Tax Questions

[tanderson79]

Hello everyone,

Can anyone operating there business in Texas please explain to me how this tax thing works? I have talked to numerous people with the state and was told something different by all of them. Most of my sales will be made online, so how or do I tax my customers? I was told that if the customer is a texas resident then I would have to charge taxes. On the same not, I have visited a few candle seller's site in the state of Texas to see if taxes are being charged and they are not. What is going on with that? Any advice is appreciated!

[NewOrleansLady]

I won't have an answer to your question because I've ?'d the same thing.

Our business is in LA and we have 2 or 3 vendors in TX....one in particular will charge us sales tax and I've called them to bitch and they just say we're obligated to charge it because they are selling it in TX. I asked if she had any sales tax exemptions and she said NONE! I was going to fax her my LA State Tax exemption for resale and she said it wouldn't matter.

Now the others don't charge us. When asked they told us out of state doesn't get charged. Now maybe this other place is just run by an ass but I would love straight answers.

If my customer is out of state I don't charge them. If they are state or parish exempt I don't charge them with a tax certificate exemption faxed over. The whole thing is a big confusion.

[Candybee]

First off get your state sales tax certificate if you don't already have one before you sell in your state. Then check with your county/city/town to see if you must also charge sales tax with them if you sell inside the county/city/town. If so, you will also have to get the proper certificates and/or licenses through them too.

For your website sales you must charge sales tax to customers buying in Texas. You will have to set this up on your website. You do not have to charge sales tax to out of state customers purchasing on your website unless you have biz addresses in those states but I doubt you do. Those that do are usually big corporations like McDonalds, Walmart, etc. that have franchises or stores in more than one state.

If you sell at craft shows in Texas then you must also collect sales tax.

If you are purchasing items for yourself on the internet and you buy from an out of state website then you should not be paying sales tax. You will pay sales tax if you buy from a website in Texas thou.

If you are purchasing supplies for your business from any supplier whether in Texas or out of state you should not be paying sales tax as you are reselling these supplies and collecting tax for them when you sell your products and paying tax on your sales income. But they can and should ask for a copy of your state sales tax exemption certificate as they have to prove in an audit that they have all their tax certificates on file.

I live in Virginia and thats how it works here. It is best to check with your state dept of taxation to make sure you are complying with state law. You can also get help with the Small Business Association. Go to the SBA website and there is a section on local offices. Find your local SBA office and call them. They can help you to understand how to set up your biz. They are very helpful and they also have biz courses that are either very cheap or free.

[jenscandles]

I am in Kansas and we the the same as Candybee.

[adillenal]

I am in Texas and it is the same here as it is for candybee. My shopping cart is set up to charge sales tax on Texas residents only.

Whether someone else charges tax or not isn't a concern for you. You need to do it the right way. When you file your first sales tax with the state, you will understand a lot better since the forms are self explanatory (in my opinion) I file online since the website figures everything as you enter your data.

When I purchase from other TEXAS websites, I am charged sales tax if it is retail purchase. If I am buying from a supplier, I have to give them my sales tax # to keep from paying tax. I also supply my sales tax # to out of state suppliers if they require it for their records.

I wonder why the state comptrollers office can't explain it to you correctly?

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/sales/

[VerticallyEnhanced]

I have talked to numerous people with the state and was told something different by all of them.

Who exactly did you talk to? What "different" things did they tell you?

[VerticallyEnhanced]

Hey tanderson79, I tried to PM you but your not set up to receive them. If you wish, PM me or email me at melster30@yahoo.com I can help you with any TX tax questions you might have