ago

3989 View listings

Vampires are on the loose!

stephenmorgan

·1 year ago

1221 View listings

Is the tax to the person who lives in Texas and sells something or is it form anyone who sells something and sends it to Texas?

I agree that once Texas implements it and has it running smoothly it will spread to other states.

bonanza125

·1 year ago

8889 View listings

Be thankful you have the laws you have in Texas and not other states. Other states you would be paying significantly more.

christworks

·1 year ago

1406 View listings

This applies to Texas and also to resellers in the State of Washington as they, too, passed a similar law.

BUT - It is very important to note that neither Texas nor Washington have a state income tax. This is why there is little to no pushback in these states.

These YouTubers, in their rush to "be the first" and make a mountain out of a molehill, fail to point that out because they are either ignorant and do not do their research, or because it won't get them the clicks.

I'm someone who is 100% against taxes in general, but I'd rather pay a small tax on my user fees than to be saddled with income tax.

Could other states try to pass similar laws? Possibly, especially the handful of other states that do not have an income tax. I would not stress over it either way because in the big picture it amounts to very little.

If I gross $100,000/year, and I pay an average of 13% in selling fees, that's $13,000. In Texas, the first 20% is exempt (also an important detail).

$13,000 x .80 = $10,400 (taxable amount)

The base sales tax rate in Texas is 6.25%, but localities can add up to 2% in local sales taxes to that. So, let's assume 8.25%, the max, is the rate a Texas reseller will be taxed at.

$10,400 x 0.0825 = $858.00

While $858 is a lot of money, assuming you are making 60% net on your 100k gross, you make less than $1k less overall. If you are a volume seller, you can raise the cost of your items by a dime and have your buyers cover the difference. A dime increase in price won't keep you from getting a sale.

This is just not worth the YouTube hype.

gurlcat

·1 year ago

2004 View listings

@christworks wrote:
This applies to Texas and also to resellers in the State of Washington as they, too, passed a similar law.

These YouTubers, in their rush to "be the first" and make a mountain out of a molehill, fail to point that out because they are either ignorant and do not do their research, or because it won't get them the clicks.

..... and then have their videos shared in other eBay spaces online, like here, except those sharers won't get paid for it. Unless that's YOUR Youtube channel @onlinecentral ? And why not include "Texas" in the thread title, rather than make it look like this will effect all of us?

onlinecentral

OP1 year ago

15332 View listings

@gurlcat

Unless that's YOUR Youtube channel
I have no content on my YouTube channel.

And why not include "Texas" in the thread title,
a) Looking at the Selling Discussion board, the first sentence under the discussion title does say IN TEXAS. The word TEXAS is visible a second time as well.
b) My repeated attempts to upload the video with the word Texas in the title and duration of 6:45 were rejected. So, I uploaded another video.

rather than make it look like this will effect all of us?
Messages 4 and 7 and the videos suggest other states may/will adopt equivalent taxes.

mam98031

·1 year ago

Owner / Operator19752 View listings

@christworks

Do you happen to have a link to that new tax for the state of Washington? I can't seem to find it.

I'm honestly not sure how they could make the selling fees taxable since they are part of COGS. But I'm certainly willing to learn so I make sure I'm doing things as I should.

christworks

·1 year ago

1406 View listings

@mam98031 wrote:
@christworks

Do you happen to have a link to that new tax for the state of Washington? I can't seem to find it.

I'm honestly not sure how they could make the selling fees taxable since they are part of COGS. But I'm certainly willing to learn so I make sure I'm doing things as I should.

Here is a decent article on it. It is SB 5814 and goes into effect October 1.

It is clear that advertising fees will be subject to sales tax. There is more of a question of whether selling fees will also be taxed. It depends on how the phrase "data process services" is interpreted. If it is seen in a broader context, it could very well include "market facilitator" services, like eBay collecting sales tax (see the irony) on behalf of the reseller. I have not seen any statement by eBay on this stuff, but PM did send out an email about it and they will be collecting sales tax for their platform fees for both Texas and Washington.

mam98031

·1 year ago

Owner / Operator19752 View listings

@christworks

Thank you. I haven't read the entire article but I will and I appreciate it that you supplied it. Just off the cuff, I don't think they can tax Ebay fees because they do a Simplified Fee structure [one fee for selling something] because it includes processing fees to process the money and the sale. Processing fees are not advertising fees, but since Ebay does the Simplified fee structure they can't break that out. Maybe on the 30-40 cent per transaction fee could be taxed, but I really doubt it.

Again, thank you for the added information and for bringing this subject to our attention.

christworks

·1 year ago

1406 View listings

@mam98031 wrote:
@christworks

Thank you. I haven't read the entire article but I will and I appreciate it that you supplied it. Just off the cuff, I don't think they can tax Ebay fees because they do a Simplified Fee structure [one fee for selling something] because it includes processing fees to process the money and the sale. Processing fees are not advertising fees, but since Ebay does the Simplified fee structure they can't break that out. Maybe on the 30-40 cent per transaction fee could be taxed, but I really doubt it.

