Setting up your state settings

Learn how to set up your TaxJar account by configuring your state nexus settings. Click Account at the top right of your TaxJar dashboard and select state settings.  

• Tell us where where you have nexus in a state and save your state tax license details.
• Turn on real-time calculations for states you need to collect if you're using an integration powered by our API
• Add states to your Dashboard and access your state report easily.

In this article, we provide more detail on how to configure your state nexus settings:

State settings overview

This is an overview of all your states, current nexus status, the date nexus was established, filing frequency per state and if we're calculating your taxes for customers on a Professional plan.

When first setting up your TaxJar account or if you do not see a state yet listed there, please scroll down and click the green " Add State with Nexus" button.


1. When you add a new state, you will need to enter the filing frequency the state has assigned you. If you do not, our system may default to monthly. 

2. While we do not require a nexus date at this time, we recommend entering one to ensure your TaxJar Reports exclude sales prior to when you reached nexus as we explain here.

If you've already linked your carts or imported data via spreadsheet, you may see states displayed on your Dashboard and these will show in your State Settings overview. It's important to review and configure each state when setting up your account.  The good news is you need to do this once and then you're all set! 

💡 Click the state name to edit the state. There are three sections to complete per state: 

Registration details

These details are provided to you by the state. If you are uncertain, you would need to contact the state directly for confirmation.

Payment schedule:  This is the filing frequency assigned by the state. 
Legal business name: The name of your company should match what's on record with the state.
Nexus established: This is the date your business established nexus with the state. Generally, it follows the date of registration but you would need to confirm this directly with the state or with a sales tax advisor as this is specific to your business operations. 

• While we do not require a nexus date at this time, we recommend entering one to ensure your TaxJar Reports exclude sales prior to when you reached nexus as we explain here.

License type: This is the license the state assigned you and is specific per state. Your license type can vary on how you sell  (for example, remote vs. physical).

• If you did not previously set a nexus established date, we will adjust your nexus start date to match the date that you choose in this setting. As a reminder, you must registered to collect sales tax. 

• If you change your tax type, your nexus effective date will reflect here but will not change your "Nexus established" date. 

State tax ID: The unique identifier assigned by the state. These can vary per state in format (letters, numbers or an alphanumeric combination).

Advanced calculations settings

If you have a Professional plan, you can use TaxJar to power your sales tax calculations for supported integrations. 

Calculate tax with TaxJar's API:  It is important to turn on TaxJar's API calculations. If you've already set up your integrations (WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace, etc) and do not see sales tax populating, this is usually the first place to check! 

• Please note, at this time we do not support turning on/off calculations at  a future date. 
• When you save this setting to "Enabled" tax calculations will begin immediately. 
• If your state license type changes in the future which affects how you collect (and therefore how our system calculates sales tax), the "Effective date" will update to show this change in calculation.

Shipping & handling taxability: Default taxability settings for shipping is adjustable for states where shipping is generally tax-exempt.  We explain how TaxJar handles shipping & handling here.

Location

Set your primary business location: If you have a physical presence in the state, please update this information. 

If you do not have a location and you are a remote seller, you have the option to select "No" for location.