If you’re like many small business owners, you need to collect sales tax on some of your offerings. Your sales tax responsibilities depend on your location. This fact surely begs the question: do I charge sales tax for out-of-state customers? To stay compliant, understand which sales tax laws apply to your business. And, you need to know the difference between origin vs. destination sales tax states.

营业税基础

State and local governments impose a销售税在某些产品和服务上。如果您在执行营业税的地点经营业务，则必须征收并汇款。

每个州都有不同的征收营业税规则。并非所有州都执行营业税法。在某些地点，该州不执行销售税，但州内的地方政府确实如此。

Pass-through tax

营业税是通过税。和通过税收, the seller is the middle man for handling and remitting tax money. The seller does not pay the sales tax out of pocket. Instead, the seller collects the tax as a percentage of a customer’s total amount due. Then, the seller sends the sales tax to the appropriate government authority.

The right (and wrong) time to collect sales tax

Sometimes, you need to collect sales tax while other times you do not. Double-check with your state tax agency and an accountant before collecting sales tax.

不要收集if you do business in a state that does not enforce sales tax. There are five states without a sales tax:

• 阿拉斯加州
• Delaware
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• Oregon

Note that while there is no state sales tax enforced, there might be local sales tax laws that you must follow. Check the localities within these states to be sure you do not need to collect sales tax.

不要收集during a营业税假期. Some states have a sales tax holiday where items you normally charge sales tax on are tax exempt. The sales tax holiday date and the items that are temporarily tax exempt are different for every state.

不要收集when you sell items in a state that you have no physical presence in. For example, you run your business in Illinois. You sell to a customer in Pennsylvania. No aspects of your business exist in Pennsylvania, so you do not collect sales tax.

Do collect如果您以您的业务存在的状态出售给客户。确定业务的存在要容易做起来难。各州对业务存在的定义不同。

确定业务的存在：Nexus

Nexus for sales tax帮助您确定业务在某个地区的存在。您的企业可以在多个位置具有不同的存在。

无论您是经营实体店还是经营在线业务, you have nexus in the primary state you run your company. The state you live and run your business from is called your home state nexus. If you sell to a customer in your home state, collect sales tax for that state.

例如，您在俄亥俄州拥有一家体育用品商店。当您向俄亥俄客户出售产品时，请根据您的家庭法律收取营业税。

次要业务

您的业​​务可能不仅仅是您的主要位置。如果您有以下任何类型的业务定位类型，则可能需要为其他州收取营业税。

存货

In some states, locations where you store inventory or assets are considered nexus. For example, if you keep inventory in a warehouse in a state other than your home state, you might need to collect sales tax from customers located in that state as well.

Employees

You have nexus in certain states if you employ out-of-state workers. You might have to collect sales tax from customers in states where you have an employee, contractor, or salesperson working for your company.

投降供应商

If you use a third-party provider to ship orders to customers, you might have nexus in the provider’s state. Check with the drop-shipping supplier’s state to see if nexus rules for third-party suppliers apply.

贸易展览会出席

在某些州，如果您或员工在过去的12个月内参加了该州的贸易展览会，您也有联系。

出发地和目的地销售税

Determining your business’s nexus will tell you where to collect sales tax from. But, states collect sales tax in different ways.

There are two methods for determining and collecting sales tax: destination and origin based sales tax. Origin vs. destination sales tax comes down to whether sales tax is collected according to the location of the seller or buyer. Let’s break down the origin based and destination based sales tax rules.

Origin-based method

在基于原点的州，营业税是根据卖方的位置收取的。作为小型企业主，这意味着您根据州和地方税率收取营业税。您还将税收汇给您的家乡和地区。

Origin state = Seller location’s tax rate

For example, you operate your business from Virginia. Since your state is origin based, you collect origin-based sales tax at the Virginia rate and your local tax rate.

以下状态使用基于原点的方法：

• Arizona
• California*
• 伊利诺伊州
• 密西西比州
• 密苏里州
• Ohio
• 宾夕法尼亚州
• Tennessee
• 德克萨斯州
• Utah
• Virginia

*在基于原点的方法方面，加利福尼亚有些棘手。在加利福尼亚，城市，县和州税是基于您的位置（卖方）。但是，地区营业税是基于客户的位置。

Destination-based method: do I charge sales tax for out-of-state customers?

In a destination-based state, sales tax is collected based on the buyer’s location. That means you collect sales tax based on your customer’s state and local tax rates. You also remit the tax to your customer’s state and locality.

Destination state = Buyer location’s tax rate

例如,您运行一个在线业务从Maryland and sell a product to a customer in a different part of the state. Since your state is destination based, you collect destination-based sales tax at the customer’s local and state tax rates.

如果状态不是基于原点或免税营业税，则是基于目的地的状态。以下状态使用基于目的地的方法：

• 阿拉巴马州
• 阿肯色州
• 科罗拉多州
• Connecticut
• 哥伦比亚特区
• Florida
• 乔治亚州
• 夏威夷
• 爱达荷州
• 印第安纳州
• 爱荷华州
• 堪萨斯州
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• 马里兰州
• Massachusetts
• 密歇根州
• 明尼苏达州
• 内布拉斯加州
• 内华达州
• 新周sey
• 新墨西哥*
• 纽约
• North Carolina
• 北达科他州
• 俄克拉荷马州
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• 南达科他州
• 佛蒙特
• 华盛顿
• 西弗吉尼亚
• 威斯康星州
• 怀俄明州

*某些服务和交易可能是基于新墨西哥州的。

由于一个州可以拥有数百种不同的税率，因此基于目的地的系统比基于原点的系统要复杂一些（您在每次销售中使用相同的率）。

Most states follow the destination-based method. State governments want to circulate tax dollars within their jurisdictions. The destination-based method keeps a consumer’s money in their own locality.

远程卖方营业税规则

许多实体小型企业在一个州拥有所有联系。但是，有些企业在几个州都有联系，尤其是互联网销售的营业税. If you have nexus in more than one state, you might be considered a remote seller.

如果您在本州以外的状态中有联系，那么您是该州的远程卖方。例如，您在密西西比州经营业务，但在路易斯安那州有联系。您是路易斯安那州的偏远卖家。

远程卖方收取的营业税不同于其本州的卖家。对于远程卖家，只有少数基于原点的状态。亚利桑那州和加利福尼亚州的远程销售商（除某些例外）使用基于原点的系统。

例如，您住在佐治亚州，并在亚利桑那州有其他联系。亚利桑那州的Nexus不是您公司的主要联系，使您成为亚利桑那州的偏远卖家。由于亚利桑那州是基于远程卖方的原点，因此根据亚利桑那州的利率收取营业税。

通常，远程卖家使用基于目的地的系统。如果您以远程卖方的状态出售给客户，则根据客户的州费率收取费用。

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