US Home-Rule State Tax Compliance (again)

US Home-Rule State Tax Compliance (again)


Ow... I think my eyes just rolled into the back of my head.

If we were to read the above text word-for-word when the above text states, "Zoho Commerce is compliant with all state taxes in the USA.", and ran it through the truth-o-meter... well... then yes, I must concede... that is *technically* accurate, I guess.

But...

C'mon.  Anyone reading that, including myself, would just say, "Great... compliant on all US Sales tax law", and check off that mental check box and move on.  The carefully workded question, however, if more generally worded wouldn't pass.  So, for example, something like, "Will you be able to correctly collect for and maintain proper compliance US sales tax liability using Commerce?  Mmmm... certainly not if you live in a home rule state.  Not by a long shot.

First of all, sales tax in the United States is calculated at the state and city and sometimes county level, and sometimes has additional "special" taxes applied as well.  For example, my state's sales tax is 2.9%.  However... when you add all of the other taxes on top of the state tax, the total taxes end up being 8.81%.

If you're fortunate to be located in a non-homerule state, then you're probably just going to stack your local taxes on top of the percentage for the state tax for sales made within the state in which you're located, which still doesn't provide any sort of a breakdown for reporting purposes... But at least it's manageable, because it keeps it simple.  This is because your taxes are determined by the tax rates at your location, and not the location you're shipping to... at least within your state, and therefore a single rate for your state inclusive of state + local taxes is both manageable and adequate, and Commerce can correctly collect this amount for the transactions within your state when it sees that destination for your customers shipping address.

However...

If you live in a "home rule" state, then there is currently no way to make Zoho Commerce compliant without the cost of an additional integration, as you need to use collect tax based on tax percentage that's been assigned to the address of the shipped destination, and that can vary widely across the state.  There is simply nothing in Commerce that supports this functionality.  So, I can certainly configure the 2.9% state tax rate for Colorado. Does that make me compliant?  Not at all.

Furthermore, these same rules may also be applicable for any business that sells over a certain dollar amount to any other state where they have a threshold dollar amount that exceeds a certain level (e.g. $100,000).  If so, you may have tax liability in those states as well, and also need to be configured to collect taxes for those locations in the same way.

I again reiterate that there is a ridiculously simple method that Zoho could implement into Commerce that can addresses this one issue for most ecommerce businesses to maintain reasonable compliance.  And while not perfect, it would be at least be adequate for most small businesses to demonsterate that they've taken practical measures to comply with all the relevent sales tax laws that apply to their home state.  The straight forward solution is to simply perform the tax rate lookup at the zipcode level instead of at the state level.  That's all.  It's so simple that my dog could code it while locked in a sausage factory (if he were provided the API, that is).  The following thread elaborates on this subject in further detail:


So the correct statement with full disclosure is: Zoho Commerce is indeed absolutely, 100%, completely, undoubtedly compliant with all, yes *ALL* US State taxes, but...  has no mechanism to allow you to comply with city, county, juristictional, or special taxes in home-rule states in order to conform with the required state tax liability law, nor does it provide any publically available API to make the propor modifications to do so.

Now, to cover all bases.... Yes... There is another option... I can pony up $50 a month for Alavera + extras, which is the base price.  The cost can actually be much higher depending on a range of other factors.  This integration is said to include live tax lookup by the address.  But... why should I have to do that when the fix I've proposed is so simple to implement.  Why not simply make the extraordinarily simple changes that are being requested to allow a home-rule-state US businesses to maintain proper compliance without Alavera.  Just provide the option to permit tax lookups at the zipcode level.

-Bryan


      • Recent Topics

      • Tip of the Week - Conditional Formatting Chart

        Conditional formatting allows you to highlight your data series based on a pattern or a trend in your data. This makes it easy for you to identify when your data reaches certain values or when it deviates from the trend.  Zoho Analytics allows you to

      • Zoho Learn - AI Translate

        Hi Learn team, I had a situation today where I was providing training to a client team and I had written articles into their Zoho Learn to support their learning. I realised that one of the team members was a non-native English speaker and they were struggling

      • Power of Automation :: Auto-Sync Custom Date Field Between Related Tasks via Blueprint Transition

        Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate

      • Introducing auto-upgrade in Zoho LandingPage

        Hi everyone, We’re excited to share an upcoming update to help you get the most out of your landing pages — the auto-upgrade option, launching on October 22, 2025. Your landing pages are designed to bring in leads, and we want to make sure you never miss

      • Workdrive comment links stopped working.

