Ebay sales tax snafu
jwitten
Posts: 5,241 ✭✭✭✭✭
I submitted my resell certificate last month, and got an approval message from them last month stating I would be exempt from sales tax as of July 1st, when Kentucky started requiring collection. Well, I went to pay for a few items this morning and it looks like they are charging it still. I just got off the phone with them and basically they have no idea why I am still being charged, and they promised they would "look into it". Well, not I've got sellers waiting to be paid, and I have to try to decide whether to suck it up and lose money, or wait for ebay to try to fix it. Ugh! Has this happened to anyone else that has submitted the resell certificate?
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Contact the seller, give them your resale number and tell the seller to take the tax off as by law you are not suppose to pay that tax.
Works for me in California.
3 more years for Ebay. Maybe 5.
They gonna stop selling socks and garden stuff?
I thought "small sellers," those under a state's statutory limit, i.e. $100k sales or 200 transaction in the state, would not have tax applied to the ebay transaction, but it appears the tax is showing up on small sellers, too. Anyone know for sure about the small sellers?
Ebay is supposed to do that automatically though. Are you having to message every single seller you buy from??
Ya, I know. I do what I have always done. I never pay sales tax on resale coins.
Ebay is supposed to kick in the tax in California in Oct I think. I have submitted my forms.
I do have questions on my sales tax accounting if ebay collects the tax and submits it. The will need some real clear tax documents for you to download for your accountant, IMO.
I wonder if eBay's business has dropped off since this new tax thing went into effect? its still an open market though
I'm wondering if they will be smart enough to apply state law correctly. Virginia does not tax a single transaction involving bullion/legal tender over $1000. The invoice can have multiple coins as long as the total is above the limit. Dying to see how they mess that up...though I rarely make $1000 buys on eBay . Somehow I think I am going to be disappointed.
Just a computer program that does all the work instantly. Thing is a PERSON has to enter the All the state tax information correctly into that program. It should not be hard to do.
As a seller, ebay is automatically collecting the tax from my sales here in NY. I'm not in control of that at all.
If you asked me to stop the tax I wouldn't be able to.
I was just charged sales tax for the 1st time on resale items today. I just got an e-mail from ebay the other day so I downloaded the exemption certificate and we will see what happens.
don't believe a seller can remove a sales tax that was added by the ebay algorithm. Sellers can remove taxes that sellers added.
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The iceberg had been struck, the icy water had entered the lower and mid cabins and the list of the great ship could not be ignored even by the most optimistic crew member. Though the end was near, the orchestra instinctively and boldly performed a surprisingly upbeat piece.
Coinstartled, you do know that your business analysis of eBay is idiotic?
I guess that one should buy some eBay stock.
The naysayers here are very consistently wrong.
It's not difficult to sell stuff on eBay, not difficult at all.
While the rest of us scramble for the last lifeboat...at least you have a nice kayak on standby.
Why are you sinking???
Hard work will grow your business.
My eBay sales increase year over year. Recently big time.
I keep blowing past my sales goals contained within my business plan
Hard work has done exceedingly well for my business. The Betsy Ross Nikes should bring a windfall on AMZN
Gee, it seems that somebody FINALLY has some inventory worth having.
Sell Mortimer, Sell!
Not me, but this is where I fish And the type Of fish we catch ....
is there any risks at all applying for a resell certificate?
@ErrorsOnCoins you have done a great job filling a niche in the market. I am a small time dealer. I buy and sell what I like. Mainly $2 1/2 Indians, toned gold, interesting holdered gold, etc. My ebay profits have been decreasing every year. Ebay fees, postage fees, now new taxes, etc always go up, and never go back down. When people are only making a small margin on sales, a new tax hit like this can kill MANY businesses. I applaud you for growing your business in these times, but many many small seller will go under with this new tax ruling. I'm hoping I'm not one of them, but this has been my worse year on ebay ever.
Why not look for niche markets for whatever you collect?
Buy right, but also be extremely aggressive buying when you need to be.
Make your inventory stand out. I pass on 499 out of every 500 error coins that I look at.
I heard a lot of this money from the new sales taxes is going to the school system. if that is the case why are my property taxes going up 12 percent a year. I want to know exactly what my tax money is spent on!
