Tax calculations for Default shipping Mods?

Hi all.

I am having some problems with Taz Calculations using some of the default shipping methods. I am not sure if I have broken something of if there is a bug in them.

First of. I had the following configurations;
Zone 1: All Australian Zones - Used for Australian Shipping Methods
Zone 2: Australian Mainland States - Used for Tax Purposes
Zone 3: Australian Islands - Tax Free
Zone 4: World - Just New Zealand. GST Free. O/S Shipping Method.

Tax: GST; 10%; payable on Zone 2.
Table Shipping; Applicable for Zone 1. All Australian Zones
AusPost international; Appicable for Zone 4.

I set up Table shipping as follows.

.49:5.45, 20:9.45

Tax Class
Taxable Goods

Tax Basis
Shipping/Store/Billing

Shipping Zone
All Australian Zones:

No matter what I do the shipping module only charges GST on orders in 1 Australian Mainland Zone. All other zones it charges the Shipping GST Free.

I have tried all combinations of Tax Basis. I have deleted the extra zones and just gone All Australian and World. Applying GST to All Australian.

If the order originates from NSW which is the same Zone as the Store location then GST is added to the shipping amount.

I was usign the AusPost module for Australia as well and this worked fine. I just thought it was overcharging my customers.

I then tried to set up ZONE RATES to do what I want and I had exactly the same problem. Can anyone assist. is this a bug in the store or an error in the code somewhere.

Thanks for any assistance you can lend.

redmonds

Can anyone offer some assitance in this?

Thanks

Redmonds

redmonds:

Can anyone offer some assitance in this?

Thanks

Redmonds

Apparently not.

What I can tell you (and I believe I have discussed this with you once before) is that the Australia post module only knows of two 'zones', and these are hard coded into the program so any changes you make to your zones files (or basis of shipping tax) will have NO EFFECT on the results obtained from this shipping module.

The two 'zones' the module knows about are 'Australia' and 'rest of the world' (determined by the shipping address).

The Australia Post server also only knows 2 'zones' - Australia and overseas. For Australian deliveries it quotes GST inclusive. For overseas deliveries it quotes GST exclusive.

If you set the 'TAX' flag in the AustPost module AND the parcel is destined for Australia, the module will obtain the GST inclusive amount, then reduce it by the taxation amount, which should then get re-added by the tax processing code built into zencart itself.

If you DON'T set the tax flag in the Aust Post module and the parcel is destined for Australia the (shipping) quote will be for the GST inclusive price.

If you set the 'TAX' flag in the AustPost module AND the parcel is destined for Overseas, the module will obtain the GST exclusive amount and pass that onto zencart for final processing.

If you DON'T set the 'TAX' flag in the AustPost module AND the parcel is destined for Overseas, the module will obtain the GST exclusive amount and pass that onto zencart for final processing. .

In short, the only time the Australia Post module manipulates the quotes obtained from the Aust Post server is if the tax flag is set and the parcel is destined for Australia, in which case the quote is reduced by the tax amount simply so that zencart doesn't double tax the shipping charge.
In ALL other cases the quote given is exactly as they are obtained from the official servers, which means GST inclusive for australiai, and GST exclusive for overseas. This is the way it must be, which is why I took the liberty of hard coding the 'zones' and 'basis of shipping tax' rather than leaving them up to the end user to mess up and get wrong.

What all this means is that if you are a GST registered business simply set the 'TAX' flag in the AP module and the shipping tax WILL be correct (provided you have set the correct tax rates in your Australian Zone files). With this in mind, if things aren't working as they should then you should probably be looking at your product tax options/zones/settings for a fix rather than the shipping module.

The last time we discussed this I asked whether you were having tax related problems with your products as well as your shipping. I don't recall ever getting a reply.

It'd also be good if I had a store URL where I can check or verify this for myself (it save me making certain assumptions).

Back to you.

Cheers
Rod

Rod,

Thanks for your help. I do remember getting some assistance of you previously and I am sorry if I did not get back to you.

However the problem I am having at the moment is not with the Auspost Modules. It is with either the Table or the Zone shipping modules.

Basically due to some inconsistencies and apparent over charging by the Australia Post module, and also the fact that we are doing some advertising, we decided we needed to implement a flat rate for shipping. Flat rate? with 2 tiers. $5.95 for less then .49kg and $9.95 for more than .5kg

However GST is being subtracted from the above amounts for all states except NSW with is the Store Zone. So instead of charging 9.95 it charges 9.05 and then throughs the GST total out.