        I have marked a PDF file with 95 comments, they have worked for a while. When i clicked on them they brought me to the correct page and showed me the outline that i had drew on the plans. The comments included the page number of the outline, but now it

      • How to Bulk-Update Sales Orders in CRM

        Hi - I need to bulk update existing sales orders with dates from our ERP of when the sales orders were created. I made a date field on the Sales Order module where I want to insert that data. I can't Mass Update because I am not updating the fields to

      • Zoho ToDo in Cliq

        Our organization utilizes Zoho ToDo in the Zoho Mail Desktop app. Is there a way for these to show up in Cliq Desktop app as well?

      • 【Zoho CRM】サンドボックス機能のアップデート：カスタムビューが利用可能になりました。

        ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、サンドボックス機能のアップデートをご紹介します。 目次 1. カスタムビューとは 2. 今回の機能アップデートについて 1. カスタムビューとは カスタムビューは、ユーザーが設定した条件に基づいてデータをフィルタリング・整理し、 重要な情報へ効率的にアクセスできるようにする機能です。 「過去15日間の見込み客」や「受注間近の商談」、「特定の優先度レベルが設定された案件」など 条件を指定してわずか数クリックで設定できます。

      • Changing an agents email address

        How do you change an agent's email address? I keep getting a red circle even though I am an admin. And on one of my agents he has two email addresses? How is that possible?

      • Zoho CRM - Potentials Tab

        Hi! When I create a Deal (Potentials tab) the header looks like this: After a refresh on the page it looks like this: What should I do so that it is displayed like in the second pic without refresh? Also I have a user that as of recently, cannot see this

      • Is there a way to automatically add Secondary Contacts (CCs) when creating a new ticket for specific customers?

        Some of our customers want multiple contacts to receive all notifications from our support team. Is there a way to automatically add secondary contacts to a ticket when our support team opens a new ticket and associates it with an account? This would

      • Unable to create embed code for resource of workdrive using API

        Hello Team, I am trying to create embed code for a resource using workdrive api in powershell, however facing some issues with injecting data in body. Followed Doc: https://workdrive.zoho.com/apidocs/v1/filefoldersharing/shareeveryone Please help, below

      • Feature Request - Insert URL Links in Folders

        I would love to see the ability to create simple URL links with titles in WorkDrive. or perhaps a WorkDrive extension to allow it. Example use case: A team is working on a project and there is project folder in WordDrive. The team uses LucidChart to create

      • not able to convert pdf to jpg and other forms and vice versa.

        i want to change my pdf to jpg, word, etc and some times jpg to pdf. i don't know how to do in this.

      • Enable / show scroll bar when Mega Menu is opened

        Hey there I am using the mega menu add-on and experience a "flicker" whenever the mega menu opens. The reason is, that the scrollbar, which has a width of a few pixels, stops showing when the mega menu opens. As the scrollbar disappears the whole page

      • Reports: Custom Search Function Fields

        Hi Zoho, Hope you'll add this into your roadmap. Issue: For the past 2yrs our global team been complaining and was brought to our attention recently that it's a time consuming process looking/scrolling down. Use-case: This form is a service report with

      • Zoho Inventory - Composite Items - Assembly - Single Line Item Quantity of One

        Hi Zoho Inventory Team, Please consider relaxing the system rules which prevent an assembly items from consisting of a single line item and outputting a quantity of 1. A client I'm currently working with sells cosmetics and offers testers of their products

      • How can I transfer data from Production to Development environment?

        Hi, I am using Creator V6 and would like to bring all the data in production to the Development and Testing environments? Is there an easy way of doing that or I have to export and import each table?

