Marketplace Facilitator Laws by State: 2026 Master Guide

If a marketplace collects sales tax on your behalf, you are not done. You may still need to register, file zero returns, pay separate gross-receipts taxes, manage your own direct channels, and respond to state notices — in up to 46 jurisdictions simultaneously. This guide maps every state’s marketplace facilitator law as it stands today, the residual obligations sellers still own, and what changes when you add a Shopify or wholesale channel on top of Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, or eBay.

Written by Paul le Roux, CA(SA), tax practitioner at Sales Tax Compliance USA. We file marketplace-affected returns across all 46 collecting jurisdictions every month for sellers based in the United States, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the EU.

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What a Marketplace Facilitator Law Actually Does (And Doesn’t Do)

The short version: marketplace facilitator (MF) laws shift the legal duty to collect and remit sales tax from the third-party seller to the platform — but they do not eliminate the seller’s registration, filing, or recordkeeping obligations in every state, and they do nothing about gross-receipts taxes, income taxes, or your direct-channel sales.

The collect-and-remit shift from seller to platform

Before 2018, an Amazon, Etsy, eBay, or Walmart seller collected and remitted the sales tax itself, but only in those states where it had a physical presence or another connection sufficient under the rule then in force. The Supreme Court’s decision in Wayfair removed the physical-presence requirement, and the states responded with two parallel regimes:

1. Economic nexus — out-of-state sellers must collect once they cross a dollar (and sometimes transaction-count) threshold.
2. Marketplace facilitator laws — the platform itself becomes the legal collector for all third-party sales it processes.

Washington was among the earliest states to impose marketplace facilitator obligations, though the precise effective date and statutory mechanics depend on whether you’re looking at notice/reporting provisions versus mandatory collection. If you sold into Washington in the early marketplace facilitator era and are unsure which rules applied when, contact us for a current review. Most states followed within 18 months. By 2021, most states with a statewide sales tax had enacted marketplace facilitator laws, but not all of them had done so.

What “marketplace facilitator” legally means

State definitions vary in detail, but virtually every state’s statute requires three elements to characterize a platform as a marketplace facilitator:

1. Listing or advertising the seller’s goods or services through a website, app, or other electronic means;
2. Processing customer payment (directly or via a payments partner); and
3. Transmitting funds to the seller.

The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board’s model definition — which most member states have adopted in substance — captures this same three-prong structure. Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart Marketplace, Mercari, Poshmark, Reverb, Newegg, and similar third-party marketplaces all fall squarely within the definition. So do food-delivery apps (DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub), short-term rental platforms (Airbnb, VRBO), rideshare networks (Uber, Lyft) in many states, and increasingly digital storefronts (Apple App Store, Google Play) for taxable digital products.

Shopify is not a marketplace facilitator. Shopify provides the storefront software, but the seller — not Shopify — owns the customer relationship, lists the product, and is paid by the customer. Shopify’s calculator can compute the tax due, but the seller is still the legal collector. Same for WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, custom-built stores, and any DTC website.

What a “marketplace seller” is on the hook for

When the marketplace becomes the legal collector for your facilitated sales, the following responsibilities do not transfer to the platform:

• Direct-channel sales through your own website, B2B portal, wholesale orders, retail trade shows, or any non-marketplace transaction.
• Resale and exemption certificate management for wholesale buyers.
• Physical-presence nexus triggered by your inventory sitting in an Amazon FBA fulfilment center, a 3PL, or a leased warehouse.
• Gross-receipts, B&O, GET, and GRT taxes in Washington, Hawaii, New Mexico, and (in limited cases) Ohio — these are imposed on the seller’s gross income, not on the buyer’s purchase price, and are not discharged by marketplace collection.
• Registration and zero-return filings in states that explicitly require marketplace-only sellers to register.
• Income tax exposure — a foreign corporation with income effectively connected to a US trade or business files federal Form 1120-F, and a number of states apply economic-nexus principles to income or franchise tax as well. Whether either one catches you depends on your own facts, so it is worth confirming with the state directly or talking to us about your situation.
• Refund recovery if a marketplace over-collects.
• Audit defense — even when the marketplace collected, the state may audit your books to confirm the marketplace did so correctly.

This is the “phantom obligation” trap. We see it weekly: a seller assumes Amazon’s “tax collected” line on their settlement report ends the conversation, only to receive a registration demand letter or a B&O delinquency notice from Washington two years later.

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Marketplace Facilitator Laws by State: Complete 2026 Matrix

Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have marketplace facilitator laws as of 2026. Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon — have no statewide sales tax, so no state-level MF regime applies (though Alaska has a unique local-only structure, explained below).

