Need clarification on sales tax

[JetCityWoman]

I'm starting a small home business that will do online retail sales. My business will be located in Virginia, so I understand that's my primary tax nexus (business office location). I'll be mostly drop-shipping merchandise to buyers all over the US. I have a list of suppliers with their locations (warehouse tax nexus).

I know this is a hot mess right now with rapidly changing state and local laws. I've been going to each state's tax website to read their requirements for how sales tax is handled there. It looks like most of them require you to collect sales tax to all sales made in their state (based on customer's delivery address). A few include business location (nexus) requirements. Is it safe to just assume I need to charge each state's sales tax for every customer in the U.S.? If so, that would mean I'd need to register with all 50 states to collect and remit sales tax, right? Does anybody know if there's a simpler way to do this?

I first thought that if I limited my dropshippers to only a few states, then I could register only with those few states. But the more I read, the more it sounds like I have to register with every state I might possibly make a sale in. Ugh. Help?

 

[Bad Medicine]

My limited understanding of this, and it is just what I've read and I'm NOT an accountant, is that you only have to collect sales tax where you have business operations. So in Virginia, possibly the place that ships your orders, and that's it ? That seems to be what most online businesses do.

From a practical standpoint, even if California wanted sales tax from you, what leverage do they have ? You don't have a business license there to revoke, you don't own property there to place liens against, etc, they can pound sand.

 

[Bad Medicine]

I just read more about this online and it seems like its the purchaser that's responsible for the tax. So, if you order a book from an online retailer, even though they don't charge you sales tax, you as the consumer are actually responsible for paying a sales tax .. except that few people actually do that.

 

[JetCityWoman]

Okay, I can handle that, I think. I'll be glad when the mess is all fixed up. I don't mind collecting and remitting tax at all, even from all 50 states if needed. I just want one way to register for it all and do it. I continued to websurf info about this and found a "StreamlinedSalesTax.org" that is working on this issue. But it seems to address the issue form the government perspective and I didn't see anything about streamlining a way for businesses to be compliant. Maybe that's the last step, lord knows. Anyway, thanks all!

 

[Bad Medicine]

JetCityW

Okay, I can handle that, I think. I'll be glad when the mess is all fixed up. I don't mind collecting and remitting tax at all, even from all 50 states if needed. I just want one way to register for it all and do it. I continued to websurf info about this and found a "StreamlinedSalesTax.org" that is working on this issue. But it seems to address the issue form the government perspective and I didn't see anything about streamlining a way for businesses to be compliant. Maybe that's the last step, lord knows. Anyway, thanks all!

If you're searching for more taxes to pay, you could pay Virginia Use tax for your business's online purchases, form ST-7