Do I need to collect sales tax selling online?

Sales tax is one of those things small resellers know they should understand and quietly hope doesn't apply to them. The honest answer is that it often does apply, but less of it falls on you than you might fear, because marketplaces now handle much of it. This guide explains how it works for a small US vintage or resale shop: when you have to collect, what marketplaces do for you, what your own website means, and how to buy stock without paying tax twice.

1. The short version

• Sales tax is charged by states (and often cities and counties), not the federal government. 45 states and Washington, DC have a statewide sales tax. Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon don't, though some Alaskan towns have local sales tax.
• You have to collect a state's sales tax when you have nexus there, a strong enough connection to that state.
• Your home state almost always counts. If you sell taxable goods where you live, expect to register there.
• Other states count once you pass their economic nexus threshold, most commonly $100,000 of sales into that state a year.
• When you sell through a large marketplace, that marketplace usually collects and pays the tax for you under marketplace facilitator laws.
• Sales from your own website and in person are yours to handle.

2. What nexus means

Nexus is the connection that gives a state the right to make you collect its sales tax. There are two main kinds.

Physical nexus

You have physical nexus in a state where you have a presence: your home or studio, a shop, a storage unit, staff, or stock held in a warehouse. Selling at a market, fair or pop-up in a state usually counts too, even for a weekend. For most small sellers, physical nexus means their home state, plus anywhere they sell in person.

Economic nexus

In 2018, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, the US Supreme Court ruled that states can require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax based on how much they sell into the state, even with no physical presence. Every state with a sales tax now has an economic nexus rule. The thresholds vary:

States also differ on what counts toward the threshold: total sales or only taxable ones, the last twelve months or the last calendar year, and whether marketplace sales are included (more on that below). Look up each state where you sell a lot, on that state's own revenue website.

For a small shop, the practical point is this: unless you sell well over $100,000 a year into a single state, economic nexus probably isn't your first concern. Your home state and your in-person sales are.

3. Marketplaces collect for you

Every state with a sales tax now has a marketplace facilitator law. These make a marketplace that processes the payment, such as eBay, Etsy or Depop, responsible for collecting and paying sales tax on the sales it handles for you. When a buyer in a taxable state buys from you on one of these marketplaces, the tax is added at checkout and paid to the state by the marketplace. You don't collect it and you don't send it. The same holds when VYA cross-lists a piece to eBay or Depop: the sale happens on that marketplace, which collects the tax.

That covers a lot of small resellers' sales, but not everything. Three things to watch:

• Marketplace sales may still count toward your threshold. California, Texas and New York, among others, include marketplace sales when working out whether a seller has passed the threshold. Some other states, such as Pennsylvania and Virginia, let you leave them out. If you pass a threshold, you may need to register even if most of your sales there go through a marketplace.
• Registered sellers usually still file. If you're registered in a state, you'll typically file returns there even when a marketplace collected the tax, reporting those sales as marketplace sales so you don't pay twice. Each state explains how on its return instructions.
• Not everything you sell goes through a marketplace. Your own website, Instagram sales paid by invoice and market stalls are all outside marketplace facilitator laws.

4. Your own website and social sales

When a buyer pays on your own website, you're the seller of record. If the buyer is in a state where you have nexus, usually your home state, you're responsible for charging the right rate and paying it to the state.

The right rate depends on where the buyer is and the state's rules. Many states tax based on where the order is delivered, and many add city and county rates on top of the state rate. Your home state's revenue website will say how its rules work. Most shop platforms can calculate rates by address once you tell them where you're registered. VYA works this way: it calculates the rate for each order's delivery address in the states you've told it about.

Two things that catch people out:

• Clothing isn't taxed the same everywhere. A few states exempt some or all clothing, sometimes only below a price limit, and some states hold short sales tax holidays for clothing. Check how your state treats clothing, shoes and accessories. VYA files each piece under its own kind of goods, so a clothing exemption isn't applied to a handbag or a piece of jewellery.
• Shipping charges are taxable in some states and not others, depending on how they're charged.

