You cross an economic nexus threshold the moment your remote sales into a state exceed a dollar or transaction amount the state has set — typically $100,000 or 200 transactions, but with major exceptions. As of 2026, all 45 states with a sales tax (plus DC and Alaska’s local jurisdictions) impose economic nexus rules. This guide gives you every current threshold, the measurement period each state uses, whether marketplace sales count, recent 2023–2025 changes, and the specific friction points foreign sellers hit when trying to register.
This is the longest, most current, and most-cited guide we’ve published. If you’d rather not read 6,000 words and instead have us monitor your thresholds across all 50 states and register you only when you actually cross — book a free nexus review. One flat fee, no software for you to learn.
What is economic nexus? (And why 2026 thresholds matter more than you think)
Economic nexus is the legal doctrine that lets a state require an out-of-state seller to collect and remit its sales tax based purely on the volume of sales into that state — with no physical presence required. Cross the threshold, and you have a duty to register, collect, file, and remit. There’s no opt-out, no grace for ignorance, and the back-tax exposure compounds every month.
The Wayfair decision in 30 seconds
Before 2018, a state could only require a remote seller to collect its sales tax if the seller had a physical presence in that state — a warehouse, employees, inventory, or property. That rule came from Quill Corp. v. North Dakota (1992) and shielded most online sellers for two decades.
In South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018), the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Quill and held that states may require remote sellers to collect sales tax based on economic activity alone, even without physical presence. The South Dakota statute the Court upheld used a $100,000-or-200-transaction threshold, which became the de facto model that most states copied within 18 months.
Economic nexus vs physical nexus vs marketplace nexus
Three distinct nexus doctrines coexist in 2026. They overlap, but each one is enough by itself to trigger registration:
| Nexus type | What triggers it | Typical example |
|---|---|---|
| Physical nexus | Inventory, employees, offices, agents, or property in the state | Amazon FBA inventory stored in a state’s warehouses |
| Economic nexus | Sales volume into the state crossing a dollar or transaction threshold | $150,000 in Shopify sales shipped to Texas customers |
| Marketplace facilitator nexus | Operating as a marketplace; or, for sellers, having sales facilitated by one above the marketplace’s threshold | Amazon, Walmart, eBay collecting on your behalf |
Most cross-border sellers we work with are exposed under all three at once. If you have Amazon FBA inventory in one state, $300,000 of Shopify sales across the country, and you also sell on eBay, you have physical nexus in the FBA states, economic nexus in any state where Shopify sales cross the threshold, and marketplace nexus on top.
For more on how these interact, see our guide to U.S. sales tax nexus.
Why thresholds keep changing (the post-Wayfair recalibration)
The original Wayfair-era thresholds were built on the South Dakota model: $100,000 or 200 transactions. By 2022, states had figured out the problem with the transaction-count test — it hit low-dollar sellers (someone selling a $5 product 201 times triggered the same compliance burden as someone selling $200,000 of furniture).
Between 2023 and 2025, a wave of states repealed the transaction-count prong:
- South Dakota itself repealed it in 2023
- Louisiana followed in 2023
- Indiana eliminated it effective 2024
- Wyoming eliminated it effective 2024
- North Carolina, Wisconsin, and others made similar moves
This is the most important recent trend in U.S. sales tax. If you’ve been reading guides from 2022 or earlier, you are working with outdated information — and that matters because being registered in a state where you no longer need to be costs you in filing fees and exposure every month.
How to read a state’s economic nexus threshold (the 4 variables nobody explains)
A “$100,000 threshold” actually contains four hidden variables, and getting any one of them wrong will lead you to register in the wrong states. Software platforms gloss over this. Here’s what to actually look at.
Variable 1: Dollar amount vs transaction count vs OR/AND
Most states use a dollar threshold OR a transaction-count threshold — cross either one and you have nexus. A shrinking minority still use both. A handful (California, New York, Texas) use only a dollar test and a much higher one.
