Found a solution.
Zip-tax.com
I am having a PHP programmer make the API addon. Anyone else who is interested send me a PM and maybe we can get a group price going to get the addon at a discounted price.
Troy
Troy,
Count me in.
-Glen
Okay will do Glen!
I'd need to see the cost for the api. We already plugged in the state ST rates and have it working pretty well. We do a pretty low volume in-state.
The add-on is completed, fully tested and working great. Plus there are a few extra options.
It was made by Rainner Lins rainnerlins@gmail.com
He did put up a demo sight, that I can PM someone the login so they can try before they buy.
Rainner is VERY affordable compared to other quotes I received to build this add-on, so pay the man and let your tax worries be gone.
Jack,
If you only have one states taxes to deal with, you may be best off to enter them yourself. This add-on will work for every vendor in every state. It does require the Zip-Tax monthly service, but that's all of $9 a month for 1,000 lookups and time is money.
I am making nothing off this and I'm just happy I can open my business now.
I just picture my multivendor website similar to a retail location. I take the sales here in Utah so I only collect sales tax when customers from Utah purchase. What does this Add-on do? Are all vendors supposed to be collecting sales tax from within their state or something?
any person who sells products in their state needs to collect sales tax from customers who also reside in their state. So if you have retail stores across the US, they need to have their own tax settings. My store is like a marketplace, I don't actually sell anything for retail, but host the store for other retail stores, kind of like Amazon.
Troy, thanks for sharing the demo. In MN, I need tax calculation accurate to ZIP+4 because our city and county tax boundaries don't always fall on ZIP borders. Also, shipping to MN is taxable if any items in the order are taxable, otherwise shipping is tax free. I've reached out to the developer to see if those changes are possible.
-Glen
Glen,
I am sure this wont be a problem for him to do and will update the add-on as appropriate. I will probably need the same option if I ever have a vendor in MN. This guy is super affordable and he will get all my PHP work from now on. haha I had one other programmer quote me $250 for it.
- Troy
HI, i've worked with both Troy and Glen on custom tax related addons. I have an addon that uses TaxCloud.net to calculate rates automatically, plus shipping rates if it applies. If anyone is still looking for a solution, send me a PM. I have a demo store up for testing purposes.
Rainner,
This good to go on 4.x.x? Sent PM btw.
Checked out TaxCloud.net. They won't file for us because FL is not one of the states yet but if we can get a report, we are golden to continue manually filing.
We've been using Rainner's TaxCloud addon on 4.x.x sites without problems. It is very well written and Rainner is a pleasure to work with.
-Glen
Thanks for the info Glen.
Since you worked with him, I'm assuming you have direct contact info. I've PM'd but no reply yet (although it's only been a day and I'll give him time to reply.) But if you don't mind, would you ping him for me to get in touch? We'd really like to start using by May 1 if possible.
Also, FL isn't a state where the tax system will file automatically. Is there a report generated that will show total collected and possibly Surtax totals? FL is 6% but each county has different surtaxes added on (or not) up to 1%.
For our filing we have to report total collected and of that how much was surtax.
Thanks again for the reply and in advance for the ping.
YFinder - ping sent. There isn't any “tax collected” reporting built into the addon. I'm sure Rainner could work with you on that, or you might find a solution in Tax Cloud's admin.
-Glen
Very much appreciated Glen.
I'm sure you are right. We might be able to get it from the admin or build our own solution.
My site is growing and this has topic is weighing heavily on me as I decide how I should proceed. Can someone give me some info on these questions? (I've read all the posts but still struggling to find my solution.)
- I run a MV site (4.2.x) and will have vendors in several states. Do I have to account for every city, county, and state where all my vendors are located? If so, please explain.
- I thought since all payments are made to my business' address, the sale is actually taking place in my state; therefore I should only have to collect taxes for sales shipped to locations in my state, correct?
- Can one of you describe the solution that the addon by Rainner provides? (If it turns out I need this, I would like to see the demo site if it's still up.)
- Some of my customers will be tax exempt which I can set their user account properly in the CS-Cart admin. Will Rainner's addon account for those settings as well?
Thanks in advance.
Hi ShowStuff,
Rainners solution is very good and he said it works on multi-vendor. I don't run a multi-vendor, but do run multi-site.
- your question would be related to NEXUS liabilities. Basically, if you have a presence in a state where you do business (Dis.center, store front, etc.) then you would have to collect and pay sales tax. I don't know your vendor relations, but i'm assuming you would need to collect or at least calculate on behalf of your vendors. This should work well for it but Rainner or someone else will have to confirm. You don't have to do anything for the county, zip, roof-top level. Tax Cloud handles all this based on Shipping address.
- If you are correct, then the tax payment is much easier and will work.
- Basically, it's an add-on that uses TaxClouds API's. Once installed, you can configure but almost all of the default settings are in place and appropriate. Choose to use the Shipping Address for Tax calculations and you are in business.
- Rainner's solution takes this into consideration. If you have the resale certificate from your customers and have make them as tax exempt, the add-on tells the customer during checkout that they are not being charged tax due to their status. It also tells them the exact rate they are being charged as well as other errors and status' that may be present. You can change all of this in the setup to word it differently if you need to. We are thrilled with the add-on.
One thing to note. TaxCloud is a tax service paid by states to collect and report sales tax. If you live in a state (like FL) where they are not part of the streamlined process, there will be a 10.00/mo fee in June to use ONLY that state. In your TC Setup, you can choose to collect tax for all the states that are part of the streamlined process and pay nothing per month. This means that you will be collecting, reporting and paying taxes in other states where you currently have no Nexus obligation BUT it is the future and someday we will have to collect and file in all states that have a sales tax. Getting on board now with TaxCloud and Rainner will make it much easier (and cheaper compared to Alavara) when we are mandated to collect in states we don't have a presence in.
One more thing, as Glen stated, there is no built-in tax reporting. Because if you live in a state already supported by streamlined, Taxcloud does it for you. If not, there are reports from TC that you can use to file your taxes manually as you probably are already doing.
@YFinder - Thanks for the detailed response. VERY helpful!
@ all - I would like to get your thoughts on my particular situation and use of MV.
My site is a marketplace for theatre programs (school, community, professionals, etc) to sell (and in the near future rent) props, costumes, set pieces, etc. I will soon have vendors in states other than my own. They maintain their own items, most of which are used custom items of limited quantities. We are built for a specific target client and most will be tax exempt.
- Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on managing this issue on my site?
- Would those schools or community theatre people be considered nexus?
- Does anyone have information regarding the difference between sales & rental taxes?
Thanks in advance.
I am also interested in connecting with Rainner. Glen cannot accept private messages
can someone post me a message with his contact info…
thanks
Sam
Sam - PM sent. My message inbox is full here and deleting doesn't seem to free up any space.