How to read this table

• MF Effective Date — the date the platform’s collection obligation began.
• Economic Nexus Threshold — the seller’s independent registration threshold (separate from the platform’s obligation). If you cross this through direct + facilitated sales combined (or facilitated-only, depending on the state’s inclusion rule), you may need to register even when the platform collects.
• Marketplace sales count toward threshold? — Yes / No / Mixed — covered in detail in a later section.
• The exact position here depends on your own facts, so it is worth confirming with the state directly or talking to us about your situation. — Whether the state’s DOR position is that a marketplace-only seller must still register.

All 45 states + DC

State	MF Effective Date	Economic Nexus Threshold	Counts Marketplace Sales?	Register if 100% MF?
Alabama	Jan 1, 2019	$250,000	Yes	No (if below)
Arizona	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Arkansas	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
California	Oct 1, 2019	$500,000	Yes	Conditional
Colorado	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Connecticut	Dec 1, 2018	$100,000 + 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
DC	Apr 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Florida	Jul 1, 2021	$100,000	No	No (if below)
Georgia	Apr 1, 2020	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Hawaii (GET)	Jan 1, 2020	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	Yes — wholesale rate
Idaho	Jun 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Illinois	Jan 1, 2020	$100,000 or 200 tx	Mixed	Conditional
Indiana	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Iowa	Jan 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Kansas	Jul 1, 2021	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Kentucky	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Louisiana	Jul 1, 2020	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Maine	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Maryland	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Massachusetts	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000	No	No (if below)
Michigan	Jan 1, 2020	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Minnesota	Oct 1, 2018	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Mississippi	Jul 1, 2020	$250,000	Yes	No (if below)
Missouri	Jan 1, 2023	$100,000	No	No (if below)
Nebraska	Apr 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Nevada	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
New Jersey	Nov 1, 2018	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
New Mexico (GRT)	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	Conditional
New York	Jun 1, 2019	$500,000 + 100 tx	Yes	No (if below)
North Carolina	Feb 1, 2020	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
North Dakota	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Ohio	Sep 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Oklahoma	Nov 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Pennsylvania	Apr 1, 2018 (Act 43); Jul 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Rhode Island	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
South Carolina	Apr 26, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
South Dakota	Mar 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Tennessee	Oct 1, 2020	$100,000	No	No (if below)
Texas	Oct 1, 2019	$500,000	Yes	No (if below)
Utah	Oct 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Vermont	Jun 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Virginia	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Washington (B&O)	Jan 1, 2018	$100,000	Yes	Yes — B&O obligation
West Virginia	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000 or 200 tx	Yes	No (if below)
Wisconsin	Jan 1, 2020	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)
Wyoming	Jul 1, 2019	$100,000	Yes	No (if below)

A handful of state-level facts are worth pulling out of the table because we have them directly verified against the relevant DOR:

• South Dakota’s economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in gross sales into the state in the previous or current calendar year; the 200-transaction prong was repealed effective July 1, 2023 under SB 30.
• South Dakota’s marketplace facilitator obligation took effect March 1, 2019.
• Washington’s marketplace facilitator framework rolled out in phases, with notice/reporting and voluntary collection preceding mandatory collection; mandatory collection by marketplace facilitators meeting the threshold took effect on October 1, 2018, per WA DOR guidance.
• Ohio’s economic nexus standard for marketplace facilitators took effect on August 1, 2019. A facilitator with substantial nexus is then treated as the seller of its facilitated Ohio sales from September 1, 2019 at the earliest, under Ohio Revised Code section 5741.01.
• Ohio’s economic nexus threshold is gross receipts exceeding $100,000 or at least 200 transactions in the current or preceding calendar year (see Ohio Department of Taxation guidance).
• New Mexico extended Gross Receipts Tax obligations to marketplace facilitators and adopted an economic nexus threshold for remote sellers. If you sell into New Mexico through a marketplace or direct channels, contact us for a current review of your GRT exposure.
• Hawaii’s General Excise Tax has an economic nexus threshold for remote sellers, and FBA inventory stored in Hawaii can independently create physical-presence nexus. If you have GET exposure in Hawaii or FBA inventory routed there, contact us for a current review.

For any other specific state’s threshold or effective date, contact us for the latest position — DOR-published thresholds occasionally shift mid-year, and we keep a current matrix on file.

States with no statewide sales tax

The “NOMAD” states — New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, Delaware — have no statewide sales tax. Four of the five also have no equivalent regime. Alaska is the exception.

