Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19 in Community Help Boards in Community

This topic is locked - uploads are not allowed.

Last Post Nov 19, 2007 11:05 AM by: deirdre@ebay.com

Replies: 70

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Oct 31, 2007 3:35 PM

Report

Topic: Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes

Host: businessbymegan
Date: Monday 11/19
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Pacific time
Location: Workshop Board

Description: When it comes to selling on the Internet, navigating your way through sales and use tax issues can be a tricky order! Do I have to pay when I'm selling personal items? Who do I pay, and how? Do I charge sales tax on shipping? In this seminar we'll be talking about the who-what-when-where-why and HOW of state sales and use tax issues. Join us for this session and learn how to keep your business on the right track.

Cheers,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

.lw-paginator-jump { display: none; visibility: hidden; } Pages: 5 - [ 1 2 3 4 5 | Next ]

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:15 PM

Report

Hi there! My name is Megan Hughes. I'm the owner of a business structure and maintenance company, called Business First Formations, Inc. I've been a paralegal for 20+ years, up until starting my own business in 2003.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:16 PM

Report

Many of you have attended workshops led by my friend, mentor and business colleague, Diane Kennedy. She's the co-author of the book, TaxLoopholes for eBay Sellers. I contributed a bit of material to that book, and I'm the referral source she mentions when you're getting ready to plan and set up your business structures. I also help Diane with her monthly workshops - which is a roundabout way of saying how I wound up here today, hosting my own workshops! It's very flattering, and I have to give thanks to the folks at eBay for inviting me.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:16 PM

Report

Last month I talked about the 10 things to help you get a business structure planned out and set up right. I got a great response (actually it was a bit scary - there's a LOT of you out there!). This month I wanted to branch out a bit and talk about sales and use taxes, and how they connect to your business.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:16 PM

Report

Before I get started though, I need to make something clear: I'm a paralegal, not an attorney. That means I've learned a tone of stuff over the years but everything I tell you here today (or any other day for that matter) can't be considered legal or accounting advice. I can give you plenty of information, suggestions and guidelines, but when it comes to professional tax or legal advice you need to go to a professional, preferably licensed to practice in your area.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:17 PM

Report

All right - with that out of the way, let's dive in.

Talking Point #1: What is Sales Tax? As a new business owner I think the first time I seriously questioned my own sanity was when I came up against the tax maze for the first time. And I live in Nevada, which is a relatively easy state for tax purposes! But I wanted to offer more to my clients than most business formation firms - who take you to the brink and leave you standing there alone, trying to figure out local taxation and licensing requirements.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:17 PM

Report

The first thing I learned is that "Sales Tax" doesn't always mean that extra money added to your bill at the sales counter. There are all kinds of sales taxes: privilege taxes, consumer levies, transaction taxes, gross receipts taxes, occupational taxes, business taxes, gross income taxes, excise taxes and local taxes. But don't panic! Not every business faces every tax. Things will differ drastically from state to state, and from business to business.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:17 PM

Report

A privilege tax means just what it says - for the privilege of doing business in a particular location, you get to pay a tax. It's usually assessed over your gross sales. California is a great example - it charges a privilege tax (which it calls a franchise tax, but it's the same thing) of at least $800 per year for each business registered in that state or qualified to do business in that state. You owe that $800 the minute you open your doors, whether or not you make a million or lose your shirt. And remember, that's a minimum - so once you make over a certain threshold, that $800 increases.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:18 PM

Report

Who's responsible for paying it? You (or your business). Can you pass this tax along to buyers? Yes, but not directly. You need to factor it into the opening purchase prices of your items. When is it payable? Usually yearly, around the same time your business's tax return is due.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:18 PM

Report

A Gross Receipts tax is just about the same as a privilege tax - it's assessed on your business's gross sales and isn't something you can pass along separately to buyers.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:19 PM

Report

Next is the consumer levy (the one we're all most familiar with). It's the one that is charged separate from the sales price of an item, calculated at the time of purchase and shows up as a separate line item on the bill. This tax is usually a blended overall tax rate that covers your state, county and city, but you just pay one rate at the cash register. When you're reporting and sending in these sales you don't need to separate out the different rates usually - you just report the end sales tax results, send in the money and let the governments divide it up amongst themselves.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:19 PM

Report

Who's responsible for paying it? Well technically, at least according to the research I've done, it's the buyer's responsibility. But I can't really see most retailers giving customers a choice of whether or not they pay sales tax at the point of sale. Can you? As far as taxes are concerned, you really are retailers, whether you have a storefront or a basement operation.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:20 PM

Report

No - the reality is most states have appointed the seller as their collection agent, meaning it's up to you or your business to charge and collect it. So don't forget to charge it, because the state doesn't care where the money comes from - just that it comes. They'll check the report that you file and if you haven't charged enough tax to buyers, you'll be making up the difference.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:25 PM

Report

When is it payable? Usually on a monthly basis. California, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin want it paid quarterly, and South Dakota (just to be different) wants to get paid once every two months.

For a FREE special report on tax filing in your state, email me at Link.

Member Workshop: All About Sales and Use Taxes - Nov 19

Nov 16, 2007 2:25 PM

Report

A transaction tax is just like a consumer levy. It's charged to buyers separately over and above the cost of the item being sold, collected, and sent in to the government on a regular schedule.

Page: of 5

.lw-paginator-jump { display: none; visibility: hidden; } Pages: 5 - [ 1 2 3 4 5 | Next ]

Information Central

Welcome to the Workshop Board!

Educational Areas of Interest

New to eBay? These courses will give you a quick overview of how eBay works, how to register and how to buy with confidence. Get started with these free tutorials

How to Buy These courses will cover the basics of searching, buying and paying for your items.

How to Sell - These courses cover how to create a sellers account, sell an item, accept online payments and keep track of all your selling activity on your own My eBay page.

Increase your Sales - These lessons will help you take your eBay sales to the next level - covering marketing, optimization and eBay Stores.

Worldwide Brands eBay Workshop collection by Colette Marshall (free eBook)

Be sure to check out Lisa Suttora's (whatdoisell.com) Product Trends 2008 Report

For more details about the upcoming events, as well as an archive of past workshops, please click here!

The Chatter - eBay's official Community blog for interesting posts by and about our members and staff.

Visit our

eBay Education page! eBay is excited to bring you an expanded menu of educational tools and opportunities--from online tutorials, to recorded seminars, to eBay University classes offered around the country. Check it out!

Please see The eBay Marketing Announcements Board for details about any of the topics listed below, and The eBay System Announcements Board for system updates and information!

New to eBay Boards? Try a visit to our Community Discussion Boards Help and Welcome Center .

Want to visit another board? You can view our Community Overview Page or select from these lists:

Community Help Boards:

Category-Specific Boards:

Feedback Forum | Discussion Boards | Groups | Answer Center | Chat Rooms | Community Values

About eBay | Announcements | Security Center | Resolution Center | eBay Toolbar | Policies | Government Relations | Site Map | Help

Copyright © 1995-2009 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the eBay User Agreement and Privacy Policy.

eBay official time

hosted by LiveWorld