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Looking for your Paypal fees history or sales tax you collected through Paypal? It’s all in the history download from Paypal!

To download your history:

1. Log in to your Paypal account & hover over the History link, click the Download History link from the pop up menu.

2. On the right there’s a box with links, click Customize Download Fields.

That allows you to control the information you get & how you get it. Be sure to select shipping amount, insurance amount, sales tax and any other information you need. Click save at the bottom of that page.

3. Select Custom Date Range and put in the dates you need records from.

4. From the drop down File Types for Download menu select Tab Delimited.

5. At the bottom click the “Download History” button.

6. When download box pops up click to save the file to your computer.

7. Once you’ve saved the file, go to the folder on your computer where you saved it and change the file extension from .txt to .xls so that Excel can open it and will automatically put all the data in separate columns for you.

To change the extension right click on the file name and select rename, edit it then hit enter (on a Mac, use ctrl + click for the right click):

8. Double-click the file name to open it. All your transaction data should be there now, separated into individual columns.

To add up a column, for example, your sales tax:

9. Click once on the first sales tax collected entry–that selects that box (I’m not sure what the column header is as we can’t use Paypal to accurately collect NY sales tax so our file doesn’t have that column).

10. Hold down the shift key and then hold down the down-arrow key to highlight the cells until you reach the end of the numbers you want to add, then click the down arrow one more time, highlighting one empty box at the end of the column. It should look like this:

11. At the top of the page click the big funny looking E in the menu bar–that will “auto-sum” the column. It will put the total in the empty box you highlighted at the bottom of the column. It should look like this:

12. All added up! In this example the total was $3.75.

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Go To Great Panes, Kathryn Maloney ©2008


Starting a business in NY? These two sites will help you find out what you need to do it properly:

New York State’s Online Permit Assistance and Licensing website
See “Click here to start” for a questionairre of what types of issues your business may be involved with, and it will present you with your filing requirements and advisory sheets.

The hardest part of using this cool tool is the first step–picking your business type. The design for this section is really poor, and after a lot of clicking I settled on Craft/Hobby Vendor for my business:

http://www.nys-opal.com

NYS Sales Tax
In NY you must register with the Dept of Revenue to collect sales tax for both your on-line sales and for live events:
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/sbc/starting_business.htm

You should also contact your county offices to be sure you know what local business laws there might be in your area.

Also see the links on the right for more info on the IRS, Sales Tax and NY business, including:

The IRS Website–Links for Businesses
http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/2008/01/08/the-irs

Look for answers to the questions below on your state’s website, the paperwork they sent you when you registered or give them a call and ask one of your state’s employees. That’s how to best get facts about your state’s laws, not someone else’s interpretation or opinion. There are links to all the USA official state websites on the IRS website, there’s a link in our IRS blog post The IRS Website–Links for Businesses to that page–see “State Links from the IRS” near the end of the post.

Sales tax laws are different from state to state and the answers to the questions below vary widely. The issues below have sent me back to New York State’s website for more info, and occasionally led me to call the NYS Dept. of Revenue for answers. Sometimes I call twice, just to be sure the first person was clear on my question and that I got the answer right.

• Must I register to collect sales tax in my state?

You may think your business is too small or that you are just a hobby seller therefore you don’t need to register to collect sales tax for your state. From what I’ve seen, that’s probably not true. Many states require you register before you start selling, regardless as to whether or not you ever make a sale to someone in your state, make a sale at all or turn a profit.

• Is there an amount of sales I can make before I am required to register?

Most states with sales tax require you to register straight away–there’s usually no “You can sell $XXX worth of goods before registering to collect sales tax” rule. Usually it’s “Intend to make a sale? Register before you start selling”.

• Can I just include sales tax in my price?

Some states allow it, some don’t, and some allow it so long as you mention tax is included. There may be other stipulations, but none I have heard of off-hand.

• Can I just pay the sales tax for my customers?

Some states allow it, some don’t. Some allow it so long as you don’t advertise it.

• Can I advertise that I pay sales tax for my customers?

Some states have specific laws about publicizing that you will pay sales tax for your customers.

