Tax information

Understand tax obligations that may affect you in the US and EU.

Overview

When you sell on eBay, you’re responsible for complying with all applicable tax laws. If you’re selling to buyers outside the US, you should inform them about the potential import charges they’ll need to pay when they receive their item.

If you sell to buyers in certain states in the US, AU, NZ or in the European Union (EU), your transactions will be subject to applicable sales taxes, Goods and Services Tax, and/or Value Added Tax.

Sellers’ tax responsibilities

You are responsible for paying all fees and taxes associated with using eBay as an eBay seller. For more information on eBay’s tax policy and your obligations, see our Tax policy and User Agreement.

Your tax-related responsibilities may include:

  • Paying sales tax on eBay sales
  • Paying income tax on eBay sales
  • Informing overseas buyers about import charges
  • Ability to validate what tax was collected on sales transactions.

Internet Sales Tax in the US

If you sell to buyers in the US, some jurisdictions may require you to collect applicable Internet Sales Tax on your transactions. As of July 1, 2021 a total of 46 jurisdictions require the collection of sales tax. In such cases, eBay collects and remits Internet Sales Tax on your behalf.

Learn more about Internet Sales Tax, on our Help pages, or from your tax advisor.

Starting in November 2019, the way taxable transactions are processed and how taxes are collected for remittance will change, as follows:

  • In jurisdictions where eBay is required to collect Internet Sales Tax from buyers, order totals sent for processing will reflect the gross order amount inclusive of tax.
  • Once settled, the tax amount will be automatically deducted for remittance to the applicable taxing authority.
  • A record of the sales tax portion of the order will be available on the Seller Hub Order details page and through our Download order report.

Please note the applicable tax will continue to be paid by the buyer and you do not need to take any action. These changes do not apply to sellers in managed payments.

Internet Sales Tax FAQs

There are currently 46 jurisdictions where eBay is obligated to collect and remit to the respective authorities for marketplace transactions.

Marketplace Facilitator Law by State (IST)

  • Alabama
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Pennsylvania
  • Puerto Rico
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

There may be legal implications, fees and tax obligations associated with using eBay. Remember that it’s your responsibility to understand and comply with relevant laws and regulations, and that you have to pay relevant fees and taxes. Our full policy explains how and when eBay charges applicable taxes, and provides additional guidance on your tax obligations, but we recommend you talk with a tax professional if you have any questions.

If you are selling on eBay as a business, we strongly recommend seeking professional advice about your tax obligations. You can also review the eBay Tax policy in the Help Hub.

You can refer them to the eBay Tax policy in the Help Hub. Our full policy explains how and when eBay charges applicable taxes.

Yes, we have a buyer exemption system that allows you to submit tax exemption certificates to eBay and make purchases without paying tax. Upload your tax exemption certificate here. See here for more details.

We’re developing reporting and exploring partnerships with tax service providers to help sellers with their sales tax obligations. For more information on these new tax requirements, we recommend consulting with your tax advisor. If you don’t have one, please contact one of our partners like Avalara for specific insights into the best course of action for you.

Each state and jurisdiction have different sales tax rates. eBay determines the tax rate based on the ship to address and the items purchased.

Each state’s legislation dictates if shipping and handling are taxable or not. In those states where eBay is collecting tax, we will collect tax on shipping and handling where applicable.

Sellers are generally required to collect sales tax in any state where they have a physical presence, which has been the case even before the recent Supreme Court decision. As of October 1, 2019, 34 states will require the collection of sales tax. In addition, if a seller meets any of the new economic nexus standards in other states, they would need to collect and remit sales tax in those states as well. Sellers should consult with their tax advisor about tax obligations for each state as the rules may vary on a state-by-state basis. If you use platforms other than eBay for selling, you may need to aggregate all of your sales into a state to determine if you have crossed that state's threshold for economic nexus.

Please visit our Help page and look for updates on Seller News.

If a seller provides the buyer with a discount, the tax will adjust accordingly. The tax will be calculated on the discounted price provided by the seller.

We’re in the process of updating the Tax Table to provide this functionality for our sellers.

Final value fees are calculated on the total amount of the sale. Please refer to our fees pages for more information.

No. eBay only collects and remits Internet Sales Tax on the sale price of your items.

Depending on tax legislation where you live and where your buyer lives, sales tax, Value Added Tax (VAT), Goods and Services Tax (GST), or similar consumption tax may apply to items you sell on eBay. Whether it’s included in the listing price or added at checkout depends on both the item’s location and the buyer’s shipping address.

Tax Exemptions

Can I submit a resale certificate so I do not have to pay sales tax on eBay purchases?

Yes, tax exempt buyers such as charitable entities and resellers can submit tax exemption certificates to eBay and make purchases without paying tax. Upload your tax exemption certificate here. Learn more here.