I believe that to be still the case. I just attempted to purchased D Cell batteries ... The first seller, a large one, would have charged a sales tax, so I did not complete the sale...The second seller (small time seller), for the same item, did not. He got my business. Apparently volume does make a difference. I'm a small time seller on ebay (hoby), living in a sales tax state, so far none of my sales have been assessed a sales tax.
I agree ebay has gotten worse for a lot of sellers including myself. I think a lot of the problem is ebay is the opposite of net neutral and now expect sellers to pay more for visibility. It's kindda funny, I recently received an email from ebay gloating themselves as fighting for net neutrality. Had a hard time not sending them a scathing email.
I regularly see coins sell where I have a better coin for less. Just this morning I saw a graded PCGS Barber Half sell for almost 10% more than mine and mine was much nicer in the same grade.
I think it just ups your chance at getting an audit. After all, it say's that you're now a business. You're now filing state (if applicable), federal and sales taxes as a business.
I know I could probably find it on the ebay friendly help pages......not......
Does anyone have a link to the exemption filing page....tnx.....
LOL. I believe you said this 3 years ago...
I guess Amazon has at most 5 years left also as they have the same sales tax waters to navigate. Or, at least Amazon's retail arm is doomed, doomed, doomed!!!
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.
If you occasionally sell coins and remit sales tax, probably not. But if you never sell coins, never show a profit on your 1040, they are going to eventually label you a hobbyist. I doubt the penalty for that is very severe.
If you do occasionally sell coins and make a profit, you will have to pay the income tax AND the FICA. So, only you and your accountant know how it works out. If you pay 8% tax on all your coins but 50% tax (Income and Fica) on your profits, you may end up paying more in taxes overall when you disburse your collection than you saved on initial purchase.
For people that do a lot of flipping of coins with little to no profit, it probably makes sense.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, evn when irrefutably accurate.
ROFTLMAO ... there are something over 10,000 distinct taxing jurisdictions in the USA. Sometimes it's just a different rate (my county vs. the next one over). But many jurisdictions have different rules. Even in my county, if you have a city sales tax, the total RATE is the same (state-mandated cap), but the breakdown is different (state, county & city) vs. the unincorporated area 2 miles away (state & county only). In some jurisdictions, it's the physical location of the seller, in others of the buyer (with an out-of-state x being treated differently than in-state).
See for example: https://thisistrue.com/colorado-salestax/
So while the rules might be simple for a given transaction, across the universe of transactions the complexity is mind-boggling.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
Ebay corrected my issue today! That was fast. Not fast enough though, as one of the sellers canceled a two coin sale thinking the issue would take longer to fix.
I got my sales tax exemption request accepted by eBay today. I haven't tried it yet. But:
"Hello George,
Thank you for sending in your documentation for tax exemption as a buyer in Virginia.
We have reviewed your documents and have approved your request for buyer exemption. You will see this reflected on your future purchases as of today, 7/19/2019.
Note: All purchases made under this account aureus11 will be tax exempt when shipping to states listed above. Purchases that should not be tax exempt (e.g., not made with the intention to resell) should be made with a different eBay account. You may be required to pay use tax directly to the state and/or local tax authorities on any purchases of taxable items. For more information, we recommend that you consult with your tax advisor.
I hope this is helpful and wish you all the best on eBay in the future.
Kind regards,
eBay Customer Service
Do they really think I am supposed to create an alt to buy the occasional pair of sneakers or the odd DVD?
Errors on coins comment, about make the seller take it off, doesn't work, because I as a seller am not going to discount my item to cover the state collected tax rate by imposed ebay. Ill just cancel the sale.(that would come directly out of my bottom line) its already having a huge affect on prices realized as more and more states are added to the list. I see a lot of so called dealers who have bought from me for years , still must not have submitted their exemption status, cause I notice it when the invoice is first sent out before its adjusted on the invoice I see.
I will advise the folks that seek exemption, you best make darn sure you keep records of the items you purchase that are exempted because of your resale certificate. I wouldn't just do it, to get the tax off, a local guy here already got zinged by the state for claiming exemption, but not keeping records to back it up on internet transactions.
it's going to be interesting to see what e bays share prices do in the next few months, I haven't bought anything in 3 weeks