Sales Tax and shipping not calculating

[7th_Tree_Images]

I have the most simple shop. 

1 item. 

When I go to check out, I don't see shipping or taxes being calculated. 

Shipping is setup as flat rate. 
Shipping is selected under "Fulfillment" for the item. 

Taxes are setup as VA. Not taxes calculate at checkout. 

I had the item weight at 3 pounds and shipping didn't calculate. 

I then switched the shipping to "flat rate" and removed the item weight. Shipping doesn't calculate. 

[warner_mark]

Hey 7th_Tree_Images, I saw your post about taxes and shipping not calculating. Sometimes Square can glitch a bit. Try deactivating and then reactivating your flat rate shipping and VA tax settings. If you're looking for ways to streamline your Square processes and increase productivity, consider exploring AI productivity tools designed specifically for small businesses. That might help reset things!

[7th_Tree_Images]

I have the most simple shop. 

1 item. 

Fullfilment is setup as pickup and shipping. 

Shipping is setup as flat rate. 

Tax is VA. 

At checkout, there is no shipping calculated (or shows the flat rate shipping that is setup), no taxes calculated, and no option to choose shipping or pickup. 

Item fulfillment is setup under the item. 
Shipping fulfillment and profile is setup under the shipping settings. 

[JK_Fiber_Art]

Unfortunately we cannot look at your settings - the volunteers here do not have the same capabilities as Tech or Customer Support.  It may be something easy to fix however, you may need someone to look at what you have configured.  Suggest looking thru your Fulfillment again to see if anything has been missed.  Then check your Item again to make sure that you selected Shipping and Pickup under the Fulfillment section.  Also recheck your Business Info Sales Tax details - Shipping and Delivering Taxes - Manage Settings.   If you're still not seeing the results you should be seeing, suggest contacting Customer Support.

[Katie_SQ]

Thanks for reaching out @7th_Tree_Images! I’ve gone ahead and merged your posts so that we can track the issues you’ve experienced in one place.

Just wanted to see if deleting and recreating your Shipping Profiles and Taxes has resolved these issues for you?

I’ve just had a look at your website, and can confirm the following on my end:

• The Pickup and Shipping fulfilment options are available.
• When I add the item to the cart, press Continue to payment, and enter a shipping address:
  • The shipping rate populates with a flat rate.
  • The VA tax applies when I enter a VA address.

If you’ve found a solution and have any tips to share, we’d love to hear them. Your insights may help other Sellers who come across this thread in the future. 🙂

[7th_Tree_Images]

Hi - thank you! So weird that I don't see any of that when I attempt to check out. 

Do I have to add every state that I want to charge sales tax for? If someone from Kentucky buys it, do I have to have KY sales tax setup? No right? Even if they put a California address, I should still be charging VA sales tax correct? Only asking because you said you see the VA sales tax when a VA address is entered. 

[Katie_SQ]

Thanks for the detailed information, @7th_Tree_Images!

Would you mind sharing a screenshot of your current sales tax settings?

From what you’ve described here, it sounds like you have an automatic sales tax set up for VA that calculates and applies taxes based on your customer's shipping address. This explains why taxes are applied when a VA address is entered but not for addresses in other states.

What you might need to do instead is set up a tax registration on your account. A tax registration state is one where you have a business presence, such as a storefront, home office, warehouse, or ship-from location. The automatic U.S. tax calculator charges sales tax based on all tax registrations added to your Square account and where you fulfill an order. This ensures that tax is always applied according to your location’s requirements.

To add a tax registration:

1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and select Account & Settings > Business information > Sales taxes.
2. Under Tax Registrations, select Manage.
3. Select Add tax registration to add a new state.
4. Choose the taxing state from the drop-down menu and select Add state.
5. Select Save.

[7th_Tree_Images]

 VA tax registration was automatically assigned. So I added a few more states because it says "states where you ship to" but I only have a physical location in Virginia. 

I would have to add all of the states one-by-one? 