As I mentioned i did start with several different Zone Definitions but as this was not working simplified down to Australia and World. GST payable for Australia. Not payable for world. World only includes NZ as all other countries have been delected from the DB.

I am not having any problems with the Tax calculation for products just for shipping to customers outside of NSW but inside Australia.

Thanks for you assitance.

On your Tax settings, what are the Priority settings?

Make sure each is fully defined or when the Tax is applied it will not happen ...

redmonds:

However GST is being subtracted from the above amounts for all states except NSW with is the Store Zone. So instead of charging 9.95 it charges 9.05 and then throughs the GST total out.

I am not having any problems with the Tax calculation for products just for shipping to customers outside of NSW but inside Australia.

Thanks for you assitance.

Methinks you need to simplify.

First Set up just a single tax zone for 'Australia' with the 10% GST.
Next, set your store zone to "Australia' (rather than NSW).
Finally, set your basis of shipping tax to shipping address. (not essential for the AP mod)

I can almost guarantee that this will work as it should (at least for the AP module), but it will negate your ability to apply different shipping rates for different States using the zone rate shipping method.

Cheers
Rod

Thanks Ajeh & Rod.

Ajeh - I only have one Tax rate defined. This only applies to the Australian Tax Zone. The other Tax Zone is world and does not have a Tax Rate.

Rod - I don;t have Australia as a Zone that I can select for Store Location. I only have the Australian States. Should I delete the States as Zones and just have Australia?

I am more then happy to just 2 shipping rates Australia wide. 5.95 <500gm and 9.95 > 500gm. I have had enough of different rates for different weights to different states. Thats the best rhyme I have ever done ;-).

redmonds:

Rod - I don;t have Australia as a Zone that I can select for Store Location. I only have the Australian States. Should I delete the States as Zones and just have Australia?

I'd be very careful about deleting any zones. You may need them again one day.

I'm not sure why "Australia" isn't a selectable option for your store zone, but I'll wager that this is also somehow related to your shipping tax problems.

I'd like to give more help on this one, but I have to admit that the zone settings and options are not one of my strong points, which is probably why all the stores I've set up I've kept this aspect of things as simple as possible.

Cheers
Rod

redmonds ... if you don't have a Tax Rate for the rest of the world, which is normal, don't make a Tax Rate for the rest of the world and set it to 0.00

Only define a Tax Zone for who you want to use Tax with and things should work better ...

I have uploaded screenshots showing all my Zones, Definiations and Tax Rates. As you can see I have zones for each state in Australia and New Zealand but don't have New Zealand or Australia as a Zone. Therefore I can not select it as the store location.

I think that this is part of the problem/bug as when shipping to NSW which is the store zone it works fine. When shipping to other Australian States it causes the problem. However I have the shipping tax basis set to Store location. So shouldn't this override the error in the zones and always charge tax as per the store location?

I only have 1 tax rate which is 10% for Australia. I have 2 Zone definitions which I am using for shipping. One is Australia and the other is international.

Rod just FYI I am not using your AusPost modules at the moment I am using the one by Gerard Serna based on Steve Kemps OSC module. I believe I stopped using yours because of the GST calculations that I discussed with you previously. I am only using Auspost for International anyway.

thanks

redmonds

Sry. Here are attachements

Rod/Ajeh,

Just wondering if you can lend me any more assistance. I have just realised that this is not just with those default shipping methods but also with the AustPOst moudle derived from Steve Kemps Mod.

I am satisifed that it must be something to do with Zones. I uploaded screenshots of my config. As you can see I was under the impression that zones=states. However I am guessing there is a better way/ right way of configuring this. Zone 1 = Australia?.

Probably more so for Rod are you able to send me screenshots of your Zones etc.

Thanks

redmonds:

Probably more so for Rod are you able to send me screenshots of your Zones etc.

Thanks

I don't see much point really. Our store, and every store I've set up for Aussie users follows the guidelines that I gave you earlier in this thread.

You have chosen not to use the Austpost mod that I developed in preference to the much older mod by Gerard Serna. Even if I could give you support for this older mod I don't see why I should, especially since one of the improvements I made was to simplify things in regards to zones and taxes.

So, once again, my advice is for you to follow the guidelines that I provided for you earlier in the thread. If it STILL doesn't work (using my module) then, and only then will I be able to offer any other assistance.

Cheers
Rod