FAQ: Why don't you charge me sales tax?

All sales of goods delivered to buyers outside of Washington or California states are exempt from retail sales tax.

Our sole location is in Washington state, and we are only required to collect sales tax on purchases in our store, and to orders shipping to Washington state or California addresses. Even in our store, some sales are exempt. If you are a resident of a state that charges less than 3% sales tax, you are exempt (Oregon residents for example). Sale of items for use in Alaska, Hawaii, and noncontiguous US territories are exempt, if we ship it to an address there.

Why is this? The Supreme Court ruled in the Bellas Hess case in 1967 that states may not require mail order firms to collect sales tax if the firm has no physical presence (nexus) in that state. This was reaffirmed in the Quill decision of 1992.

Some states require a Use Tax to be paid on items brought into the state if they didn't pay a sales tax. From a practical perspective, it is very difficult to enforce payment of use tax in individual purchases. If you are interested in paying the use tax, please check with your state's revenue department for more information.

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