If you need to charge state sales tax, consumption tax, VAT, or other tax, Volusion gives you an array of flexible options to automatically process tax charges for various regions and locales. This article will guide you through setting up tax and show you other tax-related functions of the Volusion system.
Contents
Part I - Using the Volusion Tax Page
To get started, log in to your Admin Area and go to Settings > Tax. 
For US-Based Merchants
To configure the tax rate for your store:
- Click Add.
- Choose your state from the State/Province dropdown menu.
- Enter a title and percentage for the tax rate your will charge.
- Click Save.
For International-Based Merchants
Your store's tax settings are pre-configured for a store based in the United States, so if you're not in the United States, be sure to deselect I Am Based in the United States. 
- You'll see a new dropdown for configuring types of VAT and GST taxes. These tax types are applicable to some countries such as the UK and Canada and are discussed in detail below.
- Under the Tax Region heading, select which country and state or province your business is based in.
- Below the Tax Rates header, set the tax rate title (the name of the tax as it will be displayed to your customers) and the actual rate the tax will charge.
- If you've enabled VAT or GST taxes, additional tax rates settings will be configurable: Tax 2 and Tax 3. You can specifically configure these taxes to govern how VAT or other taxes will behave within Volusion. These settings will be discussed in further detail below.
- Click Save.
If you need to further configure your store's tax rate or charge tax for multiple regions, postal codes, or states/provinces, you can add and configure additional tax rates by clicking on the Switch to Advanced Mode link.
Keep in mind that you'll need to create an individual rate for every region or location you need to collect tax for. There is no limit to the number of tax rules you can set up.
Part II - Tax Settings Explained
The following table explains the settings within the tax settings page:
| Details | |
| Tax ID | This is an auto-generated value created by your store when you create a new tax rule to identify it by. |
| Tax Default | Sets the tax rule to be the default value applied to a customer's cart if they if they have not yet defined shipping information. For use with certain Value Added Taxes. |
| Ship To Location | |
| Tax State SHORT | This field is reserved for the 2 character code used to identify which state or province the tax rule will apply to. For example, enter NY for New York or SK for Saskatchewan. |
| Tax State LONG | This is the formal name of the state or province your rate applies to. |
| Tax Postal Code | This is an optional field if you need to charge different tax rates depending on what postal code the order is shipping to. For example, if you wish to charge 8.25% sales tax for postal code 12345 but 7.15% sales tax for orders going to postal code 54321. |
| Tax Country | Specify which country this tax rate should apply to. |
| Tax Rates | |
| Is Vat | Enable this option if you need the tax rate to be calculated as Value Added Tax. Be sure to enable it if you are required to charge VAT on your customers' orders. |
| Tax1 Title | This field will define the actual name of the tax rule as it is presented to your customers in the shopping cart portion of your store. |
| Tax1 Percent | This is where you define the actual rate the tax rule will charge to customers' orders. For example, entering 8.25 will charge 8.25% of the customer's order as tax. |
| Tax1Ignore No Tax Rules | When enabled, Tax1 will override any settings for products or customers configured as non-taxable. |
| Tax2 Title | This field is for the name for the second tax cost associated with the tax rule. This is essentially a tax applied to a tax. This setting is to fulfill certain countries' tax requirements depending on local taxation laws. |
| Tax2 Percent | This field contains the actual percentage for a second tax rate associated with this tax rule. This setting is used to fulfill certain countries' local tax requirements. |
| Tax2 Ignore No Tax Rules | When enabled, Tax2 will override any settings for products or customers configured as non-taxable. |
| Tax2 Include Previous | This dropdown setting allows users to configure how the Tax2 rate will be applied to the order. The default option, Add to Total Only, or NULL will calculate Tax2 based on the order total. The second option, Apply to Total and Tax1 will calculate Tax2 for the order total with Tax1 added in. |
| Tax3 Title | This field contains the name for a third, additional tax cost associated with the tax rule. This setting is used to fulfill certain countries' local tax requirements. |
| Tax3 Percent | This is the actual percentage charged for the third tax cost associated with this tax rule. |
| Tax3 Ignore No Tax Rules | When enabled, Tax3 will override any settings for products or customers configured as non-taxable. |
| Tax3 Include Previous | This dropdown lets you configure how the Tax3 rate will be applied to the order. The default option, Add to total only or NULL will calculate Tax3 based on the order total. The remaining options will allow users to configure Tax3 to calculate for the order total either Tax1, Tax2, or both Tax1 and Tax2 already added in. |
Tips and Settings
Importing Tax Settings
If you need to configure a wide range of tax settings, you can save time by importing information directly into your store's tax table with the Inventory > Import / Export feature. Select the Export Wizard link within the Import / Export section to export the existing tax table to a CSV file - which can be edited in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel.
Once the tax table is exported to a CSV file, it can be edited by inserting or copy and pasting tax settings into the table columns. When finished, use the Import Wizard in your Admin Area to import the updated tax table into your store.
See Import / Export for more information.
Value Added Tax and Goods & Services Tax Settings
If your region requires VAT or GST, you may need to set how those taxes are displayed to your customers in relation to product prices.
- On your Tax page, if I Am Based in the United States is deselected, you'll see a dropdown menu for choosing how VAT and/or GST are applied to order costs and how they're displayed to your customers. The default setting is Disable VAT.
- Set your tax display options as need be
- Click Save.
Note - this option can also be accessed from the Tax Settings link within the Tax Advanced Settings.
If you want to change the exact wording of how VAT or GST is displayed in product prices and on orders (for example, if you want it to read "Including GST" instead of "Inc GST"), see How do I change how GST or VAT is displayed in prices?
Setting up Tax Exempt Customers
Some of your customers may have a tax-exempt status (for example, charities or non-profit organizations). Here's how to make a specific customer registered with your store tax exempt:
- Go to Customers > Accounts.
- Click on the ID number of the customer you want to edit.
- In the customer settings, under the header Special Privileges (click the header to view its settings), choose Tax Exempt/Does Not Pay Tax from the dropdown menu labeled PaysStateTax.
Finished! The customer you edited is now tax exempt and will not be charged any tax by your store.
Setting Up Tax Exempt Products
To set a particular product as Tax Exempt:
- Go to Inventory > Products.
- Click on the product code of the product you want to edit.
- Under Advanced Info > Pricing, set the Taxable Product dropdown to N.
- Click Save.
Tips
Tax rules are applied to orders as designated by your store's tax table. If no match can be found, tax will not be applied for the order. You can view the tax table in its entirety by clicking Switch to Advanced Settings at the top of the page.
The postal code setting within a tax rule overrides the state or province code settings. For example, a tax rule applying to California configured for postal code 91210 will only apply to orders shipping to the 91210 postal code - not the entire state of California.
Note that by default, your store comes with a tax rate pre-programmed for the US state of California as an example of a properly configured tax rule. If your operation is not based in California, we recommend deleting or modifying this tax rule to meet tax requirements for your location.
Summary
No matter where your business is located, your store makes it easy to configure tax settings precisely and accurately.
Watch the Tax video