Form 1099-K

If you’ve made at least $20,000 in gross sales and exceeded 200 transactions for goods* on eBay in 2023, you will receive a tax Form 1099-K for all your 2023 sales transactions.

For tax year 2024, the IRS is planning a threshold of $5,000. Please visit our Form 1099-K FAQ page for more information.

Form 1099-K FAQs

Form 1099-K is a document that taxpayers receive to report income from payment card and third party network transactions. It includes the gross amount of all payment transactions within a calendar year. This gross amount doesn’t include any adjustments for credits, discounts, fees, refunds or other amounts. 

Learn more about Form 1099-K

Your sales on online marketplaces like eBay are reportable once they exceed a certain amount. Because eBay processes payments for these sales, IRS regulations require us to issue a 1099-K for US sellers who cross the sales threshold for a given tax year.

Not necessarily. Just because you receive a 1099-K doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll owe taxes on the amount reported on your 1099-K. The 1099-K shows your gross receipts, but you are taxable on your net income.

Only goods that are sold for a profit are considered taxable, so you won’t owe any taxes on something you sell for less than what you paid for it. For example, if you bought a bike for $1,000 last year, and then sold it on eBay today for $700, that $700 you made would generally not be subject to income tax.

Please consult a tax professional if you have any questions about any tax filing or regulations.

If you have multiple eBay accounts associated with the same SSN or ITIN, your thresholds are calculated by combining all payment transactions for the year. If your combined sales exceed the above thresholds, you’ll receive a 1099-K for each account, even if one or more of the individual accounts do not exceed the IRS reporting thresholds.

Here’s some general IRS FAQs on this topic.

Refunds to a Buyer

  • If the buyer requires a refund—cancellation, full refund, less than full refund, or partial refund, eBay will refund the sales tax to the buyer in these cases since we collected the sales tax on the original transaction.
  • The best practice is to send refunds through the eBay platform. However, if the refund is carried out on the PayPal platform, the seller is responsible to refund the full amount paid by the buyer at checkout including any paid Internet Sales Tax.
  • The seller will have to review the original PayPal transaction for the total amount of tax due to the buyer and add this to the refund amount for a full refund or the proportional amount for a partial refund.
  • When the seller refunds the buyer, eBay will credit them back any taxes refunded.

How can I check how much Internet Sales Tax was collected by eBay?

Our Orders Report itemizes how much tax we collected and remitted for transactions in marketplace responsibility states. You can download your orders in a CSV (comma-separated) file from the “Manage all orders” page in Seller Hub.

Value Added Tax in the EU

If you sell to buyers in the EU, you may be required to charge and remit Value Added Tax. Value Added Tax is similar to a sales tax. Generally speaking, it’s a tax on a business’s gross receipts from the sale of goods and services. For example, any eBay seller making sales to UK buyers and fulfilling those orders from UK-based inventory is likely obligated to register for, charge and remit Value Added Tax in the UK. Speak with a tax advisor to better understand how Value Added Tax applies to your eBay business in the EU and other countries outside the US.

Do I need to register for Value Added Tax in the EU?

eBay wants sellers to be successful and legally protected, wherever you do business.

Registering for Value Added Tax in the EU may help you do both those things.

Whether you need to register for Value Added Tax in an EU member state depends on the way you conduct your business.

The key factors that determine if you have an obligation to register for Value Added Tax are

  1. Your business’s country of establishment.
  2. The location of your inventory.
  3. Your level of sales.

It’s each seller’s responsibility to ensure they are Value Added Tax-compliant.

Next steps

Complete the following steps to ensure you are Value Added Tax-compliant and to avoid potential selling restrictions

  1. Register with the local tax authority in each country where you’ve determined you have a Value Added Tax obligation. For example in the UK, register with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the UK’s tax authority.
  2. Provide eBay with your Value Added Tax ID number, and we’ll automatically add it to all your eligible new listings.

Value-Added Tax resources

HMRC Value-Added Tax guidance for overseas, online retailers

HMRC Value-Added Tax registration

VAT FAQs

Since you are doing business in Europe, you are required to comply with EU laws and regulations, as well as those in your own country. The eBay sites in Europe (such as ebay.sp, ebay.co.uk, ebay.de, etc.) are set up with the correct processes to help sellers meet these requirements. Learn more.

Yes. Buyers are responsible for paying import fees, usually as part of clearing their parcel through customs or when they receive their item. If you offer international shipping, you can’t include these costs in the item’s purchase and shipping price. Make sure to let international buyers know this in your listings. If your item’s being sent using the Global Shipping Program, eBay will inform the buyer about import charges and these will be included in the order total at checkout.

* Except in Vermont and Massachusetts where the threshold is lower irrespective of the number of transactions.

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