Set up tax settings (US only)

So that users understand the exact price that they’ll have to pay for a product, you must submit the taxes that you collect. This article helps you understand how to correctly set up your tax settings. Learn more about how tax settings work and when to use them.

Before you begin (US only)

Keep in mind that you’ll set up tax rates for each state in the U.S. that you charge taxes for. Typically, these are the states that your business has a physical presence in. If your products target the United States, but you don’t charge taxes in the United States, you must indicate that in your tax settings.

You can choose from the following options to determine tax in each state. Consult your tax advisor to understand which options would work best for you.

• Use the custom option to enter a flat rate if you charge all customers the same amount of tax regardless of where they're located.
• Allow Google to determine the tax if you charge taxes based on the location of your customers.
• Use the tax category [tax_category] attribute if you sell products in a state with a tax rate that differs from standard sales tax rates. For example, food or apparel may not be taxed in some states or may be taxed at a lower rate than other products. Learn more about tax categories
• Use the tax category [tax_category] attribute if you collect a non-standard tax rate for a product or a product is exempt from taxes.

Instructions (US only)

Use account settings for standard tax rates

To set up taxes, you’ll set taxes for each state where you charge them:

1. In your Merchant Center account, click Business info.
2. Click the Sales tax tab.
3. When you click Edit, the list of all states will appear.

   For each state where you’d like to charge sales tax:

   • Click the toggle to select the state.
   • For “Sales tax setup”, choose either:
     1. “Automatic based on customer location” to let Google estimate the rate based on the location of the customer.
     2. “Manual” to enter a specific rate to charge for the entire state.
   • If you charge tax on shipping, select Taxable shipping.
4. Click Save at the bottom of the page once you've configured taxes for each of the selected states.

Manage tax categories

1. In your Merchant Center account, click Business info.
2. Click the Sales tax tab.
3. When you click Edit, the list of all states will appear.
4. To add a new tax category, click the Manage tax categories. Note that you can add tax categories once you have states in which you charge tax.
5. Enter the name of the tax category. Or, if you’ve already entered values into the tax category [tax_category] attribute in your feed, the values will be pre-populated. Note that you may add up to 100 categories.
6. For each state in your tax settings, enter the appropriate tax rate under the category column. If no custom rate is needed, leave this field blank.

Use an attribute for non-standard tax rates

If you have one product that has a different tax rate or that’s tax exempt, and you are unable to configure tax rates using custom or Google determined tax rates, tax categories, or home rule (individual city/county) settings, submit the tax [tax] attribute for that product. The value that you submit for the tax [tax]attribute will override any account tax settings for that product.

Note: Be sure to understand if another system you use may be syncing with your Merchant Center account before updating settings. If you use API or a 3rd party sync (for example: account links with partners), your settings may be overwritten.

Related links

• About tax settings
• Tax [tax]
• Tax category [tax_category]