Again, thank you for the added information and for bringing this subject to our attention.

You are welcome. Like a lot of things, sellers with already thin margins will be most impacted by any new taxes. It isn't going to impact most sellers, which is good, but something to watch over the next year or two to see if states with income taxes start adopting broader definitions of these terms. Also, IMHO, this is something the platforms should be fighting against. It is not in their business interest to have any sellers charged more taxes, no matter the amount.

mam98031

·1 year ago

Owner / Operator19752 View listings

I didn't read all the supporting documents, my eyes started going cross. But they can only tax what comes in to the state of Washington. So it can be on all sales because I reside in Washington. But then they would have to get Ebay to stop with the Simplified Fee and get them to break it down. I don't think they can force them to do that as it would be a pretty big change.

Who knows they may find some way to apply this tax for things I sell inside my state. That would be a pretty small amount, so I'm not to concerned at this point.

I do however appreciate you putting this on my radar as I will try to keep a close watch on this as I'm sure there will be changes.

richard1rst

·1 year ago

53683 View listings

@christworks wrote:
I'm someone who is 100% against taxes in general, but I'd rather pay a small tax on my user fees than to be saddled with income tax.

Yep. Nevada has a sales tax but no income tax. Costs me about $12,000 in sales tax to register my 2 cars. I'd rather have the income tax. The numbers are easier to manipulate.

christworks

·1 year ago

1406 View listings

@richard1rst wrote:
@christworks wrote:
I'm someone who is 100% against taxes in general, but I'd rather pay a small tax on my user fees than to be saddled with income tax.
Yep. Nevada has a sales tax but no income tax. Costs me about $12,000 in sales tax to register my 2 cars. I'd rather have the income tax. The numbers are easier to manipulate.

I imagine if you have luxury vehicles that's about right. For those who live in higher income tax areas, I think they'd rather have the sales tax.

mam98031

·1 year ago

Owner / Operator19752 View listings

@richard1rst wrote:
@christworks wrote:
I'm someone who is 100% against taxes in general, but I'd rather pay a small tax on my user fees than to be saddled with income tax.
Yep. Nevada has a sales tax but no income tax. Costs me about $12,000 in sales tax to register my 2 cars. I'd rather have the income tax. The numbers are easier to manipulate.

What @christworks is talking about is different than that. A sales tax on Ebay Fees to a seller. That is something VERY different and I'm not sure about this until I read more about it. But I can't seem to find anything about it except what has been on this thread. I could be looking in all the wrong places.

monroe67

·1 year ago

199 View listings

A brief Google of this subject shows that this Texas rule --

so far applicable ONLY to Texas --

has been effective since April 2, 2025. So, that's almost six months ago.

BUT there's an additional part that says:

"Effective Oct. 1, 2025, marketplace provider services may be included in taxable data processing services if they involve the computerized entry, retrieval, search, compilation, manipulation, or storage of data or information provided by the purchaser or the purchaserâ€™s designee." (Emphasis added.)

Gosh. Will all Texas eBay sellers be closing their accounts ?!?
WHY does Texas want so much of its residents' money ???

toomuchstuffagain35

·1 year ago

176 View listings

So do they also charge this fee to anyone that issues an invoice? I'd think that would also fall under those criteria.

monroe67

·1 year ago

199 View listings

"In response to monroe67

So do they also charge this fee to anyone that issues an invoice? I'd think that would also fall under those criteria."

Got me. I know very little about this Texas sales tax, just what I've read in that one brief Google search.

I don't live in Texas so it won't really affect me, at least not right away. Until or unless California implements a similar tax, it means nothing to me.

Going about my household chores and errands today, I have wondered how eBay is going to handle this tax, if they even have to be involved. Like unwanted intrusive thoughts.
It seems kind of circular and confusing and convoluted to me. But, again, Ms. Monroe no sabe matematicas.

If a Texas seller sells something for $100.00 to somebody in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles buyer pays about 10% sales tax, so round to $10.00 that eBay has to send to Sacramento.

eBay will probably charge a 13.6% Final Value Fee. So of the FVF that eBay keeps on this transaction, $1.36 is based on the 10% California sales tax.

SO: The Texas seller will owe sales tax (to Austin, TX) equal to 80% of [Texas' sales tax rate x $1.36] ?????
I can't even guess that amount because I don't know the sales tax rate in Texas, let alone whether Texas has one sales tax rate for the whole state or if the sales tax rates vary from county to county.

Isn't that sort of, almost, kind of, like A Tax on A Tax ?? But "legal", because it's Texas ??

Is eBay required to collect this new Texas sales tax and send it to Austin on behalf of the seller ??
What kind of end-of-year reporting, if any, will eBay be required to create and send to Austin and the seller ??

Or does the seller just kind of keep track and send money monthly or quarterly or annually ??

I'm glad I don't have to figure this out for eBay. Or for Texans or Texas itself.
Not even 6:00 p.m. in California and I want to take a nap now . . . . . . .

soh.maryl

·1 year ago

111 View listings

How did that make its way through the Texas State Legislature without protests?

Did no one know about it?