2018 was probably one of the biggest years for sales tax in the United States since the inception of sales tax: In South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. (June 2018), the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a physical presence rule that had long prevented states from taxing remote sales: States won the right to tax sales by businesses with no physical presence in the state. In the wake of the ruling, states scrambled to adopt policies allowing them to tax remote sales. In addition, there were thousands of changes to sales tax rates, rules, and regulations in all sales tax states.
Here are some changes that could impact your compliance in 2019
- 31 states and the District of Columbia adopt economic nexus, requiring out-of-state businesses with a certain amount of economic activity in the state to collect and remit sales tax
- 10 states impose sales tax collection obligations on marketplace providers and sellers
- 5 states establish use tax reporting requirements for non-collecting sellers
- 2 states adopt affiliate or click-through nexus laws for out-of-state sellers
- 8 states offer amnesty on back taxes, penalties, and interest