Michael del Vecchio discusses the new US tax laws for eCommerce businesses

For quite a long time, businesses were just required to gather state sales tax on eCommerce purchases if they held a physical presence in that state. Since traditional retailers needed to charge sales tax on each purchase, that gave online retailers a value advantage over physical stores. Starting a year ago, however, that has begun to change. Michael del Vecchio, a professional financial planner and accountant who has worked for multinational corporations in the US, Malta, Panama and other countries, provides guidance for eCommerce businesses to keep their tax papers in order. 
 
In the late spring of 2018, the Supreme Court decided that states could expect businesses to gather sales tax on online purchases regardless of whether or not the business has a physical presence in the state.  By the end of last year, the majority of US states had drafted laws or guidelines requiring eCommerce vendors to gather state sales tax on remote deals made to state residents, and more are following suit.
 
To begin with, a remote seller, according to the IRS, is defined as someone who sells goods or services that are ultimately delivered to a state where a physical presence is not held. Most states will just require remote sellers to gather sales tax after they arrive at a particular yearly level of sales in the state, either by gross income (generally $100,000 or $250,000) or number of independent transactions (typically 200). Explains del Vecchio, “That implies if your income and/or transactions in the state are beneath the limit set by the state, you don’t need to collect sales tax on any purchase as long as you remain under that limit. In the event that your transactions outperform the limit inside the schedule year, you should start gathering deals charge on the principal day of the following schedule month. For more data, see this present rundown of state limits.”
 
If you qualify as a remote vender and your business meets or surpasses the limit for a state, you are required to enroll to collect and transmit sales tax for that state. You can enroll with every individual state or utilize the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System (SSTRS), which gives you a chance to enlist once to make good on and dispatch government expenses for each of the 23 Streamline Sales member states. If you decide to register through SSTRS, you will be enlisted in all party states, yet you will just need to collect and make good on government expenses to a state when you have sales in that state.
 
If you need assistance enlisting and computing state taxes, you can get a Certified Service Provider to play out the majority of your business duty capacities, including enrolling your business, recognizing which items and administrations are assessable, and looking after records. In the event the business meets the meaning of a “volunteer dealer,” you won’t be charged for the CSP’s administrations.
 
Adds del Vecchio, “Your business qualifies as a “volunteer vender” in a state if it has no fixed spot of business in that state, under $50,000 of property in the state, under $50,000 of finance in the state, and was not beforehand gathering sales or use tax in the state.”  
 
Some states offer exceptions from collecting and paying sales tax on certain online purchases. These exceptions are made dependent on the kind of item sold (i.e., necessities, for example, sustenance, apparel, or medication), the sort of buyer (i.e., government organizations or magnanimous, religious, or instructive gatherings), or how the item is utilized (i.e., exchanged or fused into different merchandise similarly as with assembling or agribusiness). For a rundown of basic kinds of exceptions, visit the Sales Tax Support site. On the off chance that you think your business qualifies, you should contact the state’s tax authority directly.
 
Five states don’t gather any state sales tax—Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon—so online vendors don’t have to worry about their online operations in these states. 
 
About Michael Alfred Del Vecchio

Michael del Vecchio is a decorated veteran of the US Armed Forces who launched his own career in finances and accounting after completing his military tour of duty. He is behind several successful international businesses and has helped hundreds of individuals with their financial planning over the years. 

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