Alaska does not impose a state sales tax, but more than 100 Alaskan municipalities and boroughs do, and they have consolidated remote-seller and marketplace-facilitator collection under the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC). ARSSTC operates a single intergovernmental portal at arsstc.org. The threshold for remote-seller collection is generally $100,000 in statewide sales into participating Alaska jurisdictions. Marketplaces meeting the threshold collect on behalf of participating local jurisdictions; sellers may still need to register directly if they have local physical presence (a store, a warehouse, employees) or if they sell into a non-participating jurisdiction.

Oregon imposes a Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) on Oregon-sourced gross receipts, but this is not a sales tax and does not apply to most foreign FBA sellers under typical revenue levels. New Hampshire imposes neither sales nor a broad gross-receipts tax. Montana and Delaware are likewise sales-tax-free for goods sold to consumers (Montana has narrow lodging-and-rental taxes).

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What Changed in 2026: The Year’s Marketplace Facilitator Updates

Most of the major MF activity happened between 2018 and 2021. The 2025-2026 wave has been narrower — focused on transaction-count repeal, broader facilitator definitions, and tighter inclusion rules. Here is what has actually shifted since January 1, 2025.

Threshold revisions effective in 2025-2026

Several states continued the multi-year trend of removing the transaction-count prong (the “200 transactions” trigger) from their economic nexus rules. The transaction-count prong was originally designed to catch low-ticket sellers, but in practice it forced micro-sellers (greeting cards, stickers, small craft items) to register in states where they barely had a few thousand dollars of sales. Removing it leaves the cleaner $100,000-gross-sales single prong.

Not sure how this applies to your business? We handle US sales tax registration, filing and remittance for ecommerce sellers as a fully managed service, for one fee. Book a free consultation and we will review your own position with you.

• South Dakota repealed its 200-transaction prong effective July 1, 2023; the current threshold is $100,000 in gross sales only.

For other states’ precise 2025-2026 threshold amendments and the bill numbers behind them, the rules turn on the specific state and the bill’s effective date. If you are sitting close to a threshold in any state, contact us for a current review rather than relying on dated guides — the bill tracker for many state legislatures runs into 2026 sessions and changes can be effective mid-year.

Statutory amendments since January 2025

The broadest 2025-2026 development has been the extension of marketplace facilitator definitions to capture digital marketplaces (app stores, NFT platforms, software resale platforms) and food-delivery platforms in states that hadn’t already addressed them. We also continue to see incremental changes to lodging-tax MF rules, particularly around how local hotel taxes interact with state-level Airbnb/VRBO collection.

Pending legislation to watch

State legislatures continue to fine-tune MF rules in three areas: (1) whether marketplace sales count toward the seller’s economic nexus threshold (covered next), (2) whether marketplace-only sellers must still register for information-return purposes, and (3) gross-receipts and B&O treatment for facilitated sales. None of these are settled; if you sell across many states, the rules can shift state-by-state quarterly. We track them weekly.

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Do Marketplace Sales Count Toward Your Economic Nexus Threshold?

This is the single most misunderstood element of MF law. Roughly two-thirds of states include marketplace-facilitated sales in your individual economic nexus threshold calculation. The remaining third exclude them — meaning marketplace sales don’t count toward your $100,000, only your direct-channel sales do.

The practical consequence is enormous: a seller doing $500,000 a year exclusively through Amazon may have zero direct registration obligation in an exclusion state, but a registration trigger in every inclusion state if they have any direct-channel sales or physical nexus.

States that INCLUDE marketplace sales in the threshold calculation

Most states fall into this camp. The state’s economic nexus statute defines “gross sales” or “gross receipts” broadly enough to capture facilitated sales. Hawaii is illustrative:

• Hawaii’s marketplace facilitator rules interact with the GET wholesale/retail rate structure in ways that can leave sellers with residual reporting obligations on facilitated sales. If you sell into Hawaii through a marketplace, contact us for a current review of your GET reporting position.

In other words, in Hawaii, marketplace sales not only count toward the seller’s threshold, the seller has an affirmative reporting obligation on those facilitated sales separately.

Most other states with inclusion treatment require the seller to register once total in-state activity (direct + marketplace) exceeds the threshold, even if the marketplace is collecting on the facilitated portion.

States that EXCLUDE marketplace sales

A smaller group of states exclude marketplace-facilitated sales from the seller’s threshold:

• Florida — the seller’s threshold is calculated on direct (non-facilitated) sales only.
• Massachusetts — similar exclusion treatment.
• Missouri — facilitated sales excluded.
• Tennessee — facilitated sales excluded from seller’s threshold.

