Here’s what to do: Dropshipping does require you to pay taxes. It does seem a little sad, especially since dropshipping is a way to make more money. Dropshipping does mean that you have to pay taxes, though. If you don’t, it can be a big risk for your business.
When you start a dropshipping business, there are two taxes you have to pay. There are taxes on income and taxes on sales.
What is a tax on income?
With income tax, you have to pay tax on the money you make from a store in a year. Profit is basically how much money your business brings in. Of course, you don’t have to pay income tax if you don’t make any money. In fact, you can often get a tax credit for your loss.
Overall, though, the most important question is: Where do I pay my income tax? The country you live in is the answer.
You pay income tax to the local government, for example. If you live in Australia, you will always have to pay income tax to the government of Australia. No matter if your client is in the US or not, you pay income tax to the Australian government, not the US government.
Sometimes, like in the United States, you have to pay income taxes to both the federal government and your state. But if you don’t live in the US, you probably don’t care, since most other countries don’t have states.
Income tax is not a big hassle, and it’s not hard to figure out how it works. But now there is a problem that is even harder to solve: sales taxes.
How does sales tax work when you dropship?
The sales tax is not too hard to understand from a simple point of view. This is just the taxes you pay to your state or city for selling goods and services within its borders. Now, sales taxes in the US are different from one state to the next. Every state has its own rules about sales tax.
Some states can lower the tax to less than 2%, while others can raise it to 5%. The sales tax is a consumption tax that is put on goods and services that people buy. The tax is paid by the person who buys the end product, since they are the ones who use it.
If you are just starting out as a dropshipper, you don’t have to pay anything until you have a lot of sales and everything is set up. But it is hard to keep track of all the money needed to pay taxes. Dropshipping with Shopify is the best answer.
Shopify adds a small sales tax to all orders automatically. This is helpful because in some states, the amount of sales tax you have to pay depends on the city where your customer lives. The best thing about Shopify is that it has over 3,000 apps that can help you with your dropshipping business. dropship-empire is the best dropshipping app in the Shopify app store.
VAT and Sales Tax
How is sales tax different from value-added tax (VAT)? Sales tax and value-added tax are both types of indirect taxes. This means that the seller collects the tax from the buyer at the time of purchase and sends it to the government on the buyer’s behalf. In the world of corporate tax, sales tax and VAT are often a source of confusion.
When the final sale is made at the end of the supply chain, the retailer gets a sales tax. In other words, the person who buys the goods or services pays the sales tax. With a resale certificate, a business can buy supplies or materials to resell and not have to pay sales tax. No sales tax is collected until the final consumer buys the item, and the taxing authority does not collect any tax.
VAT, on the other hand, is a tax that is paid by all sellers at every step of the supply chain. This is different from sales tax. On taxable sales, VAT is charged by the supplier, the manufacturer, the distributor, and the retailer. In the same way, they all pay VAT on the things they buy.
To get a VAT credit on their tax returns, businesses must keep track of and write down the VAT they pay when they buy something. Under a VAT system, tax jurisdictions get tax money at different points in the supply chain, not just when the final consumer buys something.
There have been some big changes to the rules about how goods sold and shipped to customers in the European Union are treated for VAT and tariffs. Businesses and people who shop online will be affected by the changes, which focus on personal and e-commerce transactions. They could also affect imports from business to business (B2B) and companies that run margin schemes and flat rate schemes for travel agencies.
Who takes in the sales tax?
When it comes to dropshipping, the main question is who will charge the customer sales tax. Is it you, the retailer, or the person who makes the product?
In the US
if you are registered through the Streamlined Sales Tax Project Agreement (SSUTA) and you have a sales tax Nexus in a state, you must collect and pay sales tax in the state where you are registered.
But if you have a dropshipping store, you might want to check the sales tax and exemption certificate laws in your state. On the other hand, if you don’t have Nexus in a state, you usually don’t have to collect and file sales taxes there.
But again, you may have to pay a tax if your supplier is in the same state as your customer. Some U.S. states have laws that say in-state suppliers can be used as a link in a sale, but other states have different rules for this situation.
Make sure you always check the rules of each state to make sure you and your business are following the law.
In Europe
If you have a VAT-registered business in the EU and your supplier is also in the EU, there will be a reverse charging system for B2B transactions. On the other hand, you don’t have to pay VAT if you do business outside of the EU and your supplier is in the EU.
If you live outside of the EU, you must register your direct selling business for EU VAT. As soon as you pass the threshold, you can start collecting taxes right away. It is important to charge a tax to the customer when they buy something. If you don’t sign up your direct sales store for VAT, you risk giving bad service to your customers.
If a customer orders your product from outside the EU, they may have to pay extra fees and VAT. When a customer has a bad experience, these unexpected fees make up for it. We recommend that you follow EU remote selling laws if you want to give the best customer service to all of your buyers.
Do you remember that Shopify adds a forwarding tax to each order automatically? You might need to look at the instructions on other platforms to see how this collection process works on their platform. Remember that the guide you’ll find on each platform explains how to collect sales tax on that platform. They do not say that they will give legal advice.
Make sure of these things before you start your dropshipping business
First and foremost, you need to make sure your business is registered. This step is so important that we think you should talk to a professional about it. Also, don’t forget to check with your local government to see if you need a business license to run a dropshipping store.
Find out how an online e-commerce assistant like Osome can help you collect the right taxes every time if you’re a dropshipper who has to deal with indirect taxes like sales tax and VAT.
Osome is an online e-commerce assistant that works in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UK. It offers services like company formation, corporate secretary, accounting, and taxation. It brings together personal care and experience with the efficiency of artificial intelligence. The business model of the company is based on automation, which greatly improves efficiency and customer satisfaction. This gives the company a lot of room to grow and make money.
Osome offers services all over the world and has a team of hardworking accountants. The company also helps people start businesses and offers corporate secretary services, which make it stand out.
Are you unsure about your company’s sales tax obligations? If so, you should check out Osome to learn more about indirect tax.
Last Word
From this article, we can say that yes, you do have to pay two types of taxes when dropshipping, depending on how much money you make and how big your business is (in associated states).
You can always use Shopify to ship for you and make money right away. This will make it easier for you to pay your taxes. With helpful apps like dropship-empire, your dropshipping business should run smoothly and bring in a lot of money.