Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Info: State Sales Taxes in America

jxyama

jxyama

macrumors 68040
Original poster
clarification on a question that's often asked...

there are 5 states in the USA with no sales tax: Alaska, Montana, Delaware, New Hampshire and Oregon.

if you live in one of those states, apple.com will not charge you tax. otherwise, you will be charged the tax regardless of the presence of an retail apple store or not.

also, if you don't live in one of those states, there's no way to get the apple educational discount and still avoid the sales tax.
 
Yes you got it correct. I live in Idaho part of the year. There is not a retail store in Idaho, but you still get charged for sales tax if it is shipped to you. The other part of the year I live in Oregon. Guess what..... NO TAX.

Needless to say I've learned to time all of my major purchases for when I am in Oregon. 😉
 
Having a store is only one of the reasons that a company charges sales tax on purchases. A company can have what is termed a "nexis", a on going business relationship in a state. That forces them to collect sales taxes.
 
While almost no one actually does this, I believe if you live in a state that has a sales tax you are supposed to report any purchases from out-of-state and pay sales tax on those purchases yourself. It's just that the out-of-state company from which you've made a purchase is not required to report the sale and collect the tax themselves, unless they have a business presence in your state.
 
See, this is where it gets interesting for me:

If I buy through Apple.com's online education site, the discount is GENERALLY somewhere in the ball park of 10%.

If I go to Delaware (I live in Pennsylvania not too far from the border) to buy something, I can't actually get the education discount in a retail store or CompUSA but I DO NOT have to pay the 6% sales tax.

If an item is less than 6% off through the education discount OR I have to pay shipping on it, I do the math and usually end up in the car to Delaware.
 
Westside guy said:
While almost no one actually does this, I believe if you live in a state that has a sales tax you are supposed to report any purchases from out-of-state and pay sales tax on those purchases yourself. It's just that the out-of-state company from which you've made a purchase is not required to report the sale and collect the tax themselves, unless they have a business presence in your state.
Click to expand...
Several years ago my parents bought new living room furniture at a furniture outlet in North Carolina. Apparently the prices are lower and it's only ~1.5 hours away. Anway, being out-of-state customers they didn't pay sales tax, had it delivered, and thought nothing more about it, having gotten a good deal and all 🙂 Recently (after 4-5 years, mind you) they got a bill from Tennessee for sales tax on the furniture. I'm not exactly sure how the state found out they bought furniture that long ago and didn't pay any sales tax, but they did. And my parents were stuck paying a pretty large tax bill. I just hope they don't find out about the eMac I purchased from PowerMax and didn't pay sales tax on 😉
 
dPratt said:
Several years ago my parents bought new living room furniture at a furniture outlet in North Carolina. Apparently the prices are lower and it's only ~1.5 hours away. Anway, being out-of-state customers they didn't pay sales tax, had it delivered, and thought nothing more about it, having gotten a good deal and all 🙂 Recently (after 4-5 years, mind you) they got a bill from Tennessee for sales tax on the furniture. I'm not exactly sure how the state found out they bought furniture that long ago and didn't pay any sales tax, but they did. And my parents were stuck paying a pretty large tax bill. I just hope they don't find out about the eMac I purchased from PowerMax and didn't pay sales tax on 😉
Click to expand...

States have been known to review shipping records for out-of-state purchases. Though 4 to 5 years after the fact is pretty long time. I have heard that those reviews generally happen in 1 to 3 years.
 
dPratt said:
Several years ago my parents bought new living room furniture at a furniture outlet in North Carolina. Apparently the prices are lower and it's only ~1.5 hours away. Anyway, being out-of-state customers they didn't pay sales tax, had it delivered, and thought nothing more about it, having gotten a good deal and all 🙂 Recently (after 4-5 years, mind you) they got a bill from Tennessee for sales tax on the furniture. I'm not exactly sure how the state found out they bought furniture that long ago and didn't pay any sales tax, but they did. And my parents were stuck paying a pretty large tax bill. I just hope they don't find out about the eMac I purchased from PowerMax and didn't pay sales tax on 😉
Click to expand...

Some states are just more aggressive than others at contacting retailers about out of state sales. It also depends on the willing of the store to hand over such information.
 
i thought the validity of charging sales tax on out of state goods are still being debated. i know that Michigan has a "use tax" you are supposed to declare for anything you purchase outside. however, i am not sure if it's legally mandated. they make it sound like it, but isn't there a clause in the constitution prohibiting hindrance to interstate commerce?

hmm...
 
jxyama said:
i thought the validity of charging sales tax on out of state goods are still being debated. i know that Michigan has a "use tax" you are supposed to declare for anything you purchase outside. however, i am not sure if it's legally mandated. they make it sound like it, but isn't there a clause in the constitution prohibiting hindrance to interstate commerce?

hmm...
Click to expand...

Most states get around this by charging a "use tax" on the basis of sales taxes you may have paid to another state. Meaning if a state has no sales tax and you have it shipped to a state that does, the state that the item was shipped to gets to collect the "use tax" based on their tax rate. If you buy something from a state that has a 3% sales tax, and you paid that sales tax; and your state has a 6% sales tax - then your "use tax" rate is 3%.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back