In 2026, the structure is roughly:
- Dollar OR transactions (most common): ~20 states still combine $100K with a 200-transaction backup test
- Dollar only (growing): SD, LA, IN, WY, plus high-threshold states like CA, NY, TX
- Both required (rare): essentially gone
Variable 2: Measurement period (prior year vs rolling 12 months)
This determines when you cross the threshold and when you must act. Three common patterns:
- Previous calendar year: you measure last year’s sales — clean and predictable
- Previous or current calendar year: you measure both — you can trip nexus mid-year if current-year sales cross
- Rolling 12 months / previous 12 months: the most aggressive — every day of every month is potentially a trigger day
California measures economic nexus over the preceding or current calendar year, with a $500,000 threshold per Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §6203(c)(4). Florida measures over the previous calendar year, with a $100,000 threshold under Fla. Stat. §212.0596(2).
The measurement period is the single most overlooked variable. A seller who waits to see “last year’s totals” before deciding to register is already late in any state that uses a current-year or rolling test.
Variable 3: What counts as “sales” (gross, retail, taxable, TPP-only)
States define the threshold’s denominator differently:
- Gross sales: all sales including wholesale, exempt, marketplace, services
- Retail sales: sales to end consumers, sometimes including exempt
- Taxable sales: only the sales that would actually be subject to tax in the state
- Sales of tangible personal property only: excludes services and digital goods
This is the difference between a foreign honey seller hitting $98K of retail honey sales in California and “only” $50K of taxable sales because California exempts food — does she have nexus? In California, the test is total sales of TPP delivered into the state, so the gross figure controls regardless of taxability.
If you can’t answer “what counts as a sale” for a state, don’t register yet — you may be over-counting and registering where you didn’t need to.
Variable 4: Do marketplace sales count toward your threshold?
This is the question that costs FBA sellers the most money. If you sell $400,000 on Amazon and $30,000 on your own Shopify into California, does the $400,000 of Amazon sales count toward your California threshold?
Answer: it depends on the state. Some states explicitly exclude marketplace-facilitated sales from your individual threshold (because the marketplace already collected). Others explicitly include them. A few are silent or have changed positions.
We cover this in detail in Section 6 below — and it’s covered in our marketplace facilitator laws guide. The short version: never assume marketplace sales are excluded from your threshold count. Check each state.
Economic nexus thresholds by state: complete 2026 table
Below is every state’s current economic nexus threshold as of 2026, verified against the relevant Department of Revenue source. Use this as a reference but read the notes — half the complexity is in the footnotes.
Alabama through Wyoming (alphabetical reference table)
| State | Dollar threshold | Transaction threshold | Measurement period | Marketplace sales counted? | Effective date | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $250,000 | None | Previous calendar year | Yes (excluded if MF collected) | 2019-01-01 | Ala. Code §40-23-68 |
| Arizona | Arizona’s economic nexus threshold for remote sellers is set by the Department of Revenue, and the applicable amount depends on the tax year and whether prior-year or current-year sales control. If you are approaching Arizona TPT nexus, contact us for a current review. | None (post-2021) | Previous or current calendar year | Generally excluded | 2019-10-01 | A.R.S. §42-5044 |
| Arkansas | $100,000 | 200 | Previous or current calendar year | Yes (counted) | 2019-07-01 | Ark. Code §26-52-111 |
| California | California’s economic nexus threshold turns on total combined sales of tangible personal property delivered into the state (including related persons) in the current or preceding calendar year. If your California sales are approaching the threshold, contact us for a current review. | None | Previous or current calendar year | Generally excluded | 2019-04-01 (revised 2019-10-01) | Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §6203(c)(4) |
| Colorado | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes (counted) | 2019-06-01 | C.R.S. §39-26-102(3) |
| Connecticut | $100,000 AND 200 | Both required | Prior 12 months ending Sep 30 | Yes | 2018-12-01 | Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-407(a)(15) |
| DC | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-01-01 | D.C. Code §47-2201 |
| Florida | $100,000 | None | Previous calendar year | Generally excluded | 2021-07-01 | Fla. Stat. §212.0596(2) |
| Georgia | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-01-01 | O.C.G.A. §48-8-2 |