5. In-person sales: markets and pop-ups

Selling face to face usually means collecting the sales tax of the place where the sale happens. Most states expect market, fair and flea market vendors to be registered, including vendors from out of state. Some states offer a temporary permit for a single event, while others, like Iowa, require a regular permit. In some states, organisers must check that vendors are registered before renting them a stall.

Before you book a market in another state, check that state's rules for temporary or event vendors. Our guide to selling at vintage markets covers the rest of market day.

6. Resale certificates: buying stock without paying tax

Sales tax is meant to be paid once, by the final customer. When you buy stock to resell, you can usually give the seller a resale certificate so they don't charge you sales tax on it. You then collect tax from your own customer when the piece sells.

• You normally need to be registered with your state to issue one, because the certificate shows your sales tax number.
• Each state has its own form. Some accept multistate forms, such as the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate or the Streamlined Sales Tax exemption certificate. Check which forms your state and your supplier's state accept.
• Only for stock you'll resell. Hangers, a steamer, packaging you use yourself and shop furniture generally aren't covered. Using a resale certificate for things you keep can lead to tax, interest and penalties.
• Sellers don't have to accept them. A wholesaler or estate sale company may, while a thrift store's till may not be set up for it. If you buy from the same place often, ask.
• Keep copies of every certificate you give, and records of what you bought with it.

For pieces you sourced while paying tax, such as a thrift store find where you paid tax at the till, the rules on whether and how you can recover that tax differ by state. Ask your state, or an accountant, rather than assuming.

7. Registering, collecting and filing

Once you know where you need to collect, the routine looks like this:

1. Register with the state's department of revenue for a sales tax permit. Registration is free in many states, though not all.
2. Collect the right rate on taxable sales you make yourself: your website, in person and any non-marketplace channel.
3. Keep records of every sale: date, amount, where the buyer was, tax charged, and which channel it came through.
4. File returns on the schedule the state gives you. Small sellers are often put on quarterly or yearly filing.
5. File even when you owe nothing, if the state requires it. Missing a zero return can bring a penalty.

8. A worked example

Say you sell vintage from your home in Ohio. This year you sold $30,000 on Depop and eBay to buyers across the US, $12,000 on your own website, and $3,000 at markets in Ohio and once in Pennsylvania.

• Depop and eBay: the marketplaces collected and paid the tax under marketplace facilitator laws.
• Your website: you have physical nexus in Ohio, so you collect Ohio sales tax on website orders delivered in Ohio. Your sales into any other single state are far below $100,000, so you likely don't have economic nexus elsewhere.
• Markets: you collect Ohio tax at Ohio markets. For the Pennsylvania market, you'd check Pennsylvania's rules for out-of-state vendors before the day, and note that Pennsylvania treats most clothing differently from many other states.

This is the shape most small shops are in: registered at home, with marketplaces handling most out-of-state sales. Your own figures and states will differ, which is why the state's own guidance is the place to finish.

Where to check your state's rules

• Your state's department of revenue or taxation website, which will have pages for sellers, remote sellers and marketplace sellers.
• The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, for its member states and certificate.
• The Multistate Tax Commission, for its uniform resale certificate.
• A local accountant or enrolled agent who works with small retailers.

For where to sell in the first place, see our guide to where to sell vintage clothes online.

How VYA helps

VYA handles the part of sales tax that happens at checkout, and leaves the filing with you:

• Sales tax at checkout on your own site, for the states you're registered in.
• Rates by address, with clothing, bags and jewellery each taxed by their own rules.
• Paid to you, not held. The tax collected comes to you with each order, ready for you to file.
• A record for every order of the tax charged and where it was taxed.
• Every sale in one place, marked with where it sold, so your own sales and marketplace sales are easy to tell apart.

Sales tax at checkout comes with checkout on every plan: Starter at $49 a month, Studio at $129 and Pro at $199.

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Common questions

Tax rules change and differ by state. This guide was checked in October 2026 and is general information, not tax advice; always confirm with your state's department of revenue or a tax professional.