California Tax Rates

[charlieo]

I'm helping with a friend's store. They now tell me California has 2 tax rates.

Southern California is 8.25% while Northern California is 7.75%. The store ships from S. Cal - so no tax to other states. It's getting beat up on orders from S. Cal. because the OLD rate was 7.75 for everyone - so they're losing on those.

Does anyone know how to set that up?

There isn't a drop down for zip codes - so I'm wondering how to break up the Tax Zone when there's no way to distinguish it when customers login.

If there is a way to have two tax zones - the customer should have someway to choose.

Any ideas are appreciated.

charlieo

[MMN Maniac]

I'm helping with a friend's store. They now tell me California has 2 tax rates.

Southern California is 8.25% while Northern California is 7.75%. The store ships from S. Cal - so no tax to other states. It's getting beat up on orders from S. Cal. because the OLD rate was 7.75 for everyone - so they're losing on those.

Does anyone know how to set that up?

There isn't a drop down for zip codes - so I'm wondering how to break up the Tax Zone when there's no way to distinguish it when customers login.

If there is a way to have two tax zones - the customer should have someway to choose.

Any ideas are appreciated.

charlieo

Heh.. I'm working on a New York store, and we have about 20 different tax rates and zones here..

If anyone can comment on this, I'd be grateful. If there was some way to have the customer pick and choose, that'd be great. The tax rates here in NY are NOT based on ZIP-codes either, so I'm out of ideas short of having customers give us their CC info and then we'll process their cards for them (which takes more time on our end).

Thanks everyone!

~MMN Maniac

[clydejones]

Try the ot_local_tax mod you can find it here
http://www.zen-cart.com/archived_con...s/order-total/

It was written with California in mind.

[charlieo]

Clyde:

I'm going to try it.

I just checked the California State Tax Page at:

http://www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/pam71.htm

It's a snakepit - it's different for almost every county. Anywhere from 7.25 to 8.50 in San Fran - and everything in between.

This could take a while - thanks for the module!!

Charlieo

[PortMan]

Sales tax is collected by the county the sale originated in. So, if your store is in S.Cal and you sell to N. Cal you still have to collect S. Cal tax rate. You should have to only set one Tax Zone "California" and set the rate to 8.25

[charlieo]

Ahhh - Portman - that is refreshing news!

Will implement one tax for her store!

Thanks,

Charlieo

[Kim]

Before implementing any tax advice, please consult your accountant or tax attorney.

[cpk]

Will implement one tax for her store!

Charlieo, definitely check with BOE since I am also in CA and was told the same thing that gjh42 says they have to do for NY.

In CA we are supposed to collect tax based on the county/city tax rate of the customer's location. I was told this when I got my reseller's license but I would recommend that you check to be sure.

cpk

[Paul Robinson]

Sales tax is collected by the county the sale originated in. So, if your store is in S.Cal and you sell to N. Cal you still have to collect S. Cal tax rate. You should have to only set one Tax Zone "California" and set the rate to 8.25

As the former holder of a California state sales tax permit this information is totally incorrect. The sales tax is based on the location where the goods are delivered. It's your rate if they pick up at your store. It's the rate of their county if you ship it to them. The sales tax reporting form has an entry for each county you sell to in order to report the correct amount for each county. (This presumes they have not changed the way the form is set up, I haven't been in california since 1988.) You can always overcharge by imposing the highest rate provided the state gets the money, they're not going to complain that they are getting too much (nor will they really know you're paying the wrong amount unless they audit you, and unless you're a politician or a large business you're unlikely to be audited. (The Franchise Tax Board, having auditors on staff, does auditing of politicians income and expense reports for proof they have disclosed everything instead of the Secretary of State having to do it.))

[clanmesa]

I apologize for not being clearer about the delivery of goods, but I'm assuming that if one is offering a shopping cart, that the goods will be delivered to the customer's location.

The State Board of Equalization audits small businesses. They do it often enough. I know of two small businesses personally - one owner is a very good friend of mine - as honest as the day is long; the other a Christian printer I worked with. Both were exonerated. Both went through a period of living hell as their paperwork was gone over with a fine-tooth comb.

If you collect too much in sales tax, you have to return it - a bookkeeping nightmare. BTW, I asked the BOE, and that's what they told me. All it takes is one customer complaining to the BOE to instigate an audit. Do you feel lucky?

By the time you finish filling out the tax form and breaking out each item, you will immediately know if you've collected too much in sales tax. Your math will not add up, from what you've collected, to what you have to remand to the state. If you want to be dishonest in your business dealings, that's one thing, but if you do your bookkeeping correctly, you will know.

In order to fill out the form, you must track those sales in each of those districts. There are approximately 84 districts, and some are districts within districts.

The state board of equalization, while under the auspices of the Franchise Tax Board, is its own unit with its own auditors.

I've been doing business in the state of California, selling to mostly Californians, for 35 years. I've also read the auditor's manual for my business type cover to cover. I also do my own taxes.