| Hawaii | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes (GET) | 2018-07-01 | Haw. Rev. Stat. §237-2.5 |
| Idaho | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-06-01 | Idaho Code §63-3611 |
| Illinois | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous 12 months | Excluded for MF-only sellers | 2018-10-01 | 35 ILCS 105/2 |
| Indiana | $100,000 | None (repealed 2024) | Previous or current calendar year | Excluded for MF-only sellers | 2018-10-01 | IC §6-2.5-2-1 |
| Iowa | $100,000 | None (repealed) | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-01-01 | Iowa Code §423.14A |
| Kansas | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2021-07-01 | K.S.A. §79-3702 |
| Kentucky | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-10-01 | KRS §139.340 |
| Louisiana | $100,000 | None (repealed 2023) | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2020-07-01 | La. R.S. §47:301(4)(m) |
| Maine | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-07-01 | 36 M.R.S. §1754-B |
| Maryland | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-10-01 | Md. Code Ann. §11-701 |
| Massachusetts | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-10-01 | M.G.L. c. 64H |
| Michigan | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous calendar year | Yes | 2018-10-01 | MCL §205.52b |
| Minnesota | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Prior 12 months | Yes | 2018-10-01 | Minn. Stat. §297A.66 |
| Mississippi | $250,000 | None | Prior 12 months | Yes | 2017-12-01 | Miss. Code §27-65-9 |
| Missouri | $100,000 | None | Previous 12 months | Yes | 2023-01-01 | Mo. Rev. Stat. §144.605 |
| Nebraska | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-04-01 | Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-2701 |
| Nevada | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-10-01 | NRS §372.105 |
| New Jersey | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-11-01 | N.J.S.A. §54:32B-3.5 |
| New Mexico | $100,000 | None | Previous calendar year | Yes (gross receipts tax) | 2019-07-01 | NMSA §7-9-3.3 |
| New York | $500,000 AND 100 | Both required | Prior 4 quarters | Yes | 2019-06-21 | N.Y. Tax Law §1101(b)(8)(iv) |
| North Carolina | North Carolina’s economic nexus threshold for remote sellers is published by the NC Department of Revenue and depends on the relevant sales period. If you are evaluating North Carolina sales tax registration, contact us for a current review. | None (200-tx repealed) | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-11-01 | N.C.G.S. §105-164.8 |
| North Dakota | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-10-01 | N.D.C.C. §57-39.2-02.2 |
| Ohio | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-08-01 | Ohio Rev. Code §5741.01 |
| Oklahoma | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-07-01 (revised) | 68 O.S. §1392 |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania’s economic nexus threshold for remote sellers is set by the PA Department of Revenue and depends on the measurement period and sales mix. If you are approaching Pennsylvania sales tax nexus, contact us for a current review. | None | Previous 12 months | Yes (counted) | 2019-07-01 | 72 P.S. §7213.1 |
| Rhode Island | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous calendar year | Yes | 2019-07-01 | R.I. Gen. Laws §44-18-15 |
| South Carolina | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-11-01 | S.C. Code §12-36-2691 |
| South Dakota | $100,000 | None (repealed 2023) | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-11-01 | SDCL §10-64-2 |
| Tennessee | $100,000 | None | Prior 12 months | Yes | 2020-10-01 | Tenn. Code §67-6-501 |
| Texas | $500,000 | None | Previous 12 months | Yes | 2019-10-01 | 34 Tex. Admin. Code §3.286 |
| Utah | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-01-01 | Utah Code §59-12-107 |
| Vermont | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Prior 12 months | Yes | 2018-07-01 | 32 V.S.A. §9701 |
| Virginia | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-07-01 | Va. Code §58.1-612 |
| Washington | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes (counted) | 2020-01-01 | RCW §82.08.052 |
| West Virginia | $100,000 OR 200 | Either | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-01-01 | W. Va. Code §11-15A-6b |
| Wisconsin | $100,000 | None | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2018-10-01 | Wis. Stat. §77.51 |
| Wyoming | $100,000 | None (repealed 2024) | Previous or current calendar year | Yes | 2019-02-01 | Wyo. Stat. §39-15-501 |
Reading note: When the table shows “generally excluded” for marketplace sales, this is a state-specific carve-out that has limits. Always verify your specific facts. The treatment of marketplace sales for threshold purposes is one of the most contested and frequently-amended areas of state sales tax law — what’s true in 2026 may not be in 2027.
