E-commerce

US sales tax registration and returns

Amazon collects the tax on the orders you sell through it; on your own Shopify store you do not get that. We work out where your inventory and your sales create an obligation, register you there, and file the returns on schedule.

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Sales tax

Do you actually have to register?

Only in states where you have nexus — a connection the state is allowed to tax. There are two kinds and either one is enough. Physical nexus: your inventory sits in the state — Amazon FBA moves your stock into its warehouses, and a 3PL holds it wherever its centers are — which creates an obligation no matter how little you sell there. Economic nexus: your sales into the state cross its threshold, commonly $100,000 in a year, with no physical presence at all. Being a non-resident with no U.S. office changes none of this.

Who collects decides most of it. On a marketplace — Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart — the platform is the marketplace facilitator and calculates, collects and remits the sales tax on those orders for you. On your own Shopify or WooCommerce storefront you are the merchant of record and the obligation is yours. Shopify Tax will calculate and collect at checkout, but it does not register you, decide where you have nexus, or file a single return.

FBA is the trap. Even when Amazon remits every cent of tax on your sales, the inventory it stores in a state is your physical presence there — which can require you to register and file, on Amazon's own numbers, in states you never chose to sell into. Selling only through a marketplace does not always mean there is nothing to do.

Where the thresholds sit. Most states use $100,000 in annual sales. California and Texas set theirs at $500,000. A few pair a dollar figure with a transaction count. The measurement period and the exact number vary by state and change, so we check the map against current rules rather than a number remembered from last year.

What we actually do. First a nexus review: from your platforms and your FBA and 3PL inventory reports we work out the states where you genuinely have an obligation, instead of registering everywhere out of caution. Then we register you in each of those states — the state's own application fee is passed through at cost — set collection up correctly, and prepare and file each periodic return on the frequency the state assigns.

What it is not. Sales tax is a state tax you collect from your customer and pass on. It is not your Form 5472, and not federal income tax. The three are independent — a company can owe a sales-tax return in one state and no federal income tax at all, or the reverse — and keeping them straight is how you avoid being registered where you need not be, or exposed where you should not be.

What we’ll need

Your storefront and marketplace accounts, and the states you ship into
FBA and 3PL inventory reports showing where your stock is held
Approximate annual sales by state, if you have it
Included: a nexus review, registration in each state you need, collection setup, and every periodic return prepared and filed

FAQ

Sales tax — questions

I only sell on Amazon — is there anything for me to do?

Often yes. Amazon collects and remits the tax on your sales, but the FBA inventory it stores in a state is your physical presence there, which can require registration and filing on its own. We check your FBA inventory reports against each state's rules before telling you to register anywhere.

Does Shopify handle sales tax for me?

No. On your own Shopify storefront you are the merchant of record. Shopify Tax calculates and collects at checkout, but it does not register you with any state, determine where you have nexus, or file returns — those are the parts we handle.

Do I have to register in every state?

No, and you should not. You register only where you have nexus — inventory in the state, or sales past its threshold. The nexus review exists precisely so you are not paying to register and file where you have no obligation.

What does it cost?

$199 to register you in a state, plus that state's own application fee at cost. Returns are $59 per state per filing, and the state sets how often you file — often quarterly or annual at low volume. You pay for the states you actually have nexus in, not a flat all-fifty.

Is this the same as Form 5472 or income tax?

No. Sales tax is separate from both and is collected from your customer at the state level. You can owe a sales-tax return and no federal income tax, or the reverse. If you use us for both, we keep the two from being confused.