Sales Tax by County AND City

[spencerb]

I've found some info about charging sales tax based on the shipping destination county. Here's my problem. We are required to charge tax based on the county AND city. Now, not all counties have sales tax, and not all cities. If you live outside the city limits, you only pay county tax.

 

So I need something that when customers select their state as Arkansas, it will pop up a box to select county, and then pop up another box to select city (or "outside city limits"). Your address may be Little Rock, AR, but that doesn't mean you live in the city limits.

 

It seems like some people just list the counties as zones for some states. But I really need the method described above. There are 75 counties and 268 cities with sales tax.

 

Not only do I need the pop-up dropdown boxes for county/city selection, I will need to figure out how to make the taxes work. New database fields maybe?

 

Ugh.

[Azure Moon]

I've found some info about charging sales tax based on the shipping destination county. Here's my problem. We are required to charge tax based on the county AND city. Now, not all counties have sales tax, and not all cities. If you live outside the city limits, you only pay county tax.

 

So I need something that when customers select their state as Arkansas, it will pop up a box to select county, and then pop up another box to select city (or "outside city limits"). Your address may be Little Rock, AR, but that doesn't mean you live in the city limits.

 

It seems like some people just list the counties as zones for some states. But I really need the method described above. There are 75 counties and 268 cities with sales tax.

 

Not only do I need the pop-up dropdown boxes for county/city selection, I will need to figure out how to make the taxes work. New database fields maybe?

 

Ugh.

 

Hi Spencer,

 

I have pretty much the same sales tax thing in Wisconsin - certain counties have to pay the Milwaukee County stadium tax and others have to pay the Brown County stadium tax in addition to the regular state sales tax.

 

Well, needless to say, I was baffled as how to do it, so I called my tax accountant for the answer. He said that having a business online is really no different than a brick and mortar store. For example, if I had a brick and mortar store in Milwaukee County and a customer visiting from another part of the state comes in and purchases something, I would charge them 5.6% sales tax because that's where my store is located and the same applies to online sales.

 

So that's what I've done for years now without a problem. When quarterly taxes come around, I just have to break down my Wisconsin sales into those two county taxes, i.e., $50.00 in sales from Milwaukee County and $25.00 for sales from Brown County and pay the taxes accordingly.

 

Your best bet is to check with a tax accountant and see what they say to do because each state is different. I hope this helps :-)

 

Brightest Blessings,

 

Dawn

Owner, Azure Moon Jewelry And Gifts

www.azuremoonjewelry.com

[Azure Moon]

I've found some info about charging sales tax based on the shipping destination county. Here's my problem. We are required to charge tax based on the county AND city. Now, not all counties have sales tax, and not all cities. If you live outside the city limits, you only pay county tax.

 

So I need something that when customers select their state as Arkansas, it will pop up a box to select county, and then pop up another box to select city (or "outside city limits"). Your address may be Little Rock, AR, but that doesn't mean you live in the city limits.

 

It seems like some people just list the counties as zones for some states. But I really need the method described above. There are 75 counties and 268 cities with sales tax.

 

Not only do I need the pop-up dropdown boxes for county/city selection, I will need to figure out how to make the taxes work. New database fields maybe?

 

Ugh.

 

Hi Spencer,

 

I have pretty much the same sales tax thing in Wisconsin - certain counties have to pay the Milwaukee County stadium tax and others have to pay the Brown County stadium tax in addition to the regular state sales tax.

 

Well, needless to say, I was baffled as how to do it, so I called my tax accountant for the answer. He said that having a business online is really no different than a brick and mortar store. For example, if I had a brick and mortar store in Milwaukee County and a customer visiting from another part of the state comes in and purchases something, I would charge them 5.6% sales tax because that's where my store is located and the same applies to online sales.

 

So I charge all my Wisconsin customers the 5.6% Milwaukee County sales tax because that's where my business is located and I've done for years now without a problem. When quarterly taxes come around, I just have to break down my Wisconsin sales into those two county taxes, i.e., $50.00 in sales from Milwaukee County and $25.00 for sales from Brown County and pay the taxes accordingly.

 

Your best bet is to check with a tax accountant and see what they say to do because each state is different. I hope this helps :-)

 

Brightest Blessings,

 

Dawn

Owner, Azure Moon Jewelry And Gifts

www.azuremoonjewelry.com

[Guest]

North Carolina also have varying sales taxes. I called our state's IRS office in Raleigh and they said, like Dawn's experience, you charge sales tax for where your business is located ... in the case of an online store, where you state your business office is located (typically your home in our case).

 

If you think about it ... when you go to a store in your state ... does the cashier ask you where you live so she can charge the appropriate sales tax .... or are you just charge that store's local sales tax? Same concept online.

 

But, like previously mentioned, do double check with your state's tax office (typically located in the state capital) ... or your trusted CPA/tax accountant.

[spencerb]

Unfortunately, that isn't the case in Arkansas. I have talked to the tax office and read the text of the law. I must charge the tax rate for the location where the item is received, not where I am located. If the item is shipped by my own delivery truck or common carrier (e.g. UPS), then it's the rate at the destination address that applies.

 

I have to know the county of the recipient and in which city limits the address is. Someone may have a Little Rock address, but that doesn't mean they live in the city limits.

 

Adding this function into osc would not be impossible. When someone enters an Arkansas address, they would then select their county. Then the cities with sales tax within that county would be listed for them to pick (with an option of "out of city limits/city not listed"). There are about 75 counties and 270 cities with sales tax. I just don't know how to do this.

 

What I plan on doing is just to charge the state sales tax to everyone in AR and eat the rest. When I report my sales taxes, I can enter their address into an online form that will give me their county and city rates. I also have to report the county and city tax code numbers.