• Must my receipts to customers specify the amount of sales tax the customer paid and/or state that sales tax is included in the purchase price?

Some states require that you show how much tax the customer has paid/you paid for the customer. If the customer doesn’t know how much tax they paid, they won’t know if “use tax” is due on their purchase. (Use tax is due on purchases that should have had tax collected by the seller but didn’t. Many (most/all?) states with sales tax also have use tax which applies to internet and mail order purchases where the seller didn’t collect sales tax, though many people think that purchases from the internet are tax-free.)

• Are there different rates depending on the items or services I provide?

Some states have different rates for food, clothing, shoes, services… be sure to understand how they apply to your business.

More to come….

In New York your Certificate of Authority to Collect Sales Tax is needed before you can collect sales tax from in-state customers.

If you sell taxable items from New York State (NYS) should have one regardless of how little you sell, or whether or not you consider yourself just a hobby and not a business. You then remit the sales tax to NYS according to the schedule NYS gives you. It’s quarterly the first year, then the frequency is determined by the State based on how much you collected the first year.

Your Certificate of Authority to Collect Sales Tax is also what gives you the ability to purchase certain goods without paying sales tax. You can buy as a reseller, buy supplies and tools for use in producing tangible personal property that you will sell and buy some promotional materials without paying sales tax.

To purchase eligible items without paying sales tax, you need to fill out and present the proper form–see below. Most stores will keep a copy of your filled out form on hand if you will be buying from them regularly, others want a copy for each purchase.

You should never photocopy or otherwise reproduce your Certificate of Authority to Collect Sales Tax.

Resale Certificate: ST-120
If you are buying items that are for direct resale–you won’t be making anything from them, just selling them as-is.
PDF Instructions & Form ST-120:
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/1999/fillin/st/st120_699_fill_in.pdf

Exempt Use Certificate: ST-121
For purchasing “Machinery and equipment, parts, tools, and supplies used or consumed in the production of tangible personal property for sale”.
PDF Instructions & Form ST-121:
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/2009/fillin/st/st121_1009_fill_in.pdf

Certificate of Exemption for Purchases of Promotional Materials: ST-121.2
For promotional materials that are delivered by mail to customers or prospective customers, for which there is no charge to them.
PDF Instructions & Form ST-121.2:
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/2008/fillin/st/st121_2_1108_fill_in.pdf

More on NYS sales tax laws here:

New York Sales Tax–part 1
http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/2008/01/17/new-york-sales-tax

New York Sales Tax–part 2
http://www.gotogreatpanes.com/blog/2008/02/24/new-york-sales-tax-continued

More NY State sales tax forms here:
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/sales_cur_forms.htm

NYS Dept. of Revenue Forms and Publications Page:
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/forms/default.htm

5. Employer Identification Number:

Your business may not be required to get a:

Taxpayer Identification Number (also referred to as TIN),
Employer Identification Number, EIN, or
Federal Taxpayer Identification Number, FTIN.

These all refer to the same thing, I don’t know why it goes by so many names!

You’ll need to check the IRS website to see if you should get one–there’s a link in our “The IRS Website–Links for Businesses” post. While we didn’t need to get one, we chose to, see that post for details.

If you have an EIN and you register with NY to collect sales tax, your NY Sales Tax ID Number will be the same as your EIN. Just having an EIN does **NOT** mean you are allowed to collect NY sales tax, you must apply for a “Certificate of Authority to Collect Sales Tax” before you are permitted by the state to collect sales tax. (Links to apply for your NYS Certificate of Authority, EIN and other business info will be posted shortly.)

6. Certificate of Authority:

Having a NY Tax ID means you have a NY State “Certificate of Authority” to collect NY sales tax. (Links to apply for your NYS Certificate of Authority, EIN and other business info will be posted shortly.)

7. Collect Sales Tax from Customers, then Remit it to the State

Once you have your NYCertificate of Authority, you collect sales tax from your customers who have packages shipped to New York addresses, and report and pay the sales tax you collect to NYS.

The New York State Department of Taxation & Finance sends you the paperwork once you have been approved to collect sales tax with instructions for collecting from your customers and remitting the money you collect to NYS.

