bookkeeping tax

State Taxes: A Handmade Sellers Guide

State taxes can be a quagmire of rules and regulations - we discuss how it works and what you need to be aware of as a handmade seller.

As a business, you will need to collect sales tax whenever you make a sale to a customer who resides in a state where you have a “physical presence”.

This physical presence is what is commonly referred to as a Nexus. This will most likely be the state you reside in for most craft entrepreneurs that work from home. If however you own warehouses, attend craft fairs across state borders or hire employees in other states, you may have more than one Nexus to collect taxes for.

For example, if you live in Florida, your Nexus is Florida and you’ll be required to collect sales tax from your customers based in Florida.

As another example, say you live in South Carolina and you store your goods in a warehouse just over the border in North Carolina. Then you hire your brother in Virginia to work for you. It may be that you will have nexus in all three of those states.

Once you have determined your nexus, you’ll want to read up on the sales tax requirements for this state. You’ll also need to ensure that you have registered to charge sales tax - it is unlawful to collect sales tax without first registering for a permit. Be sure not to skip this step.

Tip: Etsy provides useful instructions that will lead you through the process of determining nexus and creating your sales tax settings for your listings.

How to calculate your sales taxes

State sales tax can be calculated by tallying all tax collected in all of the states in which you have nexus.

How to file your state taxes

As this is a state level tax, rules and ways of collecting this tax will differ. Contact your state tax representative for details.

Penalties

Don’t forget that some states require what’s called a “zero return,” which is for those sellers that didn’t collect any sales tax. If you don’t file one of these, you could be hit with a fee or penalty.

Nicole Pascoe Nicole Pascoe - Profile

Written by Nicole Pascoe

Nicole is the co-founder of Craftybase, inventory and manufacturing software designed for small manufacturers. She has been working with, and writing articles for, small manufacturing businesses for the last 12 years. Her passion is to help makers to become more successful with their online endeavors by empowering them with the knowledge they need to take their business to the next level.

Overwhelmed at the thought of getting your record-keeping in order for tax time?

This free eBook will guide you through what taxes you are liable for, when they are due and how to calculate them.

Tax Playbook for Handmade Sellers eBook cover