States with NO sales tax (NOMAD states: NH, OR, MT, AK, DE)
Five states have no statewide sales tax:
- New Hampshire (NH)
- Oregon (OR)
- Montana (MT)
- Alaska (AK) — see next subsection
- Delaware (DE)
If 100% of your customers are in NOMAD states, you have no U.S. sales tax exposure. In practice, no one’s customer base looks like that. These states are also subject to other taxes (e.g., Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax, Delaware’s gross receipts tax) which are different beasts — not consumer sales taxes.
Alaska’s unique local-jurisdiction approach (ARSSTC)
Alaska has no state sales tax, but many local jurisdictions impose local sales tax, and they centralize remote-seller compliance through the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC). The ARSSTC sets a uniform threshold for remote sellers — generally $100,000 of statewide sales in the previous calendar year — and a remote seller exceeding it must register with ARSSTC and collect for each participating local jurisdiction.
The complication: not every Alaska local jurisdiction participates in ARSSTC. Anchorage notably does not impose sales tax. Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and others do. If you ship into Alaska, you need to look at which specific jurisdictions are receiving your shipments.
For most foreign sellers, Alaska is a relatively low-volume state — but if you ship there at scale, treat it as a separate compliance project.
Recent and upcoming threshold changes (2023–2026)
The most important recent trend is the elimination of the 200-transaction prong. Here’s the timeline of changes you should know.
States that eliminated the transaction-count test
| State | Change | Effective | Bill / authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | Repealed 200-tx test | July 1, 2023 | SB 30 (2023) |
| Louisiana | Repealed 200-tx test | August 1, 2023 | Act 375 (2023) |
| Indiana | Repealed 200-tx test | January 1, 2024 | SEA 228 (2023) |
| Wyoming | Repealed 200-tx test | July 1, 2024 | HB 197 (2024) |
| North Carolina | Repealed 200-tx test | (recent) | NC session law |
| Wisconsin | Earlier repeal | 2021 | 2021 Wis. Act 1 |
The pattern is unmistakable: states realized the transaction-count test was creating compliance burdens for very small sellers (think: someone selling $4,000 worth of $20 items hitting 200 transactions) while bringing in negligible tax revenue. Expect more states to follow.
The topic is moving fast. If you’re reading this guide more than a few months after publication, the specifics of pending legislation may have shifted — contact us for a current snapshot of where your thresholds stand.
States that raised dollar thresholds
A few states have raised their dollar threshold beyond the original $100,000:
- California, Texas, New York have used $500,000 thresholds since their original Wayfair-era enactment
- Alabama, Mississippi use $250,000
These higher thresholds are meaningful for cross-border sellers because they create a real safe harbor. If you’re a UK Shopify brand doing $200K of total California sales annually, you may have no California economic nexus — though FBA inventory in California would still create physical-presence nexus regardless of the dollar threshold.
Pending 2026 legislation to watch
Several states have legislation under discussion that may shift thresholds in 2026:
- Further transaction-count repeals in states that still use the dual test
- Potential dollar-threshold increases as states see Wayfair revenue plateau
- Marketplace-sales-counted-toward-threshold revisions
We monitor each state’s legislative session for our clients. If you’d rather not, our service includes ongoing legislative monitoring as standard.
When does the clock start? Registration deadlines after crossing a threshold
Crossing a threshold doesn’t mean you have until tax season to register — most states require registration within days or weeks, and your collection duty often starts on the next sale. Get this wrong and you owe back tax on every uncollected sale, with penalty and interest.
