Yikes, is there something I should know about this quirky sales tax thing?

[gurlcat]

Jeez I hope I'm not wrong about this, but all along I've had the understanding that we don't have to think about sales tax for our items because eBay charges it to buyers according the state we (the sellers) live in, right?  Well, I was just curious to see how Alabama stacks up compared to other states, and found this page (scroll down to the table).  -Alabama is the only one that even shows a %, and I don't really understand what it says in that box. 

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121#section2 

Anybody less of a tax dummy than I, can you explain what I'm seeing there?  Is there anything extra I'm supposed to be doing because I live in Alabama? 

And if that 8% is supposed to apply, then I'm definitely confused when looking at my orders.  For example, this one's sales tax is not precisely 8% of either the item price without shipping, or with shipping. 

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Jeez I hope I'm not wrong about this, but all along I've had the understanding that we don't have to think about sales tax for our items because eBay charges it to buyers according the state we (the sellers) live in, right?

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I stopped reading after that sentence as it's incorrect.

eBay charges buyers sales tax based on where the item is shipping. Seller's location has nothing to do with it.

When you make a purchase you're charged Alabama sales tax, even if your seller is located in Maine.

[caldreamer]

Sales tax is based on "delivery address".   

[nobody*s_perfect]

Good news -- eBay really does handle everything associated with calculating, collecting, and remitting sales tax.  All the eBay seller has to do is pay the final value fee, which IMHO is a bargain considering the effort which would be involved if we had to do it ourselves.

As noted in the other post, the percentage is based on the buyer's location (technically the shipping address, which could be different), not on the seller's location.

[soh.maryl]

The state sales tax that's charged to the buyer is calculated based on the delivery address of the buyer,  not the seller's address.  

[luckythewinner]

Good news -- eBay really does handle everything associated with calculating, collecting, and remitting sales tax.  

The reason eBay shows you sales tax is because it is part of the fee equation. 

All the eBay seller has to do is pay the final value fee, which IMHO is a bargain considering the effort which would be involved if we had to do it ourselves.

eBay is required to do it by law, and we are not. So an even better bargain would for eBay to do what they are required to do but not charge fees on sales tax. 

[gurlcat]

Thanks for the help yall!!