      • Add "Reset MFA" Option for Zoho Creator Client Portal Users

        Hello Zoho Creator Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to request an important enhancement related to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for client portal users in Zoho Creator. Currently, Creator allows us to enforce MFA for portal users,

      • New portal SAML authentication error: User not found

        Dears, Has anyone else been experiencing this lately? I am creating a new portal authenticated by SAML (Entra ID). I followed the same process as I did with other portals, but any new portal created after this always encounters this error. I’ve been reporting

      • Devis et facture multi page

        Bonjour, je suis sur Zoho invoice et je rencontre un problème sur mes devis et factures lorsqu'ils dépassent 1 page. je me retrouve souvent avec des lignes coupées ou le sous total page 1 et le total page 2. j'aimerai savoir s'il existe une possibilité

      • Help with Filtering Records, HTML Pages, and Automatic File Uploads in Zoho Creator

        Hi Zoho Creator Community, I’m building a Zoho Creator application and need guidance on a few features I’ve been struggling with. I want to implement them safely and efficiently, and I’d appreciate any examples, tips, or best practices. I want users to

      • Convert invoice from zoho to xml with all details

        How to convert an Invoice to XML format with all details

      • Feature Suggestion for Zoho Websites – Inspired by Squarespace Systems

        Dear Zoho Team, I’m a Zoho user and also a Squarespace Platinum Circle member, and I recently noticed the launch of Zoho Websites in India. I wanted to share some ideas for features that could enhance the platform for professional users and agencies.

      • Custom View - Sort by Custom Field

        I created a custom field for our Engineering team to know which tickets to work first by numbering them.  I created a custom view to general data which includes the Engineering Priority.  However, I cannot sort the Engineering Priority column ascending

      • Zoho Indeed Intergation not pulling candidate details

        We have recently integrated zoho with indeed. Prior to this our candidates came into the candidates tab via the zoho.resumes email address from indeed and it pulled through the candidates mobile number, and majority of the time a postcode. However since

      • Custom View of tickets created today

        How can I create a custom view that list all my ticked created in the current date? Currently, if I select the "Created Time" criteria, the "Current Time" option does not work as today. Actually, I don't know how it works this "Current Time".

      • Lifecycle Reports

        From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports A lifecycle report captures and visualises the sequential states that a ticket undergoes across its lifespan. For instance, when a customer submits a support ticket for a faulty product,

      • Zoho Forms - Print Button on Forms

        Hi Forms team, I'm replicating a form for a client which is currently based on JotForm. I noticed that at the end of the form there is a button to print the completed form. I thought this would be something worth sharing and a nice to have in Zoho Forms.

      • Putting Watermark on Zoho Sheet

        Can this be done?

      • Validation function not preventing candidates under 18 or over 30 from submitting the web form

        Hello everyone, I’m trying to create a validation rule for the Candidate Webform in Zoho Recruit. I added a custom field called “Date of Birth”, and I want to make sure that candidates cannot submit the form unless their age is between 18 and 30 years.

      • Report to know the history of certain Tickets on Desk

        Hi there guys, As the title implies we're wondering if there's any way to get some kind of Report that allows us to check the History of various Tickets at the same time since as of today if we want to know that we have to check them 1 by 1 which is not

      • Advanced Usage Billing: Prepaid with Drawdown

        Picture yourself at your favourite coffee shop, Bean & Brew. You come by every morning for your usual cappuccino, and occasionally you get an extra cold brew and a muffin or two in the afternoon. Interestingly, Bean & Brew has a new idea of offering a

      • Zoho Commerce in multiple languages

        When will you be able to offer Zoho Commerce in more languages? We sell in multiple markets and want to be able to offer a local version of our webshop. What does the roadmap look like?

      • Urgent Zoho Creator down!!!???

        Now my zoho creator faced this issue. Anyone has idea? Urgent!!!

      • The Social Wall: September 2025

        Hello everyone, As we step into the fall season, some major updates are on the horizon. Meanwhile, here are the exciting updates we rolled out this September. Approvals in iOS Managing approvals just got more seamless on mobile. With this update, the

      • Introducing Detailed View for Candidates in Vendor Portal

        We’ve added a new Details sub-tab inside the Vendor Portal to help vendors easily view complete candidate information after submission. With this update, vendors can now access all candidate details, from personal information to associated job openings,

      • Zoho One Down

        Zoho Team, Checking if when the services up - currently Zoho One is down

      • How can I track which zoho users are actively using Zoho CRM

        I have several licenses of Zoho CRM. We now need to add a new user. I could purchase a new license, but before I do, I would like to see if any of our existing users are not actively using the license assigned to them. How can I determine the activity

      • Access to Detail View From HTML Snippet

        Zoho Creator displays a detail view that slides out from the right onClick of a record in a report. Am I able to access that detail view from an html snippet, e.g. click a record in a list and display the detail view? The zc_LoadIn dialog is a bit clunky,

      • Next Page