We know taxes can be perplexing. But with some assistance from behind-the-scenes magic of TaxJar, we’ve done our best to take the guesswork out of configuring tax rates in your shop, so you can get back to the good stuff - like, not sweating bullets over setting up taxes, for one.
Enter your business location and product type, and we'll take care of the rest. When you enable auto tax calculation in your admin and your customers make a purchase in your shop, the correct tax will be automatically added to their order based on your location, your customer's location and your product type.
Where you create and ship your products from will determine where you collect and remit taxes. This is called "sales tax nexus" in tax-speak. When enabling tax in your Big Cartel admin you'll enter your shop location to determine where you have a physical nexus.
Have multiple shop locations? Not to worry - our Diamond and Titanium plans have the ability to add multiple shop locations and will automatically charge tax based on the shop locations entered in your admin.
Not exactly sure where your business has a presence? We have more info on that for U.S. sellers here. And it's always a good idea to consult with a tax pro to make sure you're getting it right.
In some places, certain types of products get a discounted tax rate or may even be tax-exempt, so you’ll want to be sure to choose a tax class that best represents your products.
If you sell space-themed tees, that will fall under Clothing. 🚀 If you make a delicious sweet potato soufflé 🍮 that's a hit at pop up dinners, you’ll want to select Food & Groceries as the tax class.
And for shops with products that fall in multiple tax classes, like Clothing and Food & Groceries, we now support per product tax class settings on our Diamond and Titanium plans.
Some states have laws requiring online businesses charge tax in states where they have what is called an economic nexus. If you find yourself needing to charge tax in additional states we've got you covered. Just a heads up - this feature is only available on our Diamond and Titanium plans.
While our auto tax setting simplifies tax collection in your shop, we suggest you talk with a tax professional to help navigate the requirements based on where you're located and what you sell to make sure you're following the law.
Log in at my.bigcartel.com.
Go to Account.
Scroll down to the Taxes area and click or tap Edit Taxes.
Toggle the Automatically calculate tax setting on.
In the Shop Location section, enter your shop's street address and zip/postal code and then Next. Double-check your address and click or tap Verify.
In the Product Type section, select the tax class that best describes your products. If none apply, select Default and hit Save.
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