Sales Tax

Sales Tax

Sales tax of 6.25% (or the current rate for NC) will be added at checkout for North Carolina residents. I am required to charge sales tax to NC residents by law-sorry, there isn't anything I can do about it.

Purchases on the Internet are not tax-free. The Internet Tax Freedom Act of 1998 (which has been extended until November 1, 2014) does ban new taxes on Internet access, discriminatory taxes on Internet transactions that two or more states could tax, and taxes for items purchased online that would not be taxed if purchased offline. It doesn't ban sales taxes on products bought online.

Online retailers follow the same sales tax rules as mail-order catalog companies do. Online retailers are required to charge sales tax if they have a retail store, office, or warehouse in the purchaser's state.

However, there's more to it than that. Even if you order from an out-of-state Web site, in most states you're still responsible for paying a use tax--a sort of self-imposed sales tax. But if--like most Americans--you somehow overlooked paying your use tax this year, you probably needn't worry about government officials knocking on your door. It's extraordinarily difficult to keep track of use taxes, and most states don't bother trying (only a few, including Michigan and North Carolina, provide a line on their state tax return form for reporting use tax).