For us, the first year we were required to file quarterly. After the first year, the state assessed our business to be small enough that now we only file once a year. Sales tax is completely separate from your annual state and federal income taxes.

I’ve written up some info that I’ve shared across several lists/threads over time. This information doesn’t cover all areas of sales tax and when/how to apply it. This is based on my knowledge of NY State business info, and I advise you to re-check the info with NYS publications and employees yourself.

Please-please-please–Always double check info you get on-line with the authority in charge of dealing with it in real life.

Each state has its own regulations–posts for other states with limited info coming soon!

Helpful NYS document with the basics for NY Sales Tax–it’s a PDF file:

More NYS documents: Sales Tax Publications

Some New York Sales Tax info:

1. You can’t use Paypal’s sales tax calculator for NY Sales Tax:

NY has more than 10 different tax rates across the state based on county that can only be determined by using the buyer’s street address AND zipcode, which means you can’t set up Paypal to accurately charge NY sales tax.

Even if you put all the 5 digit zipcodes in the sales tax function on Paypal, it will not charge sales tax appropriately for NYers because the sales tax rates are determined by political zones which are not defined by 5 digit zipcodes since 5 digit zipcodes can cross county lines. (You could put in the 9 digit zipcodes, but I can’t imagine how long that would take since they change with every building.)

You can have two houses next to eachother in the same zipcode and each has a different sales tax rate because they fall under different political jurisdictions.

To find the tax for a specific New York address use this on-line form:

http://www8.nystax.gov/STLR/stlrHome

Don’t forget to make sure your items fall under the general sales tax rate by checking the blue “Limitations on Use” link on that page. Clothing, food items and other products may not get the same rate as everything else gets at a particular location.

Limitations on Use: http://www.tax.state.ny.us/e-services/stlr/stlrinfo.htm

2. In-Person Sales–Use the Local Sales Tax Rate:

For in-person sales, you must charge the state and local tax for the location of the sale–for example, when you are at a show you charge the rate based on the street address of the show.

In-person rate is based on the location where the item is sold.

3. Shipping Items You Sell–NY Uses Destination-based Sales Tax:

If you sell through the internet, by mail or by phone, the location is the address to which the item is shipped regardless of the location of the buyer or seller.

This means that collecting the tax based on YOUR location is not correct unless you happen to live in a zone with the same tax rate as the delivery address.

If the buyer lives outside NY, but is having the item shipped to NY, you still must charge sales tax based on where the item is being shipped.

See this FAQ page from the NYS website:

NYS website: Sales tax based on “point of delivery”.

4. There is Sales Tax on Shipping:

NY sales tax is also applied to shipping charges, unless you have a third party ship your items, in which case they charge you tax on their service. For example, a pack and ship store will charge you sales tax on their services, and you pass that cost on to your buyer in the total cost; you don’t re-tax that amount since sales tax has already been paid on it.

Continued here New York Sales Tax–continued

Go To Great Panes, Kathryn Maloney ©2010
This post is copyrighted–you do not have permission to repost this content elsewhere but you are welcome to link to it if you’d like to share the information.

The first thing about taxes and your small business is that sales tax is completely unrelated to your annual state and federal income tax.

Sales tax:

Collected and regulated on a state level, so every state has its own laws that govern the collection and payment of sales tax by sellers to the state. The laws vary widely, please always contact your state directly if you have any questions or get the info directly from your state’s official website.

If your state has sales tax, you need to register with the state to be authorized to collect it from your customers, then you pay the state the money you collected according to the schedule the state provides you, on special forms that are only for sales tax remittance.

Some states require sales tax be remitted monthly, some quarterly, some once a year. In some states the schedule changes depending on your sales. Your state will tell you how often you should remit it.

Income tax:

Paid by US citizens/residents and those employed in/selling from the USA at the federal level and at the state level (if the state has income tax). Due April 15.

I’ll be adding posts about sales tax in different states as we come across it, primarily I’ll be covering New York since that’s where we are located/most knowledgable, but please still double check the information–even if I’m posting it.

I’ll be adding information about small businesses and income tax soon too.