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OT- eBay and automatically added sales tax question

I'm sure you won't be the first person that tried to welch out on money for eBay and probably won't be the last. You don't want to pay the sales tax but how's eBay getting their commission of this 10K sale. I see an account getting suspended, just sayin.
 
I'm sure you won't be the first person that tried to welch out on money for eBay and probably won't be the last. You don't want to pay the sales tax but how's eBay getting their commission of this 10K sale. I see an account getting suspended, just sayin.

Oh that's rich! Between Ebay's current fees, and shady buyers/sellers, I would do my damndest to avoid paying them any more money too!:angry:
 
You don't want to pay the sales tax but how's eBay getting their commission of this 10K sale. I see an account getting suspended, just sayin.
The eBay commission is charged to my on file credit card account.... suspect the sales tax will be as well but just checking to see how firm I should be with the buyer on getting the tax from him so that it all works out in the wash.
 
Does ebay still offer any advantage to a seller like you? Seems you have a pretty good platform right here...

L7
 
He's not trying to circumvent anything. He is trying to avoid paying sales tax on a tax exempt sale.

It is the buyers responsibility to to register with ebay as tax exempt. It's a real headache and one of the reasons most large purchases do not end up going through ebay.

A side note, clothes and food are sales tax exempt in Pennsylvania yet there doesn't appear to be an easy way to not charge sales tax on those items.

There are a lot of things wrong with ebay but at the end of the day you can make a lot of money pretty easily on there.
 
Wonder if you can dispute the tax without disputing the fees. Like you dispute fees for a non payer.

If it is an honest to goodness wholesaler sale, the buyer is already filling out states sales tax paperwork and can deduct it from that. Not a good answer, but unless you want to lose the 800 bucks it may be the right answer in your case.
 
The eBay commission is charged to my on file credit card account.... suspect the sales tax will be as well but just checking to see how firm I should be with the buyer on getting the tax from him so that it all works out in the wash.

Understood now, The way it was worded I thought you were circumventing the whole deal by taking it in person. I don't see where you are obligated to sales tax as the buyer pays that and eBay collects, or so I thought.
 
Apparently this is the scoop -Solved: Sales Tax on eBay – Can it be Avoided Particularly... - The eBay Community

But wondering what will happen if I do our own company invoice for buyer and get paid in person via bank check ($10,000 price range FWIW) and just ignore the eBay invoice with the sales tax ($800).....will they eventually deduct the tax amount from my eBay account regardless ?




I went throught this last Dec or Nov. Sold my Fronius to a company in Illinois. Buyer paid with company check in person to me when I delivered the welder. Ebay charged the sales Tax to my account.

According to Ebay, there is no way around the Sales Tax issue, because Illinois will make Ebay pay Sales Tax. I tried explaining that I am not in the business of selling equipment and this was my personal welder that I had owned for years (bought in 2015 or 2016) . I assumed , maybe wrongly, that if you are selling personal items then Sales Tax is not charged .
 
And a kicker
I believe if you are paid thru Paypal, their fee includes a percentage based on the Ebay final price + the added sales tax
 
I assumed , maybe wrongly, that if you are selling personal items then Sales Tax is not charged .

While I can't attest to the laws in every state, in Michigan at least, you would definitely be wrong. Sales Tax is a tax on the buyer, not the seller; and buying from a private party only means that the seller isn't required to collect and submit the tax payment to the government. Technically, if a person buys goods from a party that isn't required to collect sales tax, they are supposed to report this purchase on their state income taxes and pay the sales tax at that point. Obviously this pretty much never happened, which is why so many states fought so hard to find ways to force online sellers to collect sales tax for them.
 
Ebay is going to come after your for the sales tax, because they pay the sales tax. Have the buyer apply for tax exemption with Ebay, tell them they need to pay the tax via the initial paypal/ebay payment, or that they need the item destination to be a tax free state.

On standard paypal/ebay payments, I find it super frustrating that they treat the sales tax they collect and pay as money you received on your 1099-K. It means that you need to account for all these payments that you never had control of to make your taxes work out.
 
While I can't attest to the laws in every state, in Michigan at least, you would definitely be wrong. Sales Tax is a tax on the buyer, not the seller; and buying from a private party only means that the seller isn't required to collect and submit the tax payment to the government. Technically, if a person buys goods from a party that isn't required to collect sales tax, they are supposed to report this purchase on their state income taxes and pay the sales tax at that point. Obviously this pretty much never happened, which is why so many states fought so hard to find ways to force online sellers to collect sales tax for them.


I meant to say since I am selling personal property, and not a dealer/distributor, I assumed I would not be required to collect Sales Tax.
 
Sales tax on a used item is not supposed to be collected when it's person to person. But there are exceptions when the seller is in the business or practice of selling used items for profit. I forget all the finer points but many eBay sellers are required to collect sales tax even on used items. It's a total crock for people who are just selling an item here and there who also get charged tax IMO.
 
Sales tax on a used item is not supposed to be collected when it's person to person. But there are exceptions when the seller is in the business or practice of selling used items for profit. I forget all the finer points but many eBay sellers are required to collect sales tax even on used items. It's a total crock for people who are just selling an item here and there who also get charged tax IMO.

Agreed very much so... Be like having to collect tax at every garage sale.
 
ebay taxes

WTF!? Why do I, or anyone, need to pay taxes on a used item, that was already taxed at the point of *retail* sale...?? :angry:
 
The states filed Federal suits to force on-line sellers to collect sales tax for every purchase. However, the process of collecting these taxes from the retailers is nebulous at best. The intent was to harass the buyers for buying on-line instead of at home. The sellers are quite content to collect these taxes, but they have resisted paying the states their full amount. The matter will end up in court again.
 
Apparently this is the scoop -Solved: Sales Tax on eBay – Can it be Avoided Particularly... - The eBay Community

But wondering what will happen if I do our own company invoice for buyer and get paid in person via bank check ($10,000 price range FWIW) and just ignore the eBay invoice with the sales tax ($800).....will they eventually deduct the tax amount from my eBay account regardless ?








A lot depends on the state where the buyer resides. If the buyer is tax exempt in his home state then often he can claim the tax paid back from the state. Assuming that is his home state’s tax law and that the tax actually was paid to the state.

On the other hand, in some states (probably most) if the buyer comes to you and takes delivery personally, the transaction is taxable where it happened. Again state laws prevail.

Best solution likely is that you provide an invoice showing the tax amount paid and let the buyer figure it out with their home state. Or if personal delivery inside your state, contact the tax authorities for details of how to effect the transaction with exemption for the buyer.
 
WTF!? Why do I, or anyone, need to pay taxes on a used item, that was already taxed at the point of *retail* sale...?? :angry:

It is sales tax, not VAT

If you buy used items at a retail store, you pay tax

As I mentioned before, the crappy answer is if the buyer is exempt, they get to take it off their sales tax form

For instance in Mass, when you fill out your sales tax form, there is a spot for tax paid on exempt items.
There is also a spot to pay tax on items you didn't pay tax on, say in my case if I bought office supplies from Mcmaster they would be subject to mass state sales tax, because they are not consumed directly in the production of tangible personal property for sale, so I am supposed to pay sales tax.

I buy my office supplies from Staples and pay tax on them....

i imagine ebay is going to lose sales on high dollar commercial items. I am authorized to collect sales tax in Mass and ebay should let me do my job,
 








 
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