A handful of other states have mixed rules: facilitated sales count toward the threshold for some purposes but not others, or the inclusion rule depends on whether the facilitator is itself registered.

Why this matters when you launch a Shopify or DTC channel

Imagine you have been a pure Amazon FBA seller for three years, doing $400,000 across all states with roughly even geographic spread. In inclusion states, your individual nexus footprint already exists — you just haven’t had to act on it because Amazon collected. The moment you launch a Shopify store and ship the first $50 order to California, you owe registration in California and you owe collection on the Shopify sale, because California counts your Amazon sales toward the $500,000 threshold and you crossed it on day one.

In an exclusion state like Florida, the same Shopify launch resets the clock — you have a new $100,000 direct-sales runway before registration is required.

This is the math nobody runs before launching a DTC channel. We run it for every multi-channel client during onboarding.

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Six Reasons You Still Need to Register Even If Amazon Collects

“Amazon collects, so I don’t need to do anything” is the single most expensive misconception in cross-border e-commerce. Here are the six structural reasons that statement is wrong.

1. Direct sales through your own website

The moment you sell a single unit through your own Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce store — or take a wholesale order via email — you become the legal collector for that sale. The marketplace facilitator shield does not extend to sales that don’t go through the marketplace. If you have crossed the state’s economic nexus threshold (or have physical nexus there from FBA inventory), you must register, collect, and file.

2. Wholesale and B2B exemption certificate management

If any portion of your sales are wholesale (to retailers, distributors, or other resellers), the marketplace facilitator framework doesn’t help you. You must:
– Be registered in the destination state to accept a resale certificate from the buyer.
– Maintain valid, properly completed resale or exemption certificates on file.
– File a return (often zero-tax but non-zero gross sales) reporting the exempt sale.

3. Physical nexus from inventory in FBA warehouses

Amazon’s FBA network places inventory in fulfilment centers across roughly 15-20 states at any given time. Inventory in a state is physical-presence nexus in that state, regardless of how much you sell there or whether all sales are facilitated. Several state DORs have explicitly taken this position; others have remained quiet but reserve the right to assert it.

Hawaii is the cleanest example of the FBA-inventory rule:

• FBA inventory in Hawaii can create physical presence triggering a GET license requirement, and the wholesale/retail rate interaction with marketplace collection may leave sellers with their own GET reporting. If Amazon stores your inventory in Hawaii, contact us for a current review.

Whether the seller’s home state of FBA inventory creates registration obligation in practice depends on the state’s enforcement posture, the seller’s revenue, and recent DOR guidance — rules turn on the fact pattern. If you have FBA inventory and want to know your specific exposure by state, contact us for a nexus review.

4. Income tax, franchise tax, B&O, and GRT obligations

The marketplace facilitator law addresses sales tax only. Other state-level tax regimes operate on entirely separate frameworks:

Washington Business & Occupation Tax (B&O):
– Washington imposes a Business and Occupation (B&O) Tax on the seller’s gross receipts in addition to sales tax; out-of-state retailers making retail sales delivered into Washington pay Retailing B&O at 0.471% on gross.
– Washington’s economic nexus threshold applies across both retail sales tax and B&O, and marketplace facilitator sales tax collection generally does not discharge a seller’s separate B&O obligation. If you cross Washington’s thresholds on marketplace or direct sales, contact us for a current review of your B&O exposure.

Marketplace sellers with Washington inventory or Washington-destination revenue at threshold therefore have a B&O filing obligation even when Amazon collects 100% of the sales tax. The good news: Washington’s Small Business Credit (under WAC 458-20-104 and RCW 82.04.4451) often offsets B&O liability for low-revenue foreign sellers. The bad news: you still have to register and file the Combined Excise Tax Return.

New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax (GRT):
– New Mexico imposes Gross Receipts Tax on the seller rather than a buyer-facing sales tax; while marketplace facilitators remit GRT on facilitated sales, sellers with sufficient direct activity may still need to register. If you have direct sales into New Mexico alongside marketplace sales, contact us for a current review.

Hawaii General Excise Tax (GET):
– Hawaii’s GET retail rate is 4% plus a 0.5% Oahu surcharge for a combined 4.5% on Oahu; the wholesale rate (applicable when the seller is a registered marketplace customer) is 0.5%.

Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (CAT):
– Ohio’s Commercial Activity Tax exclusion was raised to more than $3 million in Ohio taxable gross receipts for tax year 2024 and more than $6 million for tax years 2025 and forward (see Ohio CAT guidance); whether a given seller falls below the threshold depends on Ohio-sourced receipts.

5. State-specific “register anyway” rules

A handful of states have taken the position that marketplace sellers must register for information-return or zero-return purposes, even if the marketplace collects 100% of the sales tax. This is not universal, and the rules vary. In Washington, the B&O obligation forces registration. In Hawaii, the wholesale-rate reporting requirement forces registration. In other states, the position is more ambiguous and depends on whether the seller has physical nexus or crossed the economic threshold.

If you are 100% marketplace and want to know whether each state where Amazon stores your inventory requires registration anyway, contact us — we maintain a current state-by-state position matrix.

6. Refund recovery and audit defense

Marketplaces occasionally over-collect — wrong tax rate, wrong sourcing, taxed an exempt buyer who should have used a resale certificate. The refund mechanism for over-collected tax generally requires the seller to be registered in the state. Without registration, you have no standing to request a refund of overpaid tax.

Audit risk is the second piece. Even when the marketplace collected all the tax, a state DOR may audit your books to confirm the marketplace did so correctly — particularly if your business model includes a mix of facilitated and direct sales. Registration gives you a defined relationship with the state and a defined statute of limitations. No registration, no clean clock.

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Don’t want to figure this out yourself? Sales Tax Compliance USA handles your entire US sales tax compliance — nexus assessment, registration, filing, remittance, and audit defense — for a single fee. Book a free consultation or learn more about our full-service offering.

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Marketplace Facilitator Laws and Foreign / Non-US Sellers

Foreign Amazon FBA sellers are the single demographic that most often misreads MF laws — and most often pays the price. The combination of marketplace collection, FBA inventory in U.S. states, no U.S. bank account, no SSN, and unfamiliarity with state-level tax administration creates a uniquely high-risk situation that the MF law alone does not solve.

The non-US Amazon FBA seller’s MF situation

If you are based in Cape Town, Auckland, London, Sydney, or São Paulo and sell on Amazon FBA into the U.S., here’s the reality:

1. Amazon collects sales tax on your facilitated sales in all 45 collecting states + DC.
2. Amazon stores your inventory in 15-20 U.S. states, rotating with demand.
3. Inventory in a state = physical-presence nexus, regardless of whether Amazon collects.
4. Physical nexus = registration obligation, regardless of whether you also cross the economic nexus threshold.
5. Washington B&O, Hawaii GET, and (in some configurations) New Mexico GRT are not discharged by Amazon’s sales tax collection.

The net effect: most foreign FBA sellers we onboard need to register in 4-8 states, not because of economic nexus, but because Amazon’s FBA distribution network parked inventory in those states.

EIN, ITIN, and registration mechanics

Most state DOR registration portals require an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Foreign sellers without a U.S. LLC or corporation generally don’t have one. Some states accept an ITIN. Many do not. A small number of states will issue a state-specific tax account number to a foreign applicant who has neither — but the process is manual, slow, and idiosyncratic.

If you don’t have an EIN, the cleanest path is usually to apply for one as a foreign-owned single-member disregarded entity or foreign corporation (Form SS-4 by fax or mail). We routinely handle EIN applications as part of onboarding.

States that refuse online registration without a US bank account

A subset of state DOR portals will not complete registration unless the applicant provides U.S. bank account details for ACH debit. This affects foreign sellers with no U.S. banking footprint. The workaround paths are:

• Open a U.S.-routable account via a fintech (Wise Business, Mercury, Relay) that issues a U.S. routing and account number.
• Apply on paper rather than online — most states still accept paper applications, though processing time stretches to 4-8 weeks.
• Engage a U.S.-based representative or service to register on your behalf using their authorized-rep credentials.

When the marketplace shield is and isn’t enough

For a foreign seller who has no FBA inventory in the U.S. (e.g., uses FBM/SFP and ships from outside the U.S.), sells only via marketplaces, and has no direct-channel sales, the marketplace shield is reasonably complete. The platform collects, the seller has no individual registration obligation in most states, and the only residual exposure is income-tax-related (ECI, Form 1120-F, treaty positions) — a separate analysis.

For a foreign seller using FBA and storing inventory in U.S. fulfilment centers, the marketplace shield is incomplete. Physical-presence nexus from inventory, plus B&O / GET / GRT obligations in WA / HI / NM, plus the potential for direct-channel sales as the business grows, means meaningful registration and filing obligations exist regardless of MF collection.

