Sales Tax

[alexguer_27]

why is a fee charged on sales tax if the buyer has an exempt sales tax certificate?

[alcoforever]

I don't follow your question.   If buyer is sales tax exempt, there is no sales tax on which to charge a fee.   What am I missing?

[caldreamer]

Your tax certificate only exempts you from paying sales tax on YOUR purchases.   Tax exemption doesn't apply to "sales tax" paid by your CUSTOMERS.

When CUSTOMER make a purchase EBAY charges selling fees on entire amount (purchase price + shipping + sales tax).    

[femmefan1946]

Because this happens rarely and the amounts are so small, usually pennies on the selling price?

A $100 purchase with $5 in sales tax paid by the buyer leads to a 67cent charge to the seller.

I understand it's "just another brick in the wall".

The greater question is how did the buyer let eBay know that they were tax exempt?

[femmefan1946]

@caldreamer 

Businesses who hold sales tax registration still pay sales taxes. But they get them back when they sell. (Vastly over-simplified).

Actual exemptions I have dealt with are diplomatic staff and holders of Indian Status cards who also live on reserve. Those are the Canadian examples , which may have different names in the USA.

Diplomats can get the taxes they pay back by applying to External AffairsCanada. Occasionally we got an embassy staffer who tried to get out of paying tax at the register but frankly it was basically a scam.

[mam98031]

Sales tax is ALWAYS based on the buyer and where the item is being shipped to. 

How a seller has their account set up or where the seller is located has nothing to do with what sales tax is charged.

[richard1rst]

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@caldreamer wrote:

Your tax certificate only exempts you from paying sales tax on YOUR purchases.   Tax exemption doesn't apply to "sales tax" paid by your CUSTOMERS.

When CUSTOMER make a purchase EBAY charges selling fees on entire amount (purchase price + shipping + sales tax).    

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Actually it appears he OP is asking about a BUYER with a sales tax exemption. In order for that to work the certificate has to be on file with eBay. Merely possessing one, if eBay does not know about it, does not exclude the tax charge.

I have a Nevada certificate on file with eBay and I never get charged sales tax. However, in Nevada (and I would guess other states as well) if you buy something tax exempt but it is for your own use (not used or resold as part of a business transaction) you are required to pay a "use tax" just the same as if you had paid the sales tax in the first place. That is why most states label it as "Sales and Use Tax". Of course that takes place after the fact and since the money does not go through eBay you at least skip the FVF.

[m60driver]

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@alexguer_27 wrote:

why is a fee charged on sales tax if the buyer has an exempt sales tax certificate?

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That is an issue between the buyer and  Ebay.  The seller is out of that loop.

[ms.rodriguez*]

Your buyer has to deal with the tax issue with Ebay.  Tell the buyer that you can NOT do anything since you do NOT get the sales tax.  Do NOT refund the sales tax back to the buyer like some seller did in another post.  The buyer needs to contact Ebay about that.

[monica-sells]

It is not your responsibility to monitor the buyers business arrangement.

It is entirely up to the buyer to file their exemption certificate with ebay (or any other platform for that matter)

If they are asking you to refund the sales tax portion of the sale, it could be a lame attempt at scamming you for the tax charged for the sale.

DO NOT REFUND...it is not your problem, and you should advise that customer about the requirements pointed out in this thread.....

[dabro7]

ms.rodriguez, you wrote

Your buyer has to deal with the tax issue with Ebay. 

HOW does the buyer contact eBay to get an invalidly applied sales tax removed??  There is no way that I have found.