Ecommerce Sales Tax Nexus by State

Life can be full of unpleasant surprises. A fly in your morning coffee, a best-forgotten ex calling out of the blue – or an unexpected sales tax bill from a state you didn’t even know you were doing business in.

Many ecommerce sellers are surprised to find out their business may owe sales tax to a state, even if they don’t have a physical presence there. Welcome to the world of sales tax nexus! While in the past, ecommerce retailers only had to have a physical presence in a state (aka physical nexus), now ‘economic nexus’ sales tax obligations are triggered by achieving certain sales volumes or order amounts in a state. With different criteria determining sales tax nexus by state, your ecommerce store could trigger sales tax in one state – or many – without you even realizing it.

This guide was created to answer all your sales tax nexus questions and simplify how your business navigates the more than 11,000 sales tax jurisdictions in the U.S. From teaching you how to determine sales tax nexus to handy resources like our sales tax nexus by state chart, we’ve got you covered.

What is Sales Tax Nexus? 

Sales tax ‘nexus’ is the term used to describe the connection a business has to a state. If a company has nexus in a state, it will be required to register, collect, and remit sales tax in that state. Without nexus or a connection to a state, you have no obligation to collect or pay sales tax there — but nearly every state in the U.S. has at least one type of nexus threshold.

Before 2018, companies could only trigger nexus when they had a physical presence in the state, such as an office or warehouse. But that all changed after Wayfair vs. South Dakota.

In Wayfair vs. South Dakota, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a business doesn’t need to be physically located in a state to have a sales tax connection there. Instead an economic connection or ‘nexus’ could also trigger sales tax obligations in that state.

What does this mean for your company? You may never have stepped foot in California, but if your products or services suddenly get popular there and you ring up more than $500,000 in sales, you’ll need to collect and pay sales tax to the state because you’ve achieved nexus for sales tax.

Sales Tax Nexus by State

Economic nexus thresholds vary by state and are typically determined when a business reaches a specific amount of sales and/or number of sales transactions. For example, in Arizona, you achieve economic nexus for sales tax when your gross sales exceed $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. Meanwhile, in Illinois, $100,000 in gross receipts or 200 or more transactions is required to achieve economic nexus.

It’s your responsibility to keep track of when you reach nexus thresholds in a state but our interactive Sales Tax Nexus by State Chart can get you started. In the meantime, here is a quick list of thresholds for achieving sales tax nexus by state.

States with a $100,000 sales tax nexus threshold

• Alaska: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Arkansas: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Arizona: $100,000 in sales
• Colorado: $100,000 in sales
• Connecticut: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Florida: $100,000 in sales
• Georgia: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Hawaii: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Idaho: $100,000 in sales 
• Illinois: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Indiana: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Iowa: $100,000 in sales 
• Kansas: $100,000 in sales
• Kentucky: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Louisiana: $100,000 in sales
• Maine: $100,000 in sales
• Maryland: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Michigan: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Minnesota: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Missouri: $100,000 in sales
• New Jersey: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Nebraska: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Nevada: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• New Jersey: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• New Mexico: $100,000 in sales
• North Carolina: $100,000 in sales or 200 Transactions
• North Dakota: $100,000 in sales
• Ohio: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Oklahoma: $100,000 in sales
• Pennsylvania: $100,000 in sales
• Rhode Island: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• South Carolina: $100,000 in sales
• South Dakota: $100,000 in sales
• Tennessee: $100,000 in sales
• Utah: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Vermont: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Virginia: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Washington: $100,000 in sales
• West Virginia: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions
• Wisconsin: $100,000 in sales 
• Wyoming: $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions

States with sales tax nexus thresholds above $100,000

• Alabama: $250,000 in sales
• California: $500,000 in sales
• Massachusetts: $500,000 in sales
• Mississippi: $250,000 in sales
• New York: $500,000 in sales or 100 transactions
• Texas: $500,000 in sales

States without sales tax and no nexus thresholds

• Delaware
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• Oregon

Other Things That Can Trigger Sales Tax Nexus

We wrote an article about unexpected things that can trigger sales tax nexus in a state. While you’re better off reading the full article, we’ll share the brief highlights:

1. Remote employees can trigger sales tax nexus: That’s right! If you have a remote employee in another state that could be seen as a physical connection to that state. So could employees who travel across states for work.
2. Trade show and event attendees: Before you book that trade show, make sure to see how it could impact your physical nexus sales tax obligations. Some states like Michigan have very strict rules around physical nexus for sales tax.
3. Affiliate ads could trigger sales tax nexus: Affiliate marketing is a great way to increase your store’s sales but some states consider it enough to establish physical nexus in certain states.  
4. Fulfillment centers could trigger nexus: Whether you own a fulfillment center or contract it out, that could be enough to trigger physical nexus sales tax obligations in certain states. You don’t even need to own the warehouse.

What Happens After Reaching Economic Nexus?

If you’ve racked up enough sales or transactions in a state to achieve economic nexus for sales tax purposes in that state you now need to register for a sales tax number, collect taxes, and remit taxes in that state.

Here’s a breakdown of your next steps once you determine your nexus sales tax obligations:

1. Register for sales tax: Once you achieve sales tax nexus in a state, you need to go to the state’s tax authority website (or fill out paperwork at their office) to register for sales tax. You’ll need information like your corporate name, corporate number, state where you’re incorporated, and date incorporated. You’ll also need your business’ contact information, bank information, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, and more, depending on what state you’re registering for sales tax in. 
2. Collect sales tax: Once you’re registered for sales tax, you’ll need to collect your sales tax on sales made to that state. 
3. Remit your sales tax: You’ll next need to file your sales tax return and remit your sales tax. How often you’ll need to file your sales tax return and remit your taxes will depend on the state and the size of your business. Some businesses are required to file monthly whereas others are only required to file quarterly or annually. 

How Do You Calculate Sales Tax Nexus by State?

You could crunch the numbers and determine your sales tax nexus in each state with help from our handy sales tax nexus by state chart. Just tap on the state you’re curious about and see the sales or transaction threshold that will trigger nexus. You can even click on each state’s guide to learn more about that state’s sales tax rate so you’d need to charge in that state once you achieve sales tax nexus in that state.

After that, you’ll have to track every transaction and sale by state to determine when you meet each state’s nexus sales tax threshold and then ensure you register for sales tax and start charging it after you do.

However, you likely have better things to do. TaxCloud’s sales tax software calculates your tax obligations in the 11,000-plus sales tax jurisdictions and alerts you when you’re approaching sales tax nexus thresholds in that state. We’ll collect tax for you if you need to collect tax in a certain state or municipality. Come filing time, we can even remit and file your tax returns!

Nexus shouldn’t keep you up at night. Contact us today to learn more about what TaxCloud can do for your business.