Understanding what sales tax rate to charge your customers as an online seller can be challenging. To start, it’s important to understand how sales tax rates are determined and what rate you should charge customers in the state where your business is located (intrastate sales). To determine this, find out if your online business is located in an origin-based or destination-based state, a concept called "sales tax sourcing".

What’s in this article?

• What is sales tax sourcing?
  
• Which states are origin-based and which are destination-based?
  
• Examples of the different types of sales tax sourcing
  

What is sales tax sourcing?

States generally require sellers to collect sales tax in one of two ways:

• Origin-based collection
  
• Destination-based collection
  

Sellers that are based in states with origin-based sales tax sourcing are required to collect sales tax at the seller’s business location. If your business is in an origin-based state, you should charge all customers in that state the combined rate for where your business is located. The combined rate is the state sales tax rate plus any county, city or district tax rates. For example, if your business’s location is in Arizona, you charge all customers in Arizona the same combined sales tax rate. This is considered the simplest form of sales tax sourcing, because businesses only need to charge one sales tax rate to all customers in the state.

Destination-based sales tax sourcing is more complicated. Destination-based sales tax sourcing means that sellers are required to charge the combined sales tax rate at the customer’s address. Since states can have hundreds of different tax jurisdictions, the rates can vary widely across customers in the state. For example, if your business is located in Washington, you charge all customers the state sales tax rate of 6.50% plus any local sales tax in effect at the customer’s location.

Which states are origin-based and which are destination-based?

Examples of the different types of sales tax sourcing

Here is an example of how the correct sales tax rate is calculated in an origin-based state. This business is located in Irving, Texas.

Texas state rate: 6.25%
Irving sales tax rate: 1%
Dallas MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority that imposes a sales tax): 1%
Combined sales tax rate: 8.25%
This business should charge all customers in Texas 8.25%, even if they are located outside of Irving.

Here is how destination-based sales tax sourcing works for a business located in New York City, New York. The business made a sale to a customer located in Buffalo, New York.

New York state rate: 4%
Erie County rate: 4.75%
Combined sales tax rate: 8.75%. This is what the business would charge the customer located in Buffalo.

However, they make another sale to a customer located in Rochester, New York.

New York state rate: 4%
Monroe County rate: 4%
Combined sales tax rate: 8%. This is the rate that the business would charge this customer based in Rochester.

These examples only apply to selling to customers in the state where your business is located. If you have sales to customers located in other states, then you may need to follow different rules when charging sales tax. In general, you would charge sales tax at the rate where your customer is located (destination-based sourcing for interstate transactions).

What to do if you have sales tax nexus in another state

If your business has expanded to the point where you have a certain number of sales in a state beyond your home base, your tax obligations will increase. In the world of ecommerce, this is usually triggered by “economic nexus,” which typically occurs once you cross a certain sales threshold.

If you realize you’ve crossed a threshold in a new state, follow these steps immediately.

• Register for a permit: Do not collect a cent of sales tax until you have registered with that state’s Department of Revenue. Collecting tax without a permit is illegal.

• Update your shopping cart: Once registered, configure your checkout software to apply the correct destination-based rates for that state.

• Collect and remit: Start collecting the tax on all taxable sales and file your returns according to the state's assigned frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually).

Because tax laws are updated frequently, you need reliable sources for your sales tax rate determination. Some resources for determining sales tax rate include state department of revenue websites, tax automation or payments platform, or the Streamlined Sales Tax website for states that have worked to standardize rules for remote sellers.

Examples of states with unique sales tax sourcing requirements

Here’s an example of how the correct sales tax rate is calculated in an origin-based state. This business is located in Irving, Texas.

• Texas state rate: 6.25%
  
• Irving sales tax rate: 1.00%
  
• Dallas MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority that imposes a sales tax): 1.00%
  
• Combined sales tax rate: 8.25%
  

This business should charge all customers in Texas 8.25%, even if they are located outside of Irving.

Here’s how destination-based sales tax sourcing works for a business located in New York City, New York.

The business made a sale to a customer located in Buffalo, New York.

• New York state rate: 4.00%
  
• Erie County rate: 4.75%
  
• Combined sales tax rate: 8.75%
  

This is what the business would charge the customer in Buffalo.

However, they make another sale to a customer located in Rochester, New York.

• New York state rate: 4.00%
  
• Monroe County rate: 4.00%
  
• Combined sales tax rate: 8.00%
  

This is the rate the business would charge this customer in Rochester.

These examples only apply to selling to customers in the state where your business is located. If you have sales to customers located in other states, then you may need to follow different rules when charging sales tax. In general, you would charge sales tax at the rate where your customer is located (destination-based sourcing for interstate transactions).

Several states employ hybrid systems that can challenge even seasoned sellers. These states don't fit neatly into one category, making them the most complex places to manage sales tax:

• California: California is unique because it uses a hybrid system. Generally, state, city, and county taxes are sourced to the origin (your business location), but district taxes are sourced to the destination (the buyer's location). This mixed sourcing means your tax rate might stay the same for some components but shift for others.

• Illinois: As of January 1, 2026, Illinois has a complex structure. If you have “predominant selling activities” in-state, you use origin rules. However, remote sellers must use destination rules. Furthermore, Illinois recently implemented a 15% tax rate penalty for sellers who fail to provide the exact destination information required on their ST-2 forms.

• Colorado: While Colorado uses destination sourcing, it also imposes a retail delivery fee on any sale delivered by motor vehicle. Additionally, as of 2026, Colorado has eliminated the “vendor fee” (a discount sellers used to keep for filing on time) at the state level, meaning you must now remit 100% of the collected state tax.

• Florida: Florida generally follows destination-based rules, meaning you charge the 6% state rate plus the local discretionary sales surtax of the buyer’s county. However, Florida has a unique bracket rule: for sales of a single item of tangible personal property, the local county surtax only applies to the first $5,000 of the purchase price. Anything above that amount is only subject to the 6% state rate.

How Stripe Tax can help

Stripe Tax reduces the complexity of tax compliance so you can focus on growing your business. Start collecting taxes globally by adding a single line of code to your existing integration, clicking a button in the Dashboard, or using our powerful API.

Stripe Tax helps you monitor your obligations and alerts you when you exceed a sales tax registration threshold based on your Stripe transactions. It can also register to collect tax on your behalf in the US and manage filings through trusted partners. Stripe Tax automatically calculates and collects sales tax, VAT, and GST on:

• Digital goods and services in all US states and over 100 countries
  
• Physical goods in all US states and 42 countries
  

Stripe Tax can help you:

• Understand where to register and collect taxes: See where you need to collect taxes based on your Stripe transactions. After you register, switch on tax collection in a new state or country in seconds. You can start collecting taxes by adding one line of code to your existing Stripe integration, or add tax collection with the click of a button in the Stripe Dashboard.

• Register to pay tax: If you need to register for a sales tax in the US, let Stripe manage your tax registrations. You’ll benefit from a simplified process that prefills application details—saving you time and simplifying compliance with local regulations. If you need help registering outside of the US, Stripe partners with Taxually to help you register with local tax authorities.

• Automatically collect tax: Stripe Tax calculates and collects the right amount of tax owed, no matter what or where you sell. It supports hundreds of products and services and is up-to-date on tax rules and rate changes.

• Simplify filing: Stripe Tax seamlessly integrates with filing partners, so your global filings are accurate and timely. Let our partners manage your filings so you can focus on growing your business.

Learn more about Stripe Tax, or get started today.