State Taxes Deductibility

[D. Bergin]

You mean "Sales Tax" I assume?

[Leon]

RE: sales tax. I am sure he does. I always have included it in my cost basis, along with shipping. I use my landed cost for my valuations.

and a card that was a BST purchase a few years back...
.

[Yoda]

Leon, sure, I meant sales tax. Just got a little excited about the possibility of saving a few bucks and mad at myself for not recognizing their deductibility sooner.
Florida does indeed impose a 6% sales tax but, of course, nothing for out of state transactions, as they shouldn't. The AH in question has an office here in Palm Beach, but that shouldn't matter since the point of sale has been in Texas.

And I sure hope that Florida received all the sales tax I have been charged over many years.

[D. Bergin]

As of a couple years ago or so, point of sale doesn't much matter anymore for a company the size of Heritage.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

As of a couple years ago or so, point of sale doesn't much matter anymore for a company the size of Heritage.

Dave,

Point of sale absolutely matters, especially when it comes to sales taxes, and is generally considered to be where the transfer of possession/ownership actually takes place. When you walk into your local store to buy something, you take possession of it right then and there, and that is your point of sale. But when you buy something via mail order or online, it doesn't become yours where you take possession of it till it is actually delivered to you and you open the mail and have the item in hand.

This is exactly why having delivery of Ebay sales confirmed is such a big deal. A seller technically retains ownership and responsibility for an item until it is actually delivered to a buyer. And that is pretty much the general rule for ALL domestic US sales.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by BobC

Dave,

Point of sale absolutely matters, especially when it comes to sales taxes, and is generally considered to be where the transfer of possession/ownership actually takes place. When you walk into your local store to buy something, you take possession of it right then and there, and that is your point of sale. But when you buy something via mail order or online, it doesn't become yours where you take possession of it till it is actually delivered to you and you open the mail and have the item in hand.

This is exactly why having delivery of Ebay sales confirmed is such a big deal. A seller technically retains ownership and responsibility for an item until it is actually delivered to a buyer. And that is pretty much the general rule for ALL domestic US sales.

Hi Bob,

Perhaps I miss-spoke. I probably meant to use "Nexus" rather then point of sale.

Point was, Heritage, as of about a couple years ago or so, because of the size of the company it is, likely has to collect sales tax no matter where you live (unless you live in a sales tax free state).

I think that was the gist of the beef the OP had with Heritage. That they were collecting sales tax from him while he was stationed in Florida, and they in Texas.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Hi Bob,

Perhaps I miss-spoke. I probably meant to use "Nexus" rather then point of sale.

Point was, Heritage, as of about a couple years ago or so, because of the size of the company it is, likely has to collect sales tax no matter where you live (unless you live in a sales tax free state).

I think that was the gist of the beef the OP had with Heritage. That they were collecting sales tax from him while he was stationed in Florida, and they in Texas.

Hey Dave,

There is a definite difference between "nexus" and "point of sale". "Nexus" refers to a seller and whether or not they are even required to collect and remit sales taxes in a particular state, whereas "point of sale" refers to which state/locality a specific transaction is subject to having sales tax paid to. And if there is no seller that has "nexus" requiring they collect and remit sales tax on a particular transaction, the "point of sale" still determines what tax authority the buyer is then supposed to pay the "use tax" they now likely owe on their purchase to, and the sales/use tax rate they are supposed to base their payment on.

And in John's particular case, both "nexus" and "point of sale" are relevant. The fact that he was living in and received via mail/delivery items he won from Heritage clearly places the "point of sale" in Florida, not Texas. So, the only state entitled to sales tax from this particular sale/auction is Florida, period. Now the concept of "nexus" comes into play to determine if it is the seller, Heritage in this case, that is responsible for collecting and remitting the sales tax due to Florida on this particular sale/auction, and if not, that means it is then the buyer's (John's) responsibility to remit the sales tax that would have due to Florida himself, except it is now called a "use tax". And in this case, Heritage several years ago opened up an actual office in Florida, immediately giving them a physical presence in Florida. And having a physical presence in any state automatically gives that same company/seller a sales tax "nexus" in that state. So, in John's particular case, Florida is most definitely the state sales tax is owed to, and Heritage is just as definitely the party responsible for charging, collecting, and remitting to Florida the sales tax owed on what they sold to John.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Leon, sure, I meant sales tax. Just got a little excited about the possibility of saving a few bucks and mad at myself for not recognizing their deductibility sooner.
Florida does indeed impose a 6% sales tax but, of course, nothing for out of state transactions, as they shouldn't. The AH in question has an office here in Palm Beach, but that shouldn't matter since the point of sale has been in Texas.

And I sure hope that Florida received all the sales tax I have been charged over many years.

John,

I answered this for you before. Since the auction is handled remotely online, and the items are shipped to you at your Florida residence, the point of sale where you actually take possession of the items you won is at your house, where you opened your mail. It is not in Texas where Heritage is headquartered, and your items supposedly sent from.

That is also why no matter where you live, if you walk into a store and buy an item there, and take possession of it at that time, that store location becomes your point of sale. Not where you live, nor where the headquarters of the store you just bought an item from is located.