Why are all purchases taxed now on eBay? Even used items? I got a vintage used parts book, NOS shocks from an individual and a couple other used parts. Every purchase is charging me tax now. You don't pay tax between two individuals in person so why do you have to on eBay? I rarely sell on there any more but do now and then but I am not sure I will continue to buy much either.

 

The new law came out a couple of months ago that eBay is starting to tax buyers. I guess you didnt get the notice from eBay that we buyers should sign a petition to stop the tax. I already signed my name but I guess it doesnt mean nothing. Amazon is doing the tax also.

 

I just checked my last two ebay purchases and was not charged tax. Both were from private parties for used items, one from CA and the other from NY and I'm in MN. It must be an Indiana thing - I hope it doesn't catch on here.

Spoke too soon - I looked further and I have been charged tax, both on new and used items. It shows up as a separate charge on PayPal after the original charge for the item sale price. Looks like MN does tax eBay purchases but exempts purchases from sellers who do less than $10k/year in sales into MN. Figures - this state never met a tax it didn't like.

Here's the link to eBay's tax collection policy:

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/taxes-import-charges?id=4121#section4

 

This is a result of the money grab by various states who passed legislation to get their share of sales taxes previously being missed by online sales. I have no reason to defend e-Bay's policies...but, as I understand it they are doing this as a convenience to Sellers who would otherwise have to file tax returns in each participating state. It follows those retailers who are now charging sales tax; i.e. Rock Auto and Amazon. Just one more thing to take into consideration when comparing buying locally vs buying online.

As for MN, I believe the policy is if an out-of-state Seller sells less than $10K into MN over the course of a year, then e-Bay is exempt from having to collect sales tax on their behalf.

 

I can understand Amazon doing it or even eBay on new items but used things being taxed is a double tax and should not be allowed.

 

To add a comment - Jegs now charges sales tax for all states but Summit still doesn't appear to be doing so on out of state sales where they don't have a distribution center.

 

This is exactly what it is. I wouldn't blame ebay. They're just following the laws that have been passed by various states in recent years to collect sales tax on online sales made to residents of that state who would otherwise not pay sales tax. Amazon does the same thing. It used to be that an online (or mail order catalog) vendor did not have to collect sales tax from a buyer unless that vendor had "nexus" (a physical presence) in that state. So if the vendor had a brick-and-mortar store or a distribution center or something like that in the state, they had to collect sales tax on sales in that state. Otherwise, no. But this has changed.

This wasn't a big deal back in the day because mail-order sales were small compared to brick-and-mortar store sales, but with the huge rise in online shopping over the last decade or two, local governments can no longer overlook this lost source of revenue.

This is silly. We pay sales tax on used items all the time. Go to a local thrift store, or Salvation Army or Goodwill store, and you pay tax on what you buy. Ditto for any used car you might buy from a used car dealer or ever from a private individual. If from a dealer, the dealer will collect the sales tax. If from a private seller, the seller won't collect the tax, but you'll pay it when you go to title and register the car in whatever state you plan to do that in. True, we don't pay sales tax if we buy something at a garage sale, but this is a carefully controlled exemption where most local governments will impose a limit on the number of garage or yard sales a particular address can hold each year before the sellers would have to consider what they're doing a business and start collecting tax.

I certainly wouldn''t stop selling and buying on ebay just because they now collect tax. Paying sales tax is a fact of life in online transactions now. Besides, what alternative do you have? Putting your item up for sale on craigslist? You can certainly do that, but you get a far wider audience with a site like ebay.

 

Agree...but, in State's eyes, it's no different than collecting sales tax on a vehicle each time it's sold to a new owner. Or, when buying used goods at a second-hand store. I'm sure they'd go after person-to-person Craigslist and Facebook sales if they knew how to collect.

 

It has been going on for years. They collect sales tax on used cars every time they are sold. That is really double taxation.

 

Should not be happening on used cars either. Most people fudge on that at the DMV

 

Here you go Eric.....The last line explains why some vendors collect sales tax and others don't.

Hoosiers can now plan to start paying sales tax for almost everything they buy online after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such taxation legal.



Online purchases made in Indiana will be subject to the 7 percent sales tax upfront. The state prepared for this day for over a year after passing legislation in 2017 to collect online sales tax from most businesses.

Indiana Chamber Vice President Bill Waltz says the Supreme Court ruling is big win for Indiana.

“It’s going to bring in probably somewhere in the range of a $100 [million] perhaps as high as $200 million in additional revenue on an annual basis,” Waltz says.

While consumers might have to now pay tax, Ball State University economist Michael Hicks doesn’t see the additional sales tax impacting online purchases made by Hoosiers.

“For most consumers who are shopping, it’s not the price, it’s not the sales tax exemption that matters, it’s the fact that it can actually be cheaper,” Hicks says.

Indiana filed a lawsuit last year asking the courts to overturn a 26 year-old ruling that denied online sales tax if businesses didn’t have a physical presence in the state.

For small online retailers, not much will change for them with today’s Supreme Court ruling to legalize online sales tax.

A 2017 state law to require businesses to collect online sales tax only applies to those who make at least $100,000 a year or at least 200 yearly transactions in the state.

 

Didn't know Ebay started charging tax. I knew Amazon has been doing it for awhile. Luckily, I live in the county so taxes are pretty low. Uncle Hands in my Pockets!

