Sales Tax: Rounded Then Totaled or Totaled Then Rounded?

Question

E.g. There is a sale with 3 items, each costing $1.00. Sales tax is 12.4%. In calculating the tax for each item, do I round the tax amount first and then total everything up? Like this:

ITEM 1: $1.00 + $0.124 = $1.124 -> $1.12
ITEM 2: $1.00 + $0.124 = $1.124 -> $1.12
ITEM 3: $1.00 + $0.124 = $1.124 -> $1.12
TOTAL: $3.36

Or do I total everything up and then round? Like this:

ITEM 1: $1.00 + $0.124 = $1.124
ITEM 2: $1.00 + $0.124 = $1.124
ITEM 3: $1.00 + $0.124 = $1.124
TOTAL: $3.372 -> $3.37

Is one method correct? Might it depend on local laws?

Answer 1

Tax is often calculated per item. Especially in the days of the internet, some items are taxable and some aren't, depending on the item and your nexus. I would recommend calculating and storing tax with each item, to account for these subtle differences.

EDIT:

Not sure why this was downvoted, if you don't believe me, you can always check with Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_468512_calculated?nodeId=468512#calculated

I think they know what they're talking about.

FINAL UPDATE:

• Nexus is defined as where your business is registered to operate.
• The US Government defines (simply) 2 types of products, tangible (potentially taxable) and intangible goods. In MOST cases (each case is subject to interpretation and the law), tangible goods are taxable, and intangible goods are not.
• If your business has it's offices in California, you have nexus in California.
• If your business does not have offices or any other nexus in Nevada, you do not have nexus in Nevada.

Now, if someone goes to your site, and buys something from your business (in California) and the shipping address for the product is Nevada, then taxes do not have to be collected. If they have a billing address in California, and a shipping address in Nevada, and the goods are shipping to Nevada, you do not have to declare tax.

If you have a mixture of tangible (computer, mouse, keyboard) and intangible assets (warranty) in a cart, and the shipping address is in California, you charge tax on the tangible assets, but NOT on the intangible assets.

Yes, you can charge tax on the whole order. Yes for most businesses that's "Good enough", but I'm not trying to provide the "good enough" solution, I'm simply telling you how very large businesses run and operate. As I've mentioned, I've done several tax integrations using software called Sabrix (Google if you've not heard of it), and have done those integrations for companies like the BBC and Corbis (owned and operated by Bill Gates).

Take it or leave it, but the correct way to charge taxes, especially given the complex tax laws of the US and internationally, is to charge per item. If you just need the "good enough" approach, feel free to calculate it by total.

Some additional reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_of_Digital_Goods

Another possible federal limitation on Internet taxation is the United States Supreme Court case, Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992),[6] which held that under the dormant commerce clause, goods purchased through mail order cannot be subject to a state’s sales tax unless the vendor has a substantial nexus with the state levying the tax.

In 1997, the federal government decided to limit taxation of Internet activity for a period of time. The Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) prohibits taxes on Internet access, which is defined as a service that allows users access to content, information, email or other services offered over the Internet and may include access to proprietary content, information, and other services as part of a package offered to customers. The Act has exceptions for taxes levied before the statute was written and for sales taxes on online purchases of physical goods.

Answer 2

Taxes should not be calculated at the item level. Taxes should be aggregated by tax group at the summary level.

The right way everywhere is

LINE ITEMS

• ITEM 1: $1.00 (taxable)
• ITEM 2: $1.00 (taxable)
• ITEM 3: $1.00 (taxable)

SUMMARY

• Total of taxable items for this tax rate: $3.00
• Your tax amount, rounded half up: .37
• Your total: 3.37

PS:If you'd charge at the item level, it would be too easy to circumvent the law by splitting your items or services into 900 items at $0.01 (Which once rounded would mean no tax). This could happen in the banking or plastic pellets industry.

Answer 3

You should total the items first, to get $3.00, then add the tax, then round up/down accordingly. Your two examples above don't offer this option, even though your second example arrives at the same result. In your first example, a number of items taxed one at a time might result in many .006 results which would round to .01. A long enough list of items would result in an error of many cents depending how many items there are. Totaling first then applying tax results in your saving .004 or losing .005 cents maximum due to rounding.

See A Guide to Sales and Use Tax which is a document put out by the Massachusetts Dept of Revenue. In the chart for tax, it shows that $1.09 is taxed at five cents, but at 5%, it would be 5.45. So, at least for this state, I believe I correctly stated the rounding process.

Answer 4

First of all to answer the basic question "Is one method correct? Might it depend on local laws?" Yes it does depend on local laws. Because ultimately the business will have to file forms with the sate/county/city.

These forms are going to ask for the total sales based on the tax category (tax free, x%, y%). Each transaction could have parts that fall into each category. The local taxing authority decides what goes into each category. The local taxing authority also determines how often the business needs to submit the taxes. They can even decide to base the rates used by where the customer lives.

A business is not required to charge directly for sales tax. That is why frequently at sporting events, the price on the menu notes that all sales taxes are included. I suppose not directly charging a sales tax makes the monthly calculation harder, but the state will still get their money.

Rounding up at the end of the entire transaction is enough to make sure they collect enough taxes, so they don't have to dip into their profits.