You can use the eBay tax table to specify a sales tax rate for each US state in which you're required to charge sales tax. You can also charge tax on shipping and handling, if it’s required by law.
When a buyer views your items, your tax rates are shown on the item page. When your buyer goes through eBay checkout after purchasing one of your items, we automatically calculate the sales tax amount based on the buyer's shipping address and the rates you specified in your tax table. The sales tax amount is included in the total final price of the item.
Important things to keep in mind when setting up a tax table:
- When you list your item you need to indicate that you charge sales tax in the listing form
- Changes that you make to your tax table don't affect your live listings. Only items that you list, relist, or revise after saving your tax table changes are affected
Setting up a tax table
You can charge sales tax for items sold to buyers in any or all states by setting up a tax table in My eBay, here’s how:
- Go to Site Preferences - opens in new window or tab in the Account section of My eBay.
- In the Payments from buyers section, select Show.
- Select Edit in the Use sales tax table section.
- Fill in the sales tax rate for any state where you want to charge sales tax. If you're also required to tax shipping and handling in that state, select the Also charge sales tax on S&H check box.
- Select Save.
Charging sales tax
Once you've created your tax table, you need to specify in your listing that you are charging sales tax, here’s how:
- On the listing form, tick the box beside Charge sales tax according to the sales tax table.
- You can open and make changes to your tax table by selecting View sales tax table.
- Complete your listing and select Preview listing or Save and continue later.
Tip
Contact a tax professional to determine whether you need to charge sales tax on your eBay sales, or if you have questions about any other taxes. We can't provide tax advice or guarantee that our sales tax features meet all tax requirements.
Paying income tax on eBay sales
By law, sellers have to declare and pay taxes on income earned from eBay sales. We recommend checking with a tax advisor to understand your responsibilities.
For more information on eBay's tax policy and your obligations, see our Tax policy and User Agreement.
Informing buyers about import charges
When you sell to overseas buyers, import fees (including taxes and customs charges) will apply for the country you're sending the item to.
The fees are usually based on the item's price, shipping weight, dimensions, and country of origin, plus any taxes, duties, and fees from the country you're sending the item to.
Buyers are responsible for paying import fees when they receive their item. Sellers can't include these costs in the item's purchase and shipping price. Make sure to let international buyers know this in your listings.