 

Even with tax, I often find parts (both vintage and repro) less expensive on eBay than I do at swap meets and conventional websites. I'm pretty happy with eBay for certain items.

 

I think EBay's policies are squeezing out the sellers of low priced items, and its not in their best interests. By the time you get done with EBay's & Paypal fees (including charging the fee on whatever shipping is) how much do you net on a$40 or $50 item? EBay should make it easier to sell those items just to keep traffic up.

 

With e-Bay being overrun with retailers selling imported Chinese junk, I don't think they really give a rat's **** about the small time Seller...who, by the way, were the foundation of their business in it's early days. I've just recently closed my e-Bay store and do very little selling anymore. Just isn't worth it...

 

What are you going to do, stop buying parts for your cars if you have to pay tax?

It's not ebay's fault. Various states have started collecting tax on out of state sales. All a person could do is find those states that still don't charge the tax and only buy from vendors from those states.

 

taxes have been a sore spot for millennia , what I don't agree with is whenever money changes hands that the government thinks they own a piece of it. say you buy a used part and don't use it and later sell it for a loss ,and the government still wants you to pay tax on the money you collected , WRONG!, unless you are selling commercially and you can claim the loss at the end of the year. the tax system was set up so that you pay tax on PROFIT. does it make sense or is it right or fair to pay tax on a loss , HELL NO. now if you sold that part for a profit the only tax you should have to pay is on the profit you made on it otherwise you are just getting your money back that you paid for it in the first place. some flea markets and arts and craft fairs require you to collect tax and turn it in at the end of the show which I refuse to do ,I tell them I am not a business and am not profiting I am liquidating or if I make something to sell I don't get much for my labor and many times it just covers cost of materials and entry fees let alone travel. I believe my labor is my own otherwise it is slavery and I am not a slave.

 

eBay’s sales tax collection for US states

Based on applicable tax laws, eBay will calculate, collect, and remit sales tax on behalf of sellers for items shipped to customers in the following states.

State, Effective Date, Additional Information

Minnesota, January 1, 2019,
Small business exemption - Minnesota has enacted a small business exemption for out of state unregistered sellers whose taxable retail sales into Minnesota are less than $10,000 in the previous 12-month period. These sellers are not subject to the Minnesota marketplace tax laws, and eBay will not be collecting sales tax on these transactions.

Washington, January 1, 2019

Iowa, February 1, 2019

Connecticut, April 1, 2019

District of Columbia, May 1, 2019

Nebraska, May 1, 2019

New Jersey, May 1, 2019

Idaho, June 1, 2019

New York, June 1, 2019

Alabama, July 1, 2019
The State of Alabama has a program for simplified sellers use tax (SSUT) under Statute § 40-23-192. eBay has collected simplified sellers use tax on taxable transactions delivered into Alabama and the tax of flat eight percent (8%) will be remitted on the customer’s behalf to the Alabama Department of Revenue.

eBay Inc. – SSUT Account Number: SSU-R010250382

Arkansas, July 1, 2019

Indiana, July 1, 2019

Please contact the Department of Revenue for further information.

Kentucky, July 1, 2019

New Mexico, July 1, 2019

Please contact the Taxation and Revenue Department for further information.

Oklahoma, July 1, 2019

Pennsylvania, July 1, 2019

Rhode Island, July 1, 2019

Please contact the Division of Taxation for further information.

South Dakota, July 1, 2019

Vermont, July 1, 2019

Virginia, July 1, 2019

West Virginia, July 1, 2019

Wyoming, July 1, 2019

Ohio, September 1, 2019

Please contact the Ohio Department of Taxation for further information.

California, October 1, 2019

Please contact the Department of Tax and Fee Administration for further information.

North Dakota, October 1, 2019

Please contact the Office of State Tax Commissioner for further information.

South Carolina, October 1, 2019

Texas, October 1, 2019

Please contact the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts for further information.

Utah, October 1, 2019

Please contact the State Tax Commission for further information.

 

It's not just Ebay and as stated above, it's not their choice.

Thanks to PA joining in, I got sales tax statements from Summit on two different sets of Wide Oval Radials that I bought in late 2018 and early 2019. The first time they sent me a statement if I wanted to volunteer, the second time they just added the sales tax at the time of purchase.

Ebay just hit me for tax on a used hot tub power pack. If they can figure out a way to nab us on CO parts forums, FB Marketplace and Craigslist, that will probably happen too.

Terry

 

Here in NY if you want to sell parts (used or new) at swap meets or flea market, you have to have a state tax ID Number and collect sales tax for the state and file an annual return... If you don't have the ID Number and/or file the tax forms as required you can be fined if caught.... Once you do have the state tax ID number, you are then required to file a sales tax return every year even if you had zero dollars in sales...
As for Ebay/PayPal, I stop using both of those a long time ago and have no regrets...

 

eBay doesn't charge taxes. eBay collects taxes on behalf of dirtball corrupt governments because dirtball corrupt governments tell them to as a condition of doing business.

If you don't like dirtball, corrupt governments, STOP ELECTING DIRTBALL CORRUPT POLITICIANS.

 

lol, I don't have a problem with paying taxes as long as it is fair. But yes, to many dirtballs with their hands in our pockets.

 

I'm going to close this thread preemptively.