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Tax guidelines by country

U.S. tax configuration

These recommended settings can be used for most tax configurations for stores within the United States.

Tax option
Recommendation
Load catalog prices
Excluding tax
FPT
No, because FPT is not taxed.
Tax based on
Shipping origin
Tax Calculation
On total
Tax shipping?
No
Apply Discount
Before tax
Comment
All tax zones are the same priority; ideally, a zone for state and one or more zones for zip code lookup.

Tax classes

Tax class
Recommended setting
Tax class for shipping
None

Calculation settings

Option
Recommended setting
Tax Calculation Method Based On
Total
Tax Calculation Based On
Shipping Origin
Catalog Prices
Excluding Tax
Shipping Prices
Excluding Tax
Apply Customer Tax
After Discount
Apply Discount on Prices
Excluding Tax

Default tax destination calculation

Option
Recommended setting
Default Country
United States
Default State
State where business is located.
Default Post Code
The postal code that is used in your tax zones.

Price display settings

Option
Recommended setting
Display Product Prices in Catalog
Excluding Tax
Display Shipping Prices
Excluding Tax

Shopping cart display settings

Option
Recommended setting
Display Prices
Excluding Tax
Display Subtotal
Excluding Tax
Display Shipping Amount
Excluding Tax
Display Gift Wrapping Prices
Excluding Tax
Display Printed Card Prices
Excluding Tax
Include Tax in Grand Total
Yes
Display Full Tax Summary
Yes
Display Zero Tax Subtotal
Yes

Orders, invoices, credit memos, and display settings

Option
Recommended setting
Display Prices
Excluding Tax
Display Subtotal
Excluding Tax
Display Shipping Amount
Excluding Tax
Include Tax in Grand Total
Yes
Display Full Tax Summary
Yes
Display Zero Tax Subtotal
Yes

Fixed product taxes (FPT)

Option
Recommended setting
Enable FPT
No, except in California.

UK tax configuration

These recommended settings can be used for most tax configurations for stores within the United Kingdom.

UK B2C tax configuration

Tax option
Recommendation
Load catalog prices
Excluding tax
FPT
Yes, including FPT and description
Tax based on
Shipping Address
Tax Calculation
On total
Tax shipping?
Yes
Apply Discount
Before tax, discount on prices, including tax.
Comment
For merchants marking up supplier invoices (including VAT).

U.K. B2B tax configuration

Tax option
Recommendation
Load catalog prices
Excluding tax
FPT
Yes, including FPT and description
Tax based on
Shipping Address
Tax Calculation
On item
Tax shipping?
Yes
Apply Discount
Before tax, discount on prices, including tax.
Comment
For B2B merchants to provide simpler VAT supply chain considerations. Tax calculation on row is also valid; however, check with your taxing jurisdiction. Setup assumes that a merchant is in the supply chain and that goods sold are used by other vendors for VAT rebates and so on. This definition makes it easy to discern tax by item for faster rebate generation.

Note: Some jurisdictions require different rounding strategies not currently supported by Commerce, and that not all jurisdictions allow item or row level tax.

Canada tax configuration

IMPORTANT
Merchants that are in a GST/PST province (Montreal) should create one tax rule and show a combined tax amount. Be sure to consult a qualified tax authority if you have any questions.
Tax option
Recommendation
Load catalog prices
Excluding tax
FPT
Yes, including FPT, description, and apply tax to FPT.
Tax based on
Shipping origin
Tax Calculation
On total
Tax shipping?
Yes
Apply Discount
Before tax

The following example shows how to set up GST tax rates for Canada and PST tax rates for Saskatchewan, with tax rules that calculate and display the two tax rates. This information outlines an example configuration; be sure to verify the correct tax rates and rules for your tax jurisdictions. When setting up taxes, set the store scope to apply the configuration to all applicable stores and websites.

  • Fixed product tax is included for relevant goods as a product attribute.
  • In Quebec, PST is referred to as TVQ. If you want to set up a rate for Quebec, make sure to use TVQ as the identifier.

Step 1: Complete tax calculation settings

  1. On the Admin sidebar, go to Stores > Settings > Configuration.

  2. For a multisite configuration, set Store View to the website and store that is the target of the configuration.

  3. In the left panel, expand Sales and choose Tax.

  4. Click to expand each section on the page and complete the following settings:

Tax Calculation Settings

Field
Recommended setting
Tax Calculation Method Based On
Total
Tax Calculation Based On
Shipping Address
Catalog Prices
Excluding Tax
Shipping Prices
Excluding Tax
Apply Customer Tax
After Discount
Apply Discount on Prices
Excluding Tax
Apply Tax On
Custom Price (if available)

Tax Classes

Field
Recommended setting
Tax Class for Shipping
Shipping (shipping is taxed)

Default Tax Destination Calculation

Field
Recommended setting
Default Country
Canada
Default State
(as appropriate)
Default Postal Code
* (asterisk)

Shopping Cart Display Settings

Field
Recommended setting
Include Tax in Grand Total
Yes
Display Full Tax Summary
Yes
Display Zero in Tax Subtotal
Yes

Fixed Product Taxes

Field
Recommended setting
Enable FPT
Yes
All FPT display settings
Including FPT and FPT description
Apply Discounts to FPT
No
Apply Tax to FPT
Yes
Include FPT in Subtotal
No

Step 2: Set up Canadian Goods & Services Tax (GST)

To print the GST number on invoices and other sales documents, include it in the name of the applicable tax rates. The GST appears as part of the GST amount on any order summary.

Manage Tax Zones & Rates

Field
Recommended setting
Tax Identifier
Canada-GST
Country
Canada
State
* (asterisk)
Zip/Post is Range
No
Zip/Post Code
* (asterisk)
Rate Percent
5.0000

Step 3: Set up Canadian Provincial Sales Tax (PST)

Set up another tax rate for the applicable province.