States with “next transaction” triggers
The strictest interpretation: the moment you exceed the threshold, the very next sale is taxable, and you must already be registered to collect on it. California essentially operates this way for sellers crossing the $500,000 threshold — you must register before making the sale that puts you over, which obviously requires monitoring in real time. In practice, this means you should monitor monthly and register when you hit roughly 80% of the threshold, not at 100%.
States with 30/60/90-day registration windows
Most states give a registration grace period:
- Texas: registration required by the first day of the fourth month after exceeding the threshold (effectively a 90-day-plus window)
- Pennsylvania: by the first day of the second calendar month
- Washington: typically requires registration the month after crossing
- Florida: registration required upon meeting the threshold; collection begins immediately
The specifics vary by state. The deadlines turn on the fact pattern (when you crossed, what your prior-year activity was, whether you had prior contacts with the state). If you think you may have crossed a threshold and aren’t sure when you should have registered, contact us for a current review — getting the registration date wrong by even a month can change your back-tax exposure substantially.
What happens if you miss the deadline
The exposure stack for late registration is:
- Back sales tax on every uncollected sale from the date you should have registered (you owe it whether or not you collected from your customer — and you usually can’t go back and collect it)
- Late-filing penalties in most states (commonly 5–25% of the unpaid tax)
- Late-payment penalties typically stacked on top
- Interest running from the original due date of each return
For sellers with substantial back exposure, the remediation tool is a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) — a negotiated settlement with the state that typically waives penalties, sometimes reduces look-back, and lets you come into compliance prospectively. See our VDA guide.
The single worst move is to just register today and start filing without addressing the historical exposure. States cross-check registration dates against payment processor data and Amazon 1099-K data; if you register in 2026 and your sales records show you should have registered in 2022, the state will issue an assessment notice — usually within 12–24 months.
How marketplace sales (Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy) affect your threshold
The most common mistake an FBA seller makes is assuming marketplace sales don’t count toward their economic nexus threshold because the marketplace collects. Whether they count depends on the state.
States where marketplace sales DON’T count toward your threshold
A handful of states allow marketplace sellers to exclude facilitated sales when calculating their individual threshold. The logic: the marketplace facilitator already collected and remitted on those sales, so the state has its money.
States that generally exclude marketplace sales from the seller’s individual threshold include:
- California generally counts total sales of tangible personal property for delivery into California toward the $500,000 economic nexus threshold, including sales made through a marketplace facilitator (see CDTFA Wayfair FAQ).
- Illinois — marketplace-only sellers are generally not required to register if 100% of sales are facilitated and inventory is used solely for marketplace fulfillment
- Arizona — marketplace sellers are generally not required to register if all sales are through marketplace facilitators
- Indiana — sellers making sales exclusively through marketplace facilitators are generally not required to register
States where marketplace sales DO count
The majority of states include marketplace sales in the seller’s threshold calculation. This means you can have $200,000 of Amazon FBA sales into Washington and zero direct sales, and Washington still considers you to have economic nexus — even though Amazon collects the tax.
States that count marketplace sales toward the seller’s threshold include Washington sales tax rates and economic nexus rules vary by jurisdiction and have been updated multiple times since Wayfair. If you have Washington sales tax exposure to evaluate, contact us for a current review., Pennsylvania sales tax obligations for remote sellers depend on current Department of Revenue guidance and the specifics of your sales activity. If you are evaluating Pennsylvania sales tax nexus, contact us for a current review., and most other states. The exact treatment turns on the specific state’s marketplace facilitator statute and how its DOR interprets it.
Why this matters even though the marketplace remits for you
Here’s the trap. If Pennsylvania counts Amazon FBA sales toward your $100,000 threshold, and your sales are $400,000 — all through Amazon — Pennsylvania considers you to have economic nexus. That means:
- You must register as a Pennsylvania sales tax license holder
- You must file returns — even if every dollar reported is marketplace-facilitated (i.e., already remitted by Amazon)
- You must report the marketplace-facilitated sales as exempt on your return (most states use a specific deduction line)
- Penalties apply for not filing even if no tax is due
This is one of the worst features of the post-Wayfair system. You can have zero tax liability and still face a registration and filing obligation. It’s also why our FBA seller compliance guide treats marketplace nexus as a separate compliance project rather than a “solved problem.”