VA doesn't collect tax on shipping, but does allow tax collection on handling, but I can't get "handling" to show up at checkout because the VA requirement is that in order to not collect tax on shipping, the handling costs must be shown. So I would need to itemize "shipping and handling." 

So I would need to collect VA sales tax on:

1. The item price

2. Handling costs

3. Regardless of the ship-to address because Virginia is an origin-based state. 

Thank you!

[MayaP]

Hey there @7th_Tree_Images, I am jumping for @Katie_SQ. Thanks for all your patience! 

Shipping rates and taxes are calculated based on the address the customer enters at checkout. Your current Shipping Profiles apply to anywhere in the US. So if a customer enters a US address at checkout, the appropriate shipping rate will be calculated.

When it comes to taxes, you currently have "not collecting" toggled on for Shipping and non-physical sales. If you want to charge taxes for shipping orders, I suggest they toggle on "Apply automatically generated tax rates" instead. Orders will calculate taxes if the customer enters an address using a state you have a tax registration for. It will NOT automatically charge VA tax. It will charge based on the state the customer enters at checkout.

If the customer enters a state that you do NOT have a tax registration for, then the customer will not be charged tax. Typically, the seller would only have tax registrations for states they have a business presence in. If you're unsure about whether you should be charging taxes in a particular state, then speak to a tax professional.

[7th_Tree_Images]

ok thanks!

Yes - VA requires sales tax on in and out of state sales. 

Virginia is an origin-based state. This means you're responsible for applying the sales tax rate determined by the ship-from address on all taxable sales. For additional information, see 23VAC10-210-2070.

Square does not currently meet nor provide this ability for ORIGIN-BASED states because VA sales tax is not computing when a buyer enters a non-VA ship-to address. The sales tax is based on MY VA address...the "ship-from."

When a buyer enters their address, VA sales tax should still calculate. I would not need to have a physical presence in all 52 states because online sales meets the "doing business in" requirement. 

Square needs to know this and make that option available. 

[RobynR]

@7th_Tree_Images, thank you for your response. In your specific situation, we, along with our ECOM team, recommend consulting with a tax advisor. Since we are unable to provide tax advice, it's best to seek guidance from a professional who can help ensure you are correctly charging taxes on your account. This way, you'll have peace of mind that everything is set up properly for your business.

[7th_Tree_Images]

Perhaps my words are not clear. I have even provided a tax publication code. 

There is a technical application problem. No tax advice is needed. 

it’s really not difficult. 

When a buyer inputs a VA SHIP TO  address, VA sales tax is computed. 

VA requires the VA sales tax to be collected based on the SHIP FROM address. 

When a buyer inputs an other than Virginia SHIP TO address, VA sales tax is NOT computed. 

This does not meet VA sales tax requirements for online sales. 

See no tax advice needed. 

The application does not perform as it should for calculating VA sales tax online sales. 

[RobynR]

@7th_Tree_Images I understand that you're not looking to us for tax advice, but it's important to clarify that the way taxes are currently being charged isn't in line with standard practices.

While you can set up your taxes according to your preferences, our system calculates taxes based on the broadest use case for most sellers.

If you'd like more information on how to handle out-of-state sales tax, I recommend checking out this resource from Avalara: When to Collect Sales Tax on Out-of-State Sales. It covers the basics of charging tax to out-of-state customers.

If you have a nexus in other states, you may need to set up manual tax configurations.

[7th_Tree_Images]

Yes - VA requires sales tax on in and out of state sales. 

So if someone from any other state makes a purchase, VA sales tax needs to be charged; but it's not doing that when I enter an address other than VA. 

[7th_Tree_Images]

But my small business is not registered in any other state nor do we meet any nexus guidelines. 

But nonetheless, VA sales tax should be calculating regardless of the destination address. 

Is Virginia sales tax origin or destination based?

origin-based state

Virginia is an origin-based state. This means you're responsible for applying the sales tax rate determined by the ship-from address on all taxable sales. For additional information, see 23VAC10-210-2070.