Can I be charged state sales tax on shipping & handling?

Question

Shipping & handling was added to the price of my order & then the tax was applied, can this be right

Answer 1

You should not pay taxes on shipping and handling. I would call the company.

Answer 2

If you are ordering from a company located in the same state that your order is to be shipped to, then yes, you can be liable for state sales tax (this is the case for CA). This will depend of course on the state - some states do not have sales tax (e.g. Oregon).

Answer 3

Most states exclude shipping and handling from the sales tax computation, but it could vary by state.

If it were me, I'd call my taxing authority to ask them and let them know about the vendor if there is not supposed to be a tax on S&H. The vendor may be cheating by keeping the additional tax dollars and not paying them to the state.

Answer 4

Depends on how you are buying this. All the states want to charge sales tax on the entire transaction. But those states who have worked out deals with shippers like Amazon, for the most part do not charge. If you buying from an instate shipper however, expect to be charged.

Answer 5

99% of the time, no. I've never heard of a state charging sales tax on a service.

You pay the tax on the item that you purchased, nothing more. (But you will often find both charges on your deliveries. The order that they appear on your invoice doesn't necessarily mean one was charged on another.)

Answer 6

Sales tax rules vary by state so we would need to know what state you are in.

Also, rules change over time. In Minnesota, shipping was not taxable in the past but it is now.

Answer 7

wayne z the , tax profesional got it right again wow!