If you are a non-U.S. seller and want clarity on whether your specific configuration requires registration, contact us. We work with sellers from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, and the EU every week and have seen every variation.

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Special Marketplace Categories: Lodging, Food Delivery, Rideshare, Digital Goods

Marketplace facilitator laws are not uniform across industries. Goods marketplaces (Amazon, eBay) operate under one set of rules. Lodging marketplaces (Airbnb, VRBO), food delivery (DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub), rideshare (Uber, Lyft), and digital marketplaces (Apple App Store, Google Play) operate under variations that differ state by state.

Airbnb / VRBO and short-term rental MF rules

Short-term rental marketplaces are now treated as marketplace facilitators for state sales tax and (in many states) state-level transient occupancy taxes. The complication is local hotel/lodging taxes, which are often administered separately by counties or cities and may or may not be within the platform’s collection responsibility.

In states with combined state-and-local administration (such as Washington and Hawaii), the platform generally collects everything. In states with separate local administration — large portions of Colorado, Florida, and Texas, for example — the host may still owe local lodging tax even when the platform collects state-level tax.

If you operate a short-term rental and want to know which local taxes the platform collects vs. which you owe directly, contact us for a property-specific review.

DoorDash / UberEats / GrubHub food delivery

Food delivery platforms are treated as marketplace facilitators in most states for the sales tax on the delivered food. The restaurant’s own sales tax registration is generally still required for in-store sales, takeout not ordered through a delivery app, and catering. Some states have specific facilitator carve-outs for food delivery, with different effective dates than the goods-marketplace law.

Uber / Lyft and transportation network companies (TNCs)

TNCs are treated as marketplace facilitators in a handful of states for state-level transportation excise taxes or surcharges, but in most states, rideshare is taxed under a separate framework (per-ride fees, TNC surcharges) rather than sales tax. Drivers themselves rarely have a sales-tax obligation tied to fares — the obligation, where it exists, sits with the platform.

Apple App Store and Google Play

For app developers selling digital products through Apple’s App Store or Google Play, the platform is generally treated as a marketplace facilitator for U.S. state sales tax purposes. SaaS taxability varies by state — Washington taxes most digital automated services, while many other states do not — but where tax is owed, the platform is generally the collector.

If you sell digital products through your own checkout (Paddle, Stripe, FastSpring, or direct), you are not behind a marketplace facilitator — you are the legal collector, and full economic nexus rules apply.

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How to Deregister or Reduce Filings When You Only Sell Via Marketplaces

Once a marketplace becomes the legal collector for 100% of your in-state sales, registration starts to feel like dead weight. You’re filing zero returns every month, paying a service fee or burning your own time, and the marketplace is doing all the actual tax work. Can you deregister?

The answer is sometimes, and the calculus is highly state-specific.

When deregistration makes sense

Deregistration is appropriate when:
– You have shut down all direct-channel sales into the state.
– You have no physical nexus in the state (no inventory, no employees, no property).
– The state does not have a “register anyway” rule for marketplace-only sellers.
– You do not expect to relaunch a direct channel within the next 12-24 months.
– The state does not impose a separate gross-receipts or B&O tax that the marketplace facilitator law doesn’t address.

Deregistration is not appropriate when:
– You still have FBA inventory in the state.
– You sell B2B or accept resale certificates from in-state buyers.
– The state is Washington (B&O obligation), Hawaii (wholesale-rate reporting), or New Mexico (GRT) — these aren’t fully covered by the MF shield.
– You expect to relaunch a Shopify or DTC channel soon — re-registration time and the new economic-nexus clock are usually worse than continued zero filings.

State-by-state deregistration mechanics

Each state has its own process — usually a final return + an account closure form. Some states allow online closure through the registration portal. Others require a written request to the DOR. A handful require evidence (a final return marked “final,” sometimes a brief written justification) before they will close the account.

A few procedural realities:

• Many states require the account to be in good standing — all returns filed, all taxes paid, no outstanding notices — before they will close.
• The closure date is generally the last day of the final return’s reporting period, not the date you submit the closure request.
• Closing the account does not erase the statute of limitations on prior returns; the state can still audit you for the standard 3-4 year lookback after closure.

Zero-return obligations and account closure timing

Until your closure is accepted, you owe zero returns. Missing them produces failure-to-file penalties even when no tax is due. In several states, the late-filing penalty has a minimum dollar floor that applies whether or not there’s tax — for example:

• South Dakota imposes a late-filing penalty of 10% of tax liability with a minimum of $10, assessed even if no tax is due.

