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Taxes and Duties

The Taxes and duties page is where your store handles tax: the automatic tax service, the regions you collect tax in, duties and import taxes at checkout, customs information, and how tax is displayed and calculated.

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The Taxes and duties page is where your store handles the tax it charges customers and the duties on international orders. It brings together the automatic tax calculation service, the regions where you collect tax, the option to collect duties and import taxes at checkout, the customs information used on international shipments, and the settings for how tax is displayed and calculated. You reach it under Settings, on the Taxes page. Tax is your responsibility, so as the page itself notes, if you are unsure about your obligations, consult a tax professional before you rely on any setting here.

What's on the page

Section What it covers
Tax calculation service The service that calculates tax on your orders
Tax regions The regions where you collect tax and the service used for each
Duties and import taxes Collecting duties at checkout and the customs data for shipments
Tax display and calculation Whether tax is included in prices, charged on shipping, and applied to digital goods

Before you begin

  • Your role includes General settings.
  • Open Settings > Taxes in the admin.

The Taxes and duties page section by section

Open Taxes and duties

From the admin, open Settings, then Taxes. The page opens with its sections down the page. If some of your product variants are not set to charge tax, a notice at the top reads that you are not charging taxes on some product variants, with an Edit variants button to fix them. Clear this first so every taxable product actually charges tax.

The top of the Taxes and duties page: the notice about variants not charging tax with Edit variants, the Tax calculation service showing Automatic Tax service Active with Manage, and the Tax regions table with United States served by Tanqory Tax (opens full size)

Check the tax calculation service

The Tax calculation service section shows the service that works out tax on your orders. Here it is the Automatic Tax service, marked Active, with a Manage button to review its settings. An active automatic service keeps rates current for you, so confirm it is on and open Manage if you need to adjust how it works.

Review your tax regions

The Tax regions section lists the areas where your customers pay tax and where you collect and remit it. Each row shows the Region, whether you are Collecting, and the Tax service used. Here the one region is United States, served by Tanqory Tax. To add a new tax region you create a shipping zone, and a search box helps you find a region or country. The Global collected tax report link opens a report of the tax you have collected. Keep this list matching the places you are actually registered to collect tax.

Set up duties and import taxes

The Duties and import taxes section covers international orders. Collect duties and import taxes at checkout lets you charge these upfront so international customers avoid unexpected delivery fees, and it has a Set up button and a stated transaction fee. A note explains that delivered duty paid shipping labels are available at all of your fulfillment locations. Below, Customs information, with an Edit control, holds the data shipments need: the Country of origin and the Harmonized System (HS) codes, each showing how many of your variants include it. Complete these so international shipments clear customs smoothly.

The Duties and import taxes section with Collect duties at checkout and Set up, the Customs information block with Country of origin and Harmonized System codes, and the Tax display and calculation checkboxes (opens full size)

Set tax display and calculation

The Tax display and calculation section has three checkboxes that decide how tax is applied. Include sales tax in product price and shipping rate shows prices with tax already included. Charge sales tax on shipping applies tax to shipping charges. Charge VAT on digital goods applies VAT to digital products, and the note explains you first create a collection of digital goods. All three are off here. Set these to match the expectations and rules of the markets you sell to.

Best practices

  • Clear the variant warning first. If the top notice appears, use Edit variants so every taxable product actually charges tax.
  • Keep your tax regions accurate. List only the places you are registered to collect tax in, and add regions as your registrations grow.
  • Complete customs information for international sales. Country of origin and HS codes on your variants help shipments clear customs.
  • Match tax display to each market. Some markets expect tax included in the price and others expect it added at checkout, so set the display accordingly.
  • Consult a tax professional. As the page notes, tax is your responsibility, so confirm your obligations with an adviser.

If something goes wrong

  • A product is not charging tax. The top notice and Edit variants show which variants are not set to charge tax.
  • A customer's region is not taxed. Check the Tax regions list covers that region; you add one by creating a shipping zone.
  • You cannot change a setting. Your role may not allow managing settings. Ask an owner or admin.

Next steps

Still stuck?

More in Store Setup

  • Customer Notifications

    Customer notifications are the automated emails your store sends to customers, organized into groups by event, alongside an SMS marketing option. You open them from Settings, Notifications.

  • Staff Notifications

    Staff notifications are the internal alerts your team receives about store events. You turn each type on or off and add the staff who receive them, from Settings, Notifications.

  • Notifications

    The Notifications page is where your store's automated messages are set up. You set the sender email and open the groups for customer emails, staff alerts, fulfillment services, and webhooks.

  • Store Details

    Store details holds your store profile: the store name, contact email, and phone number that appear on your storefront and in customer messages. You edit them in one dialog from Settings, General.

All 31 articles in Store Setup

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