SALES TAX

[consignandcollect]

I just started selling on eBay through my business.  In my brick-and-mortar store in Pennsylvania, I am required to charge 6% sales tax on most things, although clothing is tax free in my state.  I thought that since I do not have any other stores in other states, that would mean tax only gets charged to those items I am shipping to addresses in Pennsylvania.  So why, then, is eBay collecting tax on the items I've sold to other states? For example, I sold a vase to a customer in Massachusetts and no tax was collected.  I sold boots to a customer in Texas and tax was collected.  

And am I required to report this as tax collected since ebay is collecting and remitting?

I am totally confused, and don't want to start out on the wrong foot!

[mr_lincoln]

@consignandcollect  This has been going on for quite a while, ALL venues including eBay collect and remit sales tax based on the Buyer's state.  They remit the sales tax to the states is applies to.   For your IN state shipments they are also collecting and remitting the PA State sales tax as well.

[releasethekraken_1]

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@consignandcollect wrote:

So why, then, is eBay collecting tax on the items I've sold to other states?

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They're collecting it because many states have passed a "Marketplace facilitator" law that requires large entities such as eBay to collect sales tax for purchases made through their website. eBay collects the tax and sends it to the buyer's state. The alternative would have been to force you to collect that tax and send it to each of the states where you had a buyer, which would have been a nightmare.