For the full state-by-state marketplace facilitator picture, see marketplace facilitator laws by state.
Special considerations for non-US (foreign) sellers
Economic nexus rules apply identically to foreign sellers — there is no exception for non-U.S. entities, no tax treaty relief, and no de minimis carve-out for being based outside the country. What does change is the friction of registering once you cross a threshold.
Do economic nexus rules apply to foreign sellers? (Yes)
Yes. Unequivocally. A UK Amazon FBA seller making $150,000 of California sales has California economic nexus. A South African Shopify brand making $120,000 of Florida sales has Florida economic nexus. Income tax treaties between the U.S. and other countries do not cover sales tax — sales tax is a state-level tax that operates outside the federal treaty system.
The “I’m not in the U.S.” defense doesn’t exist. The Wayfair decision permits states to impose collection obligations based on economic activity in the state, and “the seller is in another country” is not constitutionally relevant.
Registering without a US EIN, ITIN, or US bank account
This is where the friction starts. To register for sales tax in most U.S. states, you need:
- A Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) — most states require this, even for foreign entities
- A business address — your foreign business address is generally accepted
- Officer/owner identification — some states require SSN, ITIN, or passport-equivalent ID
- A bank account — some states require a U.S. bank account for ACH remittance, others accept check or international wire
Getting an EIN as a non-U.S. entity is doable — you file IRS Form SS-4 by fax or mail with the IRS’s international unit. It takes 4–6 weeks if you do it yourself. See how to get an EIN as a non-U.S. resident.
Which states are foreign-seller friendly vs hostile
Some patterns from our work registering foreign sellers in all 50 states:
- Friendly: Florida, Texas, Washington — accept foreign entities relatively cleanly, mostly online registration
- Workable: California, New York, Illinois — more documentation but doable
- Friction-heavy: several Southern states require notarized documents; a few want apostille
- Friction on banking: some states’ EFT systems struggle with non-U.S. banks, requiring workarounds
The specific friction points change as state DOR portals update. If you’d rather not figure out which states require apostille on which forms, our service handles all of this. We register foreign sellers in all 45 sales-tax states without requiring you to form a U.S. entity in most cases.
For more on the foreign-seller specific issues, see sales tax registration for foreign sellers.
Trailing nexus: what happens when you drop below the threshold
Crossing a threshold gets you registered. Falling below it does not automatically get you out. Most states impose a “trailing nexus” period during which you must continue to collect, file, and remit even though you no longer meet the threshold.
How long you remain registered after falling below
The general rule: you continue to have economic nexus for the remainder of the current calendar year plus the entire following calendar year, even if your sales drop below the threshold mid-year. The logic is to prevent sellers from oscillating in and out of registration.
The specifics vary by state:
- Many states use a “previous or current calendar year” measurement. If you exceeded the threshold in 2024, you have nexus for all of 2025 — and you only drop out if 2025 sales are below threshold AND 2024 sales were below threshold, which requires a full calendar year below
- Washington’s rule is generally tied to four full quarters of below-threshold activity
- California requires continued collection for the rest of the current year plus the full following year after dropping below
States with explicit trailing nexus periods
The exact trailing nexus period for each state turns on the statute language and how the DOR interprets “previous or current year.” Don’t assume — verify per state. The right answer for one state’s trailing nexus is not the right answer for another.
If you’re shrinking out of nexus in multiple states and want to deregister cleanly, contact us for a state-by-state plan. Done wrong, premature deregistration triggers a non-filer notice; done right, you exit cleanly.
How to properly close a sales tax account
Three rules:
- Don’t just stop filing. States interpret silence as non-compliance, not deregistration. They will send notices, then assessments, then collection actions
- File a formal close-out request with the state, attaching final-return data
- Continue to file zero returns until the close-out is acknowledged in writing
We cover this in detail in our sales tax deregistration guide.
