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Taxes / State tax rules / Wisconsin

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

On a marketplace sale delivered to Wisconsin, the marketplace provider collects and remits Wisconsin sales or use tax, including county and city tax, on all taxable sales it facilitates, even for a seller that qualifies for the small seller exception, and a remote marketplace seller is generally not liable for tax on those sales. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue pages we checked say nothing about a separate Wisconsin 1099-K rule.

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

Checked against the official pages listed below on .

Wisconsin in short

General sales tax:
Yes, 5% state rate
Marketplace facilitator law:
Yes: Wis. Stat. §§ 77.52(3m)(a) and 77.523(1) (2019 Wis. Act 10); Wis. Admin. Code § Tax 11.555, since Jan 1, 2020
When a marketplace must collect:
a provider with no physical presence collects unless it qualifies for the small seller exception: $100,000 or less in Wisconsin gross sales, its own and those it facilitates, in both the previous and current calendar year
Form 1099-K:
No state rule stated on the pages checked

Who collects the tax on a marketplace sale

The marketplace provider collects and remits Wisconsin sales or use tax on all taxable sales it facilitates for marketplace sellers, reports them on its own return, and must notify each seller that it is collecting. The provider taxes the entire amount charged to the buyer, including its own facilitation charges.

If you sell only through marketplaces

The Department says a remote marketplace seller is generally not liable for Wisconsin tax on sales a marketplace provider facilitates. It still registers and collects on taxable Wisconsin sales not made through a provider unless it qualifies for the small seller exception, and in that test its marketplace sales count too.

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

The law: Wis. Stat. §§ 77.52(3m)(a) and 77.523(1) (2019 Wis. Act 10); Wis. Admin. Code § Tax 11.555, effective .

"marketplace providers are required to collect and remit sales or use tax for all taxable sales in Wisconsin that the marketplace provider facilitates on behalf of a marketplace seller."
Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Remote Sellers Common Questions, Is a marketplace seller that is a remote seller required to register if all of its sales are made through a marketplace provider?
"A marketplace seller that is a remote seller is generally not liable for Wisconsin sales or use tax for sales in Wisconsin that are facilitated by a marketplace provider."
Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Remote Sellers Common Questions, Same answer
"the annual sales amount includes sales into Wisconsin made by the marketplace seller, as well as sales made on its behalf by a marketplace provider."
Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Remote Sellers Common Questions, Caution note on the small seller exception

Sources: Marketplace Provider Common Questions; Remote Sellers Common Questions.

Wisconsin's sales tax

The Wisconsin sales tax is 5%. Seventy counties add a 0.5% county tax, and Milwaukee County's rate rose from 0.5% to 0.9% effective January 1, 2024; marketplace providers collect county and, from January 1, 2024, city sales taxes too.

"The Wisconsin sales tax is a 5% tax imposed on the sales price of retailers who sell, license, lease, or rent tangible personal property"
Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Common Questions: Tax Rates

Sources: Common Questions: Tax Rates; Marketplace Provider Common Questions.

Form 1099-K: Wisconsin and the federal test

The Department of Revenue's marketplace provider, remote seller and tax rate pages read for this page say nothing about a Wisconsin Form 1099-K requirement.

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: Marketplace Provider Common Questions; Common Questions: Tax Rates.

Worked examples

Tax on a $40 marketplace sale to Madison

At the 5% state rate, a $40.00 taxable item carries $2.00 of state tax; in a county with the 0.5% county tax, the total is 5.5%, or $2.20. The provider collects both.

Marketplace sales can cost a seller the small seller exception

A remote seller sells $80,000 into Wisconsin through marketplace providers and $30,000 from its own website in 2026. For the small seller exception the Department counts both, so $110,000 is over $100,000 and the exception does not apply; the seller registers and collects on the $30,000 of website sales, while the providers keep collecting on theirs.

Milwaukee County order

With Milwaukee County's 0.9% county rate, a $40.00 taxable item delivered there carries 5.9%, or $2.36, before any city tax. The provider collects it.

Edge cases and details

  • The Department says marketplace providers with no physical presence had to collect on third-party sales on and after October 1, 2018 unless they qualified for the small seller exception; 2019 Wis. Act 10, effective January 1, 2020, clarified the duty for all providers.
  • 2021 Wis. Act 1, effective February 20, 2021, removed the 200-transaction part of the small seller exception and set calendar years as the measuring period.
  • A provider may apply on Form S-102 for a waiver, for example where its only sellers operate under a hotel, motel or restaurant brand it shares, the Department says.
  • If a provider claims a bad debt deduction on a facilitated sale, the marketplace seller may not claim it on the same transaction.
  • Wisconsin law does not prescribe a form for a provider's notice to sellers that it is collecting, but the notice must say it collects on all taxable Wisconsin sales.

What to do

  1. Add your marketplace and direct Wisconsin sales together for the previous and current calendar year; the Department counts both for the $100,000 small seller exception.
  2. If you are over $100,000, read the Department's remote seller questions on registering for your non-marketplace sales, and check with a tax professional.
  3. Keep each provider's notice that it collects Wisconsin tax with your records.

Common questions

Do marketplace sales count toward Wisconsin's $100,000 small seller exception?

Yes. The Department's caution note says the annual sales amount includes the seller's own Wisconsin sales and sales made on its behalf by a marketplace provider.

Do I need to register in Wisconsin if I only sell on marketplaces?

The Department says a remote marketplace seller is generally not liable for Wisconsin tax on facilitated sales; registration turns on taxable Wisconsin sales not made through a provider, unless the seller qualifies for the small seller exception.

When did Wisconsin's marketplace provider law take effect?

January 1, 2020, under 2019 Wis. Act 10.

Does Wisconsin have its own 1099-K threshold?

The Department of Revenue pages we checked say nothing about a Wisconsin 1099-K rule.

Related

General information, not tax advice

This page summarizes Wisconsin'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.

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