# (Anonymous Poll) Do you report unpaid sales taxes on goods purchased online? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389 "2010-03-22T21:06:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/41 "2010-03-23T21:52:40Z")
My theory is if I’m supposed to pay it I will. It’s up to the merchant to charge me. If he fails to do so, that’s his fault not mine Not exactly right but it works in my mind 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/42 "2010-03-23T21:57:47Z")
I had no idea I was supposed to. I recently did my state (AZ) taxes and I don’t remember seeing anything about it. So I’m supposed to pay state retail tax on those ballet shoes I bought on Ebay? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/43 "2010-03-23T22:20:56Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m guessing there will be a crackdown on this coming. > > Since it would be impossible to track down every “Myrtle Smith bought _Finding Out if Your Husband is Cheating_ for $12.00 from [BooksRUs.com](http://BooksRUs.com) on January 20, Breaking Bad Season 1 for $15 from Barnes and [Noble.com](http://Noble.com) on March 5, _How to Declare a Relative Dead Without a Body_ for $6.42 used on [Half.com](http://Half.com) on March 18, a XXXL plastic tub from [BigLots.com](http://BigLots.com) for $35 on March 21, and 10 liters of hydrofluoric acid from [ChemistryIzFun.com](http://ChemistryIzFun.com) for $1110 on March 22, she owes $82.32 in sales tax… okay, that’s state resident 3,249,202 down, 4,202,329 to go…”, it’ll probably be a crackdown on the online merchants by changing laws governing online sales. Personally I wouldn’t have a great problem with this so long as the percentage of sales tax is significantly less than buying from a local brick and mortar establishment. Charging 2% would still generate billions of dollars for the states and the product would remain cheaper even when you add in s&h cost. Some states tried that (I believe it was the states and not the federal gov), but it got shot down. Amazon was the biggest target, though now they collect for NYS. And it is not just a pain for retailers to do 50 states, as some states can have several sales tax jurisdictions (state has one amount, then each locality adds another). ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/44 "2010-03-23T22:30:20Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > I had no idea I was supposed to. I recently did my state (AZ) taxes and I don’t remember seeing anything about it. I think maybe 1/2 of the states put it on your income tax forms. The others (at least nominally) expect you to know about it > [@](#): > > So I’m supposed to pay state retail tax on those ballet shoes I bought on Ebay? Again (and I’m sorry your post has to be the vehicle for this…) \*\*It is not a retail tax, sales tax, or whatever you want to call it. \*\* It is called “use tax” Yes, it is an excise tax (as is a sales tax), but it is not a sales tax. It is imposed on goods where the state does not collect a sales tax, and it feels that it should. (Getting hyper-technical, and very general, but this is the broad stroke) It’s specifically defined as being imposed where a State resident imports into that state a good for his or her personal use. The state grants an exemption to imposition of the use tax where you have paid sales tax on the good. It has nothing to do with engaging a retailer for anything. If you shop in a state with no sales tax and you bring the merchandise in, you owe the tax. As for ebay products, you’re going to have to check your state’s tax laws for used goods purchased from non-business entities. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/45 "2010-03-23T22:48:38Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I don’t exactly see what my state has to do with purchases I make in other states. So no, I don’t declare all that. > > I have this idea of finding 2 adjacent states, one without sales tax and one without income tax, and living and working in the no income tax state and driving across the border to the no sales tax state to do my shopping. Welcome to Vancouver, WA. And you’re supposed to send the state use tax if you do that. ---
**Author:** ![Parenchyma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Parenchyma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parenchyma)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/46 "2010-03-24T03:29:24Z")
Here’s an example of why you might decide to give your state 25 bucks or so. If you realize your Amazon, etc., purchases\*\* do \*\*add up (and can be found out relatively easily), paying the fee gets you “safe harbor” and off the hook for any future tax liability about the total amount you bought online (as long as it’s under $1000). I bought enough online that it’s a lot cheaper than what the actual sales tax would have been if Massachusetts had a way to collect it from online retailers. From Massachusetts Department of Revenue Tax Guide: "Since 2002, the Massachusetts personal income tax return has had a line for consumers to report use tax on items that they may have purchased out of state or from Internet or mail order sellers who did not collect Massachusetts sales or use tax. The amendment will permit taxpayers to use a schedule, as set forth below, to self-report a “safe harbor” amount of use tax based on their Massachusetts adjusted gross income. A taxpayer may pay this amount in lieu of the actual amount of use tax that would otherwise be due with respect to such purchases. Individual taxpayers electing to report use tax under this method will not be assessed additional use tax on audit with regard to items having a sales price below $1,000, even if the actual amount of use tax due would have been greater than the amount from the schedule. Purchases of items having a sales price of $1,000 or more are excluded from the safe harbor. MA AGI Per Return Use Tax Liability 0 - 25,000: $ 0.00 25,001 - 40,000: $15.00 40,001 - 60,000: $25.00 60,001 - 80,000: $35.00 $80,001 - $100,000: $45.00" ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/47 "2010-03-24T14:01:10Z")
I surrender my anonymity and state that I chose “always.” I never used to, but for the last couple of tax years, Michigan wants to charge me a flat percentage based on my income which is much, much, much higher than the tax I legitimately owe. So, I go through all my receipts and figure out the tax. I’m always too afraid to indicate that I bought nothing, because, well, that’s just not logical. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/48 "2010-03-24T14:34:44Z")