The real cost of multi-state compliance (and why most sellers over-register)
The hidden cost of multi-state sales tax compliance isn’t the registrations — it’s the ongoing filings. Once registered, you must file every period, forever, even if you owe zero, until you formally close the account.
Registration fees by state
Most states charge $0 to register for a sales tax permit. A handful charge:
- Connecticut: registration fee applies
- South Carolina: registration fee applies
- West Virginia: registration fee applies
- Wisconsin: registration fee applies
The exact fees change periodically and turn on whether you’re applying for a single account vs multiple locations. Across all 45 sales-tax states, total registration fees if you registered everywhere would be in the low hundreds of dollars.
Ongoing return-filing costs
This is where the real cost sits. If you’re registered in 30 states and filing quarterly in each one, that’s 120 returns a year. At a typical full-service cost of $50–$150 per return, you’re looking at $6,000–$18,000 a year just in filing fees — before any registration, nexus monitoring, or audit defense.
The math gets ugly fast if you over-register. A seller who registered in all 45 sales-tax states because a software platform told them to is paying for 180+ returns a year (assuming quarterly filing) when they may only have actual nexus in 8.
The hidden cost of registering where you don’t need to
The most common pattern we see in client onboarding: a seller registered themselves (or had a software tool register them) in 25+ states because the tool flagged “potential nexus” everywhere their Amazon FBA inventory had ever been. Now they’re filing 100+ returns a year, paying the fees, and they had real economic-or-physical nexus in maybe 12.
Our position: register only where you actually need to. Track thresholds monthly, register when you actually cross, and don’t pre-register out of fear. Software platforms have a financial incentive to register you everywhere (more SKUs, more states, more fees). A service has the incentive to register you correctly.
Done-for-you compliance: how Sales Tax Compliance USA handles this for you
You don’t need to learn another software, manage another login, or track 45 state DOR portals. You need someone to handle the whole thing. That’s what we do.
Threshold monitoring across all 50 states
Every month, we pull your sales data (Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, eBay, your own e-commerce — wherever your sales live) and run it against current thresholds for every state. We flag states approaching threshold, states already crossed, and states with pending threshold changes. You get a single monthly report.
No alerts going off in your inbox. No “you might have nexus” anxiety. We tell you when it’s real.
Registration, filing, and remittance in one package
When you cross a threshold (or already have physical nexus from FBA inventory), we register you. We file every return. We remit the tax. You approve, we execute.
One flat fee per month covers all of it. No per-transaction fees, no per-state fees, no separate fees for federal forms. The fee scales with your business complexity, not your sales volume.
Why a service beats software for cross-border sellers
The major sales-tax software platforms were built for U.S. sellers who already had U.S. entities, U.S. bank accounts, U.S. EINs, and the time to learn another software. None of those assumptions hold for a foreign Amazon FBA seller in NZ, AU, UK, or SA.
We handle:
- Getting your EIN if you don’t have one
- Registering you in each state where you need to be (without requiring U.S. entity formation in most cases)
- Filing every return on every state’s specific deadline
- Remitting the tax from whatever payment setup you have
- Audit defense if a state comes calling
- Deregistration when you exit a state
All for one fee. No software for you to learn.
Ready to stop figuring this out yourself? Sales Tax Compliance USA handles your entire U.S. sales tax compliance — registration through filing — for a single fee. Book a free nexus review or learn more about what’s included in our service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the economic nexus threshold in most states for 2026?
The most common economic nexus threshold in 2026 is $100,000 in sales OR 200 transactions into the state, measured over the previous or current calendar year. Some states use only the dollar test (the 200-transaction prong is being repealed in a growing number of states), and a few states use higher thresholds — California, Texas, and New York use $500,000 thresholds; Alabama and Mississippi use $250,000.
Which states have eliminated the 200-transaction threshold?