The cost of “I’ll just stop filing” without formal closure is therefore real — multiple states, multiple months, $10-$50 per state per month adds up.

Risks of deregistering prematurely

The biggest risk is re-registering later. If you close your account in October 2026 and launch a Shopify store in March 2027, you have to register again — and depending on the state’s posture and whether you crossed the economic threshold in the interim, you may have to file back returns for the period when you should have been collecting on direct sales.

We generally advise clients to maintain registration in any state with FBA inventory and to defer deregistration decisions for at least one full calendar year after the last direct sale into the state. The carrying cost of zero filings (which we handle as part of our flat fee) is almost always lower than the cost of re-registration + back-filing if you re-enter.

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The Done-For-You Alternative: How We Handle Multi-State Marketplace Compliance

Marketplace facilitator laws look simple in a blog post. They are not simple when you actually have to register, file, and maintain compliance in 8-15 states across multiple channels with notice letters arriving in three states a month and a new Shopify channel launching next quarter.

What we do (registrations, filings, deregistrations, notice responses)

Sales Tax Compliance USA is a done-for-you service, not software. We don’t hand you a dashboard and say “good luck.” We do the work:

• Nexus assessment — every state where you have physical or economic nexus, including FBA inventory tracking, mapped against the current state-by-state inclusion/exclusion rule.
• EIN and entity setup if you are a foreign seller without one.
• State registrations — paper or electronic, including the awkward states that don’t accept foreign addresses or require U.S. bank ACH.
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual filings in every state where you are registered — including zero returns to avoid the minimum-penalty trap.
• B&O, GET, and GRT filings in Washington, Hawaii, and New Mexico — these are not covered by your marketplace’s collection and most software tools don’t even file them.
• Notice and audit responses — when a state mails you a delinquency or registration demand letter, we respond.
• Deregistration when it makes sense, with proper closing returns and audit-period protection.

Flat-fee pricing vs. per-state per-month software billing

Self-serve sales-tax software typically bills per filing or per state per month. For a multi-channel seller in 10-15 states, that math runs into hundreds of dollars per month — and then you still have to file the returns yourself, configure rate tables, manage exemption certificates, handle notices, and learn each state’s portal.

Our model is a single monthly fee that covers all your states, all your filings, all your channels — Amazon, Etsy, Walmart, eBay, Shopify, WooCommerce, wholesale invoices, direct quotes, all of it.

Why marketplace sellers specifically benefit from our service model

Three reasons marketplace sellers — and especially foreign FBA sellers — get disproportionate value from a service like ours:

1. The math is non-obvious. Inclusion vs. exclusion, FBA inventory tracking, B&O liability, marketplace shield boundary — these are not things you should be teaching yourself at 11pm before a deadline.
2. The portal mechanics are state-specific and ugly. Each state DOR portal has its own login, its own form numbers, its own quirks. Foreign sellers face additional friction that compounds with every state added.
3. Notices arrive in the mail, not the inbox. State DORs still mail paper notices. If you live overseas, those notices may never reach you — and the penalty meter is running. We receive notices on your behalf, respond inside the statutory window, and keep you in good standing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still need a sales tax permit if Amazon, Etsy, or Walmart collects sales tax for me?

Often yes. Marketplace facilitator laws shift collection responsibility from you to the platform — they do not eliminate registration obligations. You may still need to register if (a) you have direct-channel sales through your own website, (b) you have physical nexus from FBA inventory in the state, (c) the state imposes a separate gross-receipts tax (Washington B&O, Hawaii GET, New Mexico GRT), or (d) you accept resale certificates from wholesale buyers. Whether your specific configuration requires registration depends on the state and the fact pattern.

Which states have marketplace facilitator laws in 2026?

All 45 states with a statewide sales tax plus the District of Columbia have marketplace facilitator laws. The five states without statewide sales tax — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon — do not. Alaska, however, has a local-level marketplace facilitator framework administered through the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission for participating municipalities.

Do marketplace sales count toward the $100,000 economic nexus threshold?

It depends on the state. Roughly two-thirds of states include marketplace-facilitated sales in your individual economic nexus threshold calculation; the remaining third exclude them. Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Tennessee are notable exclusion states. Most other states include facilitated sales. This matters most when you launch a direct channel (Shopify, your own website) — in inclusion states, your nexus footprint may already exist from your Amazon volume.

What is the difference between a marketplace facilitator and a marketplace seller?