TX has high sales tax, ridiculous property tax, and no income tax. Since I don’t file TX income tax, I’d never thought to pay use tax. And that TN system where you’re supposed to file a use tax return for each purchase is just silly, especially since apparently hardly anyone in TN knows about it. I hope TX doesn’t have that, or at least if they do I hope I never learn about it. (If a Doper tries to tell me otherwise, I won’t read it.) ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/49 "2010-03-24T15:14:23Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > TX has high sales tax, ridiculous property tax, and no income tax. Since I don’t file TX income tax, I’d never thought to pay use tax. And that TN system where you’re supposed to file a use tax return for each purchase is just silly, especially since apparently hardly anyone in TN knows about it. I hope TX doesn’t have that, or at least if they do I hope I never learn about it. (If a Doper tries to tell me otherwise, I won’t read it.) you don’t have to do it after each purchase - you can aggregate it. and, since you asked [http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/01-156.pdf](http://www.cpa.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/01-156.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/50 "2010-03-24T16:50:02Z")
Add Alaska to states with no sales tax. ---
**Author:** ![breaking-reality](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@breaking-reality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaking-reality)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/51 "2010-03-24T17:00:57Z")
I didn’t know that I was supposed to, but someone does my taxes for me and that’s never been something she’s asked about or brought up. I have talked to her about sales tax on items that I will be potentially selling… Doesn’t the state require the business to pay sales tax and not the purchaser? Apparently I don’t know enough about this. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/52 "2010-03-24T18:47:15Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > here you go 😃 > > [http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/usetax/](http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/usetax/) I didn’t say I WANTED to know! ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/53 "2010-03-24T20:00:23Z")
Huh? Illinois has sales tax, of course, but in the last 8 or 9 years TurboTax has never, ever asked me to declare such things. It’s never asked anything at all about online purchases. And my return is so complicated that I wouldn’t dare to try to do it without some sort of help – so I’ve never seen any item on any form demanding to know if I had bought stuff online last year. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/54 "2010-03-24T20:33:37Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > Huh? > > Illinois has sales tax, of course, but in the last 8 or 9 years TurboTax has never, ever asked me to declare such things. It’s never asked anything at all about online purchases. And my return is so complicated that I wouldn’t dare to try to do it without some sort of help – so I’ve never seen any item on any form demanding to know if I had bought stuff online last year. Illinois is one of those states that doesn’t ask about any Use Tax owed on their Income Tax return. Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean it’s not there (but may suggest that their desire to enforce said law is low on the totem pole) but… since you asked 😃 [http://www.revenue.state.il.us/TaxForms/Sales/ST-44.pdf](http://www.revenue.state.il.us/TaxForms/Sales/ST-44.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/55 "2010-03-24T22:00:16Z")
If they don’t tell you about it, they have no ethical reason to expect you to pay it. And I have never heard of anyone paying this. In fact, I know quite a few people who specifically buy stuff from out of state to avoid sales tax. My general rule is that I don’t obey laws that I feel are unethical. If compliance gets forced, then I think of a perfectly legal way to get back at them later. Fairness is extremely important to me. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/56 "2010-03-24T22:11:18Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If they don’t tell you about it Of course, they do completely tell you about it. Good luck persuading a court on that one. > [@](#): > > My general rule is that I don’t obey laws that I feel are unethical. Well, that’s nice. Unfortunately what you feel is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/57 "2010-03-24T22:22:18Z")
My answer was “I had no idea I was supposed to,” but now that I’ve read this thread I’m certainly not about to start doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/58 "2010-03-24T22:27:57Z")
I think it’s far too juicy a source of revenue to remain untapped for very long. As mentioned a crackdown on individuals would be next to impossible, but I can almost guarantee that at very least they’ll make the knowledge you’re supposed to do so more visible. (I learned about it on NPR, up to which time I had no idea.) ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/59 "2010-03-24T22:30:39Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I think it’s far too juicy a source of revenue to remain untapped for very long. As mentioned a crackdown on individuals would be next to impossible, but I can almost guarantee that at very least they’ll make the knowledge you’re supposed to do so more visible. (I learned about it on NPR, up to which time I had no idea.) the other part about this is it screws over your local retailers and communities. so if internet shopping keeps growing and the taxes aren’t paid for, you wind up shooting yourself in the foot as a member of the community. most states aren’t pissed at their citizens, really, but they’re pissed at those economically unimportant states which whore themselves out to these e-tailers and poach tax revenues. ---
**Author:** ![SleepyDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SleepyDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleepyDuck)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389/60 "2010-03-25T05:03:46Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > My general rule is that I don’t obey laws that I feel are unethical. > [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > Well, that’s nice. Unfortunately what you feel is irrelevant. **Rumor** , I don’t know who the fuck you work for in this life, but you would have made an excellent Birmingham jailer a half-century ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anonymous-poll-do-you-report-unpaid-sales-taxes-on-goods-purchased-online/533389.md?page=4)