The Reseller Index
Sponsor Your logo here: sponsor a week

Taxes / State tax rules / Georgia

Selling on eBay, Poshmark or Etsy from Georgia: sales tax and 1099-K rules

Since April 1, 2020, a marketplace facilitator with $100,000 or more in Georgia retail sales (its own plus its sellers') in the previous or current year is a dealer under O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(8)(M.3) and collects Georgia state and local sales tax on the sales it facilitates; the Department of Revenue says the marketplace seller is not liable for tax on those sales. Georgia has no 1099-K threshold of its own, but under Rule 560-3-2-.26 anyone who files or must file a Form 1099-K with the IRS also files a copy electronically with Georgia through the Georgia Tax Center.

General information, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional about your own situation.

Checked against the official pages listed below on .

Georgia in short

General sales tax:
Yes
Marketplace facilitator law:
Yes: O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(8)(M.3) (H.B. 276, 2020), since Apr 1, 2020
When a marketplace must collect:
$100,000 or more in taxable retail sales sourced to Georgia in the previous or current calendar year, combined across all its marketplace sellers and itself
Form 1099-K:
Federal test; platforms file a copy with the state

Who collects the tax on a marketplace sale

Effective for sales on or after April 1, 2020, a marketplace facilitator over the threshold is a "dealer" and collects Georgia state and local sales tax on the retail sales it facilitates, inside or outside Georgia, that are sourced to a location in Georgia. It is liable for the greater of the full tax due on those sales or the tax it actually collected, and reports facilitated sales under a separate marketplace facilitator account.

If you sell only through marketplaces

Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01 says a marketplace seller is not required to collect or remit Georgia sales or use tax on a retail sale for which its marketplace facilitator is required to collect and remit, and is not liable for tax on any sale for which the facilitator is liable. A remote seller may leave facilitated sales out when working out whether it has its own duty to remit.

Registration, resale certificates and what changes when you also sell direct have their own page: Georgia: seller's permit and resale certificate rules.

The law: O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(8)(M.3) (H.B. 276, 2020), effective .

"A marketplace seller is not required to collect or remit Georgia sales or use tax on any retail sale for which its marketplace facilitator is required to collect and remit."
Georgia Department of Revenue, Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01, Marketplace Facilitators, Issue 6
"A remote seller may exclude sales that were facilitated by a marketplace facilitator when calculating whether the seller has a duty to remit Georgia sales tax."
Georgia Department of Revenue, Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01, Marketplace Facilitators, Issue 8

Sources: Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01, Marketplace Facilitators; Marketplace Facilitators.

Georgia's sales tax

Georgia has state and local sales taxes. On a facilitated sale sourced to Georgia, the purchaser pays the marketplace facilitator all applicable Georgia state and local sales taxes, and the facilitator remits them to the Department of Revenue (Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01).

Sources: Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01, Marketplace Facilitators.

Form 1099-K: Georgia and the federal test

Rule 560-3-2-.26 requires each person that files, or is required to file, Form 1099-K with the IRS to file a copy electronically with the Commissioner through the Georgia Tax Center by the federal deadline, including extensions: either all of its 1099-Ks or those for payees with a Georgia address. Georgia sets no lower threshold, so the federal test decides which forms exist.

"Each person that files or is required to file Form 1099-K with the Internal Revenue Service shall electronically file a copy of such Form 1099-K with the Commissioner through the Georgia Tax Center."
Georgia Department of Revenue, Rules of Department of Revenue, Chapter 560-3-2, Substantive Regulations, Rule 560-3-2-.26(7)(f)

Rule: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-3-2-.26(7)(f).

The federal test, for comparison: the IRS says a payment app or online marketplace must send a Form 1099-K when payments for goods or services total over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, and adds: "However, they may send you a Form 1099-K with lower amounts and/or transactions." (Understanding your Form 1099-K, reviewed ). The Instructions for Form 1099-K count both parts for the calendar year, through each platform separately, and say the box 1a gross amount is figured without adjustments for credits, discounts, fees, refunds or shipping, so a 1099-K figure is not the same as profit. More on the federal rule in Form 1099-K for resellers.

Sources: Rules of Department of Revenue, Chapter 560-3-2, Substantive Regulations; How to Submit 1099-K File.

Worked examples

The department's own example: $110,000 facilitated, $10,000 direct

Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01 describes an online store with no Georgia presence that made 300 sales to Georgia customers worth $120,000 between April 1 and December 31, 2020; a marketplace facilitated 280 of them worth $110,000. Only its 20 direct sales, worth $10,000, count toward its own duty to remit, so it was not required to remit Georgia sales tax.

When Georgia gets a copy of your 1099-K

$21,000 of payments in 210 transactions on one marketplace passes the federal test (over $20,000 and more than 200), so the marketplace files a 1099-K with the IRS and a copy with Georgia under Rule 560-3-2-.26. $19,000 in 400 transactions doesn't pass the federal dollar test, and Georgia sets no lower one.

Edge cases and details

  • The tax base on a facilitated sale is the total sales price of the retail sale, the bulletin says.
  • A marketplace facilitator is liable for the greater of the full Georgia state and local tax due on the sales it facilitates or the amount it collected from purchasers (bulletin, Issue 3).
  • The definition of marketplace facilitator excludes a person that merely processes payments, and has exceptions for very large franchisors and dealers ($500 million in annual sales) that collect for themselves under contract.
  • The Department of Revenue's How to Submit 1099-K File page says a payer that has filed Georgia taxes before is already registered and starts with Submit 1099-K Files in the Georgia Tax Center.

What to do

  1. Keep each marketplace's sales report showing the Georgia tax it collected on your sales.
  2. If you also sell directly to Georgia buyers, count only those direct sales when you look at your own remote seller duty, as the bulletin's Issue 8 describes, and ask the department or a tax professional about registering.
  3. Compare any 1099-K you receive with the platform's sales report, and check with a tax professional about how it fits your returns.

Common questions

Am I liable if the marketplace doesn't collect Georgia tax on my sale?

Policy Bulletin SUT-2020-01 says a marketplace seller is not liable for Georgia sales tax imposed on any retail sale for which its marketplace facilitator is liable, and isn't required to collect or remit on sales the facilitator must collect on.

Does Georgia have its own 1099-K threshold?

No. Rule 560-3-2-.26 requires a copy of the 1099-Ks a person files, or must file, with the IRS, so the federal test (over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions) decides which forms reach Georgia.

Related

General information, not tax advice

This page summarizes Georgia's own published pages and statutes as read on , and the IRS's 1099-K pages. It doesn't say what you should file, register for or pay. Rules depend on your situation and change: check with a tax professional, or with the state's revenue department.

Sources

Official pages this page is built from, with the day each was read.

Free 1-page Reseller Cheat Sheet: fees on 8 platforms, Media Mail and stamp prices

What each platform takes from a $10, $25 and $50 sale, Media Mail 1-10 lb, Ground Advantage to Zones 1, 5 and 8, and the Forever stamp, on one printable page. The link appears as soon as you sign up.