Sales tax tips for international sellers

1) Do international sellers have to deal with sales tax in the US?

2)  International Amazon FBA sellers' guide to getting US sales tax compliant

In general, even though you may live outside the United States, if have established any other type of sales tax nexus in the US (such as an office, a satellite branch of your business, or a warehouse where you store inventory), then you must comply by the sales tax laws of the state where you have nexus by registering to collect sales taxes in that state.

If you are selling to customers in the US via drop shipping, this blog post may help you determine where you have nexus due to your drop shipping scenario, though we also suggest you consult with a CPA for a more detailed nexus assessment.

Once you've registered to collect sales taxes ( we tell you how to get registered here), TaxJar can compile detailed Sales Tax Reports with jurisdiction breakdowns for each U.S. state where you're collecting taxes.

You can either use your TaxJar state Reports to quickly and easily file your returns on your own, or you can enroll in  AutoFile to have us file your returns in every state. (You must have a U.S. based bank in order to enroll in AutoFile.)

I’m not based in the US, can I still use AutoFile?

Yes, but there are a few things you will need first before you can sign up to use AutoFIle. To be able to enroll in AutoFile, you will need the following:

• A Federal Employment Identification Number (FEIN)
• A US based bank account

How do I get an FEIN number?

To get an FEIN number, you don’t need to be based or present in the US. There are a couple of ways to obtain an FEIN number:

• You can apply yourself with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Non-US based businesses have to apply via mail or telephone. The IRS states that the processing time for this is around 4 weeks once they have received your application.
• Alternatively, you can work with a service like Stripe Atlas or TaxMaxtrix to have them complete the process for you for a fee.

Once the FEIN number is obtained, you can apply for a Mercury bank account.

Please note that both C Corporations and LLCs are eligible to apply for Mercury. Current residents of some countries may not be eligible for Mercury (you may still be eligible if you’re a citizen but not a current resident). For details see Mercury’s FAQ. 

When you apply for a Mercury business bank account, you’ll need to provide the following information:

• A description of your business and link to your website (if available)
• Filed formation/incorporation documents from the state in which registered
• IRS-issued EIN document (Form CP575, Form 147c, completed Form SS-4, or a screenshot of the EIN confirmation from the IRS’s website)
• International passport or U.S. government ID for each founder or majority owner (more than 25%) of the company
• Residential address (does not have to be in the U.S.) of each beneficial owner of the company
• Email address for each beneficial owner of the company
• U.S. Social Security number for each beneficial owner of the company (if applicable)
• Phone number of each beneficial owner of the company

The typical process to open an account with Mercury takes only 10 minutes and within a day to 48 hours, your account should be open. For information on Mercury’s pricing, please see Mercury’s pricing page.

Once the above steps are completed, you will be ready to enroll in AutoFile.