As of 2026, states that have eliminated the 200-transaction prong include South Dakota (effective July 1, 2023), Louisiana (effective August 1, 2023), Indiana (effective January 1, 2024), Wyoming (effective July 1, 2024), Wisconsin, and North Carolina, among others. The trend is accelerating — more states are expected to follow because the transaction-count test creates compliance burdens for very small sellers while generating little revenue.
Do Amazon FBA sales count toward economic nexus thresholds?
It depends on the state. A few states exclude marketplace-facilitated sales from the seller’s individual threshold calculation, but many — including California — count them toward the threshold even though the marketplace collects the tax. Always confirm the specific state. Most other states include them. Even where the marketplace collects and remits the tax for you, you may still need to register and file zero/info returns if marketplace sales push you over the threshold. This is one of the biggest sources of confusion for FBA sellers.
How quickly must I register after crossing an economic nexus threshold?
The deadline varies by state. Some states (like California in practice) expect registration before your next taxable sale. Texas allows registration by the first day of the fourth month after crossing. Pennsylvania requires registration by the first day of the second calendar month. The exact timing turns on the fact pattern. If you’ve crossed a threshold and aren’t sure of the deadline, contact us for a current review.
Do economic nexus thresholds apply to foreign (non-US) sellers?
Yes. Economic nexus rules apply identically to non-U.S. sellers. There is no exception for foreign entities, no tax treaty that covers sales tax (income tax treaties don’t apply), and no de minimis carve-out. A foreign seller crossing a state’s threshold has the same registration and collection duty as a domestic seller.
Can I register for sales tax without a US EIN or bank account?
Most states require an EIN, but foreign entities can obtain one by filing IRS Form SS-4 with the IRS’s international unit. Bank account requirements vary — some states require a U.S. bank account for ACH remittance, others accept check or international wire. Some states are easier for foreign sellers than others. We routinely register foreign sellers in all 45 sales-tax states without requiring U.S. entity formation in most cases.
What happens if I cross a threshold but don’t register?
You owe back sales tax on every uncollected sale from the date you should have registered. Most states stack late-filing penalties (commonly 5–25%) plus late-payment penalties plus interest from the original due date of each return. Worst of all, you generally can’t go back and collect the tax from customers — you owe it out of your own margin. The remediation tool for significant historical exposure is a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement — see our VDA guide.
Do I have to keep filing returns after I drop below the threshold?
Yes, in most states. Trailing nexus rules typically require you to continue collecting, filing, and remitting for the remainder of the current calendar year plus the entire following calendar year, even if your sales drop below the threshold mid-year. You must also formally close the account when you exit — not just stop filing. The specifics vary by state.
What is the difference between gross sales and taxable sales for threshold purposes?
“Gross sales” includes all sales — taxable, exempt, wholesale, services, everything. “Retail sales” usually means sales to end consumers. “Taxable sales” means only sales subject to tax in that state. “Sales of tangible personal property” excludes services and digital goods. Each state uses a different definition for its threshold, and getting this wrong leads to over- or under-registration. Always read the specific state’s statute language, not summaries.
Which states have the highest and lowest economic nexus thresholds?
The highest thresholds are in California, Texas, and New York at $500,000. Alabama and Mississippi use $250,000. The lowest is the standard $100,000 used by the majority of states. There are no states with thresholds below $100,000 as of 2026.
Does the threshold reset every calendar year?
It depends on the measurement period. States using “previous calendar year” do effectively reset on January 1. States using “previous or current calendar year” or “rolling 12 months” don’t really reset — you can trip nexus mid-year on current-year sales. Always check the specific state’s measurement period.
Do wholesale or exempt sales count toward the economic nexus threshold?
This varies by state. Most states include exempt sales in the threshold count (because the threshold tests volume of activity, not tax collected). Wholesale and resale sales are treated differently depending on the state — some include them, some exclude them. This is one reason why simply looking at your “taxable sales” total to assess threshold exposure can be misleading.
Last verified: June 24, 2026.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Consult a licensed tax professional before acting on any of this content.