Tax Rate Information

Field
Recommended setting
Tax Identifier
Canada-SK-PST
Country
Canada
State
Saskatchewan
Zip/Post is Range
No
Zip/Post Code
* (asterisk)
Rate Percent
5.0000

Step 4: Create a GST tax rule

To avoid compounding the tax and to correctly display the calculated tax as separate line items for GST and PST, set different priorities for each rule and select the Calculate off subtotal only checkbox. Each tax appears as a separate line item, but the tax amounts are not compounded.

Tax Rule Information

Field
Recommended setting
Name
Retail-Canada-GST
Customer Tax Class
Retail Customer
Product Tax Class
Taxable GoodsShipping
Tax Rate
Canada-GST
Priority
0
Calculate off subtotal only
Select this checkbox.
Sort Order
0

Step 5: Create a PST Tax Rule for Saskatchewan

For this tax rule, make sure to set the priority to 0 and select the Calculate off subtotal only checkbox. Each tax appears as a separate line item, but the tax amounts are not compounded.

Tax Rule Information

Field
Recommended setting
Name
Retail-Canada-PST
Customer Tax Class
Retail Customer
Product Tax Class
Taxable GoodsShipping
Tax Rate
Canada-SK-PT
Priority
1
Calculate off subtotal only
Select this checkbox.
Sort Order
0

Step 6: Save and test the results

  1. When complete, click Save Config.

  2. Return to your storefront and create a sample order to test the results.

EU tax configuration

The following example depicts a store based in France that sells 100k+ Euros in France and 100k+ Euros in Germany.

  • Tax calculations are managed at the website level.
  • Currency conversion and tax display options are controlled individually at the store view level (Select the Use Website checkbox to override the default).
  • By setting the default tax country, you can dynamically show the correct tax for the jurisdiction.
  • Fixed product tax is included for relevant goods as a product attribute.
  • It might be necessary to edit the catalog to ensure that it shows up in the correct category/website/store view.

Step 1: Create three product tax classes

For this example, it is assumed that multiple VAT-Reduced product tax classes are not needed.

  1. Create a VAT-Standard product tax class.

  2. Create a VAT-Reduced product tax class.

  3. Create a VAT-Free product tax class.

Step 2: Create tax rates for France and Germany

Create the following tax rates:

Tax rates
Settings
France-StandardVAT
Country: France
State/Region: *
ZIP/Postal Code: *
Rate: 20%
France-ReducedVAT
Country: France
State/Region: *
ZIP/Postal Code: *
Rate: 5%
Germany-StandardVAT
Country: Germany
State/Region: *
ZIP/Postal Code: * Rate: 19%
Germany-ReducedVAT
Country: Germany
State/Region: *
ZIP/Postal Code: *
Rate: 7%

Step 3: Set up the tax rules

Create the following tax rules:

Tax rules
Settings
Retail-France-StandardVAT
Customer Class: Retail Customer
Tax Class: VAT-Standard
Tax Rate: France-StandardVAT
Priority: 0
Sort Order: 0
Retail-France-ReducedVAT
Customer Class: Retail Customer
Tax Class: VAT Reduced
Tax Rate: France-ReducedVAT
Priority: 0
Sort Order: 0
Retail-Germany-StandardVAT
Customer Class: Retail Customer
Tax Class: VAT-Standard
Tax Rate: Germany-StandardVAT
Priority: 0
Sort Order: 0
Retail-Germany-ReducedVAT
Customer Class: Retail Customer
Tax Class: VAT-Reduced
Tax Rate: Germany-ReducedVAT
Priority: 0
Sort Order: 0

Step 4: Set up a store view for Germany

  1. On the Admin sidebar, go to Stores > Settings > All Stores.

  2. Under the default website, create a store view for Germany.

  3. Next, do the following:

    • On the Admin sidebar, go to Stores > Settings > Configuration.

    • In the upper-left corner, set Default Config to the French store.

    • On the General page, expand Expansion selector the Countries Options section, and set the default country to France.

    • Complete the locale options as needed.

  4. In the upper-left corner, choose the German Store View.

  5. On the General page, expand Expansion selector Countries Options and set the default country to Germany.

  6. Complete the locale options as needed.

Step 5: Configure tax settings for France

Complete the following general tax settings:

Field
Recommended setting
Tax Classes
Tax Class for Shipping
Shipping (shipping is taxed)
Calculation Settings
Tax Calculation Method Based On
Total
Tax Calculation Based On
Shipping Address
Catalog Prices
Including Tax
Shipping Prices
Including Tax
Apply Customer Tax
After Discount
Apply Discount on Prices
Including Tax
Apply Tax On
Custom Price if available
Default Tax Destination Calculation
Default Country
France
Default State
Default Postal Code
* (asterisk)
Fixed Product taxes
Enable FPT
Yes
All FPT Display Settings
Including FPT and FPT description
Apply Discounts to FPT
No
Apply Tax to FPT
Yes
Include FPT in Subtotal
Yes

Step 6: Configure tax settings for Germany

  1. On the Admin sidebar, go to Stores > Settings > Configuration.

  2. In the upper-right corner, set Store View to the view to the German store and click OK to confirm.

  3. In the left panel, expand Sales and choose Tax.

  4. In the Default Tax Destination Calculation section, do the following:

    • Clear the Use Website checkbox after each field,

    • To match your site’s Shipping Settings point of origin, update the following values:

      • Default Country
      • Default State
      • Default Post Code

      This setting ensures that tax is calculated correctly when product prices include tax.

      Default Tax Destination Calculation {width="600" modal="regular"}

  5. When complete, click Save Config.

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