eCommerce Sales Tax Guide
Navigating economic nexus, marketplace facilitators, and digital goods across all 50 states.
The Wayfair Ruling & Economic Nexus
Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, physical presence is no longer required for a state to demand you collect sales tax. If your eCommerce business hits a state's "Economic Nexus" threshold, you are legally obligated to register and remit tax.
Standard Nexus Threshold
Most states use a standard threshold of $100,000 in gross revenue OR 200 separate transactions within the state in the previous calendar year. Once you cross this line, you must register.
Marketplace Facilitator Laws
If you sell exclusively on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy, the "Marketplace Facilitator" laws require the platform to collect and remit sales tax on your behalf. However, you may still need to register for a permit and file a "zero return" depending on the state.
Should Your Store Collect Sales Tax?
Use this fast qualification flow before you dig into multi-state filing and marketplace rules.
Do you sell taxable goods or taxable services?
Do you sell into states outside your home state?
Have you crossed a nexus threshold in a destination state?
Do marketplaces handle most of your sales?
Do you have physical presence in the state?
Decision
eCommerce Nexus Checker
Estimate whether your sales into a destination state are approaching registration territory.
Nexus estimate
Digital Goods & Product Taxability Checker
Use the current site dataset to estimate how common categories like groceries, clothing, and digital goods are treated.
State-aware estimate
Verify with official sourceOrigin vs. Destination Sourcing
When you sell a product online, which tax rate do you charge? It depends on your home state's sourcing rules.
Origin-Based States
You charge the sales tax rate based on your business location. (e.g., Texas, Pennsylvania, Arizona).
Destination-Based States
You charge the tax rate based on the buyer's shipping address. Most states use this method.
Digital Goods & SaaS
Selling physical products is straightforward, but digital goods are a compliance minefield. About half of US states consider Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), ebooks, and downloadable music to be taxable "tangible personal property." The other half treat them as tax-exempt services. Always check the specific digital goods exemptions for the state where your buyer resides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sitewide Helper
Sales Tax Calculator & Compliance Helper
One compact utility block for tax calculation, reverse calculation, ZIP lookup, nexus checks, exemption guidance, and product taxability.
Advanced Sales Tax Calculator
Estimate tax with shipping, discounts, and exempt subtotal support.
Rate applied
0.000%
Selected location
Sales tax
$0.00
Taxable base:
Total due
$0.00
Effective rate:
Rounded to the nearest cent. Tax treatment of shipping and discounts can vary by state.
Reverse Sales Tax Calculator
Work backward from the total paid to estimate the pre-tax price and tax amount.
Pre-tax price
$0.00
Tax amount
$0.00
ZIP / City Sales Tax Lookup
Search by ZIP code, city, county, or state to find current combined rates and local breakdowns.
Economic Nexus Checker
Compare your state-specific sales activity against current nexus thresholds using existing site data.
Nexus estimate
Should I Collect Sales Tax?
A fast intent-matching decision tree for businesses, marketplace sellers, and remote sellers.
Do you sell taxable goods or taxable services?
Do you sell into states outside your home state?
Have you crossed a nexus threshold in a destination state?
Do marketplaces handle most of your sales?
Do you have physical presence in the state?
Decision
Exemption Certificate Finder
Point buyers and sellers toward the right official portal and documentation checklist.
Product Taxability Checker
Version 1 uses the categories already modeled in the current database and always links back to official verification.
State-aware estimate
Verify with official source