Amazon Sales Tax Guide for Sellers in 2026

Does Amazon Collect Sales Tax For You?

Yes — Amazon is a marketplace facilitator in all 45 sales tax states. Amazon collects and remits state and local sales tax on every transaction processed through Amazon's marketplace. You don't need to configure anything, charge anything, or remit anything for sales made through Amazon.

This is genuinely great news. The marketplace facilitator laws that swept through all 45 states between 2018 and 2021 shifted the collection burden from sellers to platforms like Amazon. Amazon handles it automatically.

What You Still Owe Even If Amazon Collects

Amazon collecting doesn't mean you're completely off the hook:

1. Washington State B&O Tax Washington has a Business & Occupation (B&O) tax on gross receipts — separate from sales tax. Even if Amazon collects and remits Washington sales tax on your facilitated sales, you may still owe Washington B&O tax on those gross receipts. Washington requires marketplace sellers who cross the $100,000 threshold to file a Washington excise tax return and pay B&O tax, even when the marketplace handled the sales tax portion.

2. FBA Physical Nexus — Your Most Important Issue Amazon FBA stores your inventory in fulfillment centers across the country. Wherever Amazon stores your inventory = physical nexus for you. Physical nexus is immediate — no $100,000 threshold, no transaction count. The moment Amazon places your goods in a Texas warehouse, you have Texas physical nexus.

This means:

• If you also sell on your own Shopify/WooCommerce store, you owe sales tax in every state where Amazon FBA stores your goods — from the first dollar, on all channels
• If you only sell on Amazon, Amazon handles the tax on Amazon sales, but your FBA states become nexus states for any direct channel you ever start

FBA sellers typically have physical nexus in 10–20+ states depending on Amazon's inventory distribution.

3. Third-Party Sales Not Through Amazon If you also sell through your own website, Shopify store, or other channels, Amazon's marketplace collection doesn't help you there. Your direct sales are your responsibility.

Your Nexus Exposure on Amazon

For pure Amazon-only sellers:

• Amazon handles sales tax collection in all 45 states
• You may owe Washington B&O tax
• Your nexus exposure for your own channels is tied to your FBA inventory locations

For multi-channel sellers (Amazon + direct):

• FBA inventory creates physical nexus in multiple states — those apply to all your sales
• Your direct channel sales have their own economic nexus thresholds to track
• CA, TX, NY, MI, NC, and WA specifically require you to include Amazon sales in your threshold calculations for your direct channel

Step-by-Step: Getting Compliant as an Amazon Seller

1. Get your FBA inventory state list from Amazon Seller Central (Inventory → Manage FBA Inventory → View FBA Storage Locations)
2. Register in every state where Amazon stores your inventory — for your non-Amazon sales channels
3. Evaluate Washington B&O tax — if you've crossed the $100K WA threshold, file a WA excise tax return
4. Run your nexus check for your non-Amazon sales at /nexus

How Taxero Works With Amazon

Taxero handles the compliance that Amazon's marketplace facilitator status doesn't cover:

• FBA nexus analysis: We identify your physical nexus states from your FBA inventory locations
• Direct channel compliance: We track your Shopify/WooCommerce/direct sales against nexus thresholds for each state
• Washington B&O filing: We handle your Washington excise tax return including B&O
• Registration: We register you in your physical nexus states for your direct channel

For Amazon-only sellers who also want to start a direct channel, we pre-register you in your FBA states before you go live.

Common Questions

If Amazon collects, do I need to register in any states? If you only sell on Amazon and have no other channels, probably not for sales tax purposes. But check Washington B&O, and know that your FBA states become nexus states for future direct selling.

Amazon is storing my inventory in California. Do I owe California sales tax on my Shopify sales? Yes. FBA inventory in California creates immediate California physical nexus. Your Shopify customers in California should have been charged California sales tax from your first direct sale. California's threshold ($500K) applies to economic nexus — physical nexus is immediate and from dollar one.

I just started FBA. How many states do I have nexus in? It varies but is typically 10–20 states for established FBA sellers. Amazon uses fulfillment centers across the country and distributes inventory based on demand algorithms. Run your inventory report monthly to track which states are active.

Does Amazon provide 1099-K data that states can use to find me? Yes. Amazon issues Form 1099-K to sellers and reports to the IRS. States routinely receive this data and cross-reference it with their registration records.

---

Start With Your Free Nexus Check

Check Your Amazon/FBA Nexus Exposure →