Charge state tax even when you're out of state

[DrByte]

I'm sure this has already been answered... but I can't figure out how to word it in a search to find it myself.

Live in state of Tennessee. Set up Zen-Cart to charge appropriate sales tax. Works great for me... of course I live in Tennessee.

People ordering from outside the state are also getting charged Tennessee tax when they shouldn't. I feel like I'm missing the obvious.

Any suggestions?

csmith's problem is that they've not properly defined their Tennessee zone to be limited to Tennessee, and it's actually referring to the entire country.

[timcfi]

How do I define my state to NOT be limited to just that state? I want everyone to pay my state tax, because we're physically located here (Iowa) with 6% sales tax. People living in Illinois were not getting charged any sales tax.

[DrByte]

How do I define my state to NOT be limited to just that state? I want everyone to pay my state tax, because we're physically located here (Iowa) with 6% sales tax. People living in Illinois were not getting charged any sales tax.

First, I hope you've verified with your tax accountant that you're supposed to be charging tax to out-of-state customers.

Second, to change the scope of the zone being taxed, simply add the additional states to the list of states encompassed therein.
ie: Admin->Locations/Taxes->Zone Definitions->Choose your zone.
Click Define
Select the appropriate combination of states to be taxed by that zone definition/class/rate combination (which you can review in Admin->locations/taxes->tax rates)

[timcfi]

We're a bricks 'n mortar company, using ZC for billing. Therefore, all customers pay sales tax at our state rate, no matter where they come from. I didn't think I would need to set up every zone in the world in order to have them pay at the store location rate. I thought that when I set the Basis of Product Tax to Store, it would do exactly that.. Is this not true? If I'm doing something wrong, help!
Thanks for your patience.

[Kim]

I thought that when I set the Basis of Product Tax to Store, it would do exactly that.. Is this not true?

Zen Cart was not designed to be used as a POS system. We are happy you are using it that way, but the principals used to sell online are slightly different than your brick and mortar. The purpose of the "store tax basis: was to cover the situation when *either* the shipping or the billing address matches the tax zone of the store.

So - you either have to set every possible tax zone or do some custom coding to make one of the customer addresses match the store zone.

[timcfi]

Ahhh, ok thanks. That helps my understanding. Has anyone used ZC this way?

[DougBittinger]

I am trying to use ZC in a similar fashion for a whitewater rafting company who wants to take reservations on line, because his "product" is deliered at his facility all buyers must pay his local taxes. I have tried setting under Zone Definitions, the Country to All Countries (from the drop down list) and Zone to All Zones (again from a pre-programmed list) but then it refuses to let me set a tax rate anywhere.

Looks like I'm going to have to set up every possible state with his local tax rate and hope he doesn't get too may international buyers!