A marketplace facilitator is the platform — Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart Marketplace, Airbnb — that lists the product or service, processes payment, and transmits funds to the seller. A marketplace seller is the underlying business whose products or services are listed on the platform. Under marketplace facilitator laws, the facilitator becomes the legal collector of sales tax for transactions it facilitates; the marketplace seller retains other obligations (registration in some cases, direct-sale collection, gross-receipts taxes, etc.).

Does the marketplace facilitator law cover Shopify sales?

No. Shopify is not a marketplace facilitator under any state’s law. Shopify provides storefront software, but the seller — not Shopify — owns the customer relationship, lists the product, and is paid by the customer. The seller is the legal collector for Shopify sales. The same applies to WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Squarespace Commerce, and any custom-built direct-to-consumer site.

Do I need to register for sales tax if I’m a non-US seller using Amazon FBA?

Frequently yes. Amazon collects sales tax on your facilitated U.S. sales, but Amazon’s FBA distribution network stores your inventory in 15-20 U.S. states at any given time. Inventory in a state creates physical-presence nexus, which is independent of any economic nexus threshold and independent of the marketplace facilitator shield. Most foreign FBA sellers we onboard need to register in 4-8 states because of FBA inventory placement, plus separate B&O / GET / GRT obligations in Washington, Hawaii, and New Mexico. If you’d rather not figure this out alone, contact us.

Can I cancel my state sales tax registration if I only sell through marketplaces now?

Sometimes. Deregistration is appropriate if you have no direct-channel sales, no FBA inventory in the state, no physical presence, and no expectation of relaunching a direct channel soon. It is not appropriate in Washington (B&O obligation remains), Hawaii (wholesale-rate reporting remains), New Mexico (GRT obligation may remain), or any state where you still have FBA inventory. Premature deregistration often costs more than it saves because re-registering and back-filing is worse than continued zero filings.

Does Washington B&O tax still apply to marketplace sellers?

Yes. Washington’s Business and Occupation Tax is a gross-receipts tax imposed on the seller and runs separately from retail sales tax; marketplace facilitator collection of sales tax generally does not discharge the seller’s B&O obligation. If you sell into Washington and have not addressed B&O, contact us for a current review. A marketplace seller with Washington-destination sales above the $100,000 economic nexus threshold (or FBA inventory in Washington) must register and file the Combined Excise Tax Return. Washington’s Small Business Credit often reduces B&O cash payment to zero for low-revenue foreign sellers, but the filing obligation remains.

Are Airbnb and short-term rental hosts covered by marketplace facilitator laws?

Generally yes for state sales tax and state-level transient occupancy taxes, but local hotel and lodging taxes are often administered separately and may not be within the platform’s collection scope. In states with combined state-and-local administration the platform usually collects everything; in states with separate local administration the host may still owe local lodging tax even when the platform collects state tax.

What happens if a state audits me but Amazon collected all the tax?

You’re still subject to audit. Marketplace facilitator collection does not eliminate state audit authority over the underlying seller. If you have nexus in a state and were required to register but didn’t, the state can pursue back periods. If you were registered, the state can audit to confirm marketplace-collected amounts were correct and to assess any direct-channel sales you should have collected on yourself. Registration creates a defined statute of limitations clock; non-registration leaves the clock open indefinitely.

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The Bottom Line

Marketplace facilitator laws shifted collection to the platform — but they did not shift all compliance to the platform. Sellers, especially multi-channel sellers and foreign FBA sellers, still face:

• Registration in states with FBA inventory.
• Filing zero returns in states where they remain registered.
• Separate B&O, GET, and GRT obligations in Washington, Hawaii, and New Mexico.
• Direct-channel collection on every Shopify, WooCommerce, or wholesale sale.
• Economic nexus threshold math that varies state-by-state on whether marketplace sales count.
• Notice management, audit defense, and deregistration timing.

The “Amazon collects, so I’m done” mental model breaks the moment you add a second channel, store inventory in an FBA warehouse, or sell into Washington, Hawaii, or New Mexico.

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Done-for-you, in one fee. Sales Tax Compliance USA handles nexus assessment, EIN setup, state registrations, monthly filings, zero returns, B&O / GET / GRT in the gross-receipts states, deregistrations, and notice responses across every state where you have an obligation. No software for you to learn. No dashboards. We do the work. [Book a free consultation

Reviewed by Paul le Roux, CA(SA). Sales Tax Compliance USA handles US sales tax registration, filing and remittance for cross-border and domestic ecommerce sellers as a fully managed service.

This page is general information for educational purposes and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Sales tax rules change and depend on your own facts. Confirm your position with the state or book a consultation before acting on it.