View Full Version : Colorado Use Tax?
Fentonite
04-15-2017, 12:52
Finishing up our taxes (yeah, I'm Johnny on the spot), and at the end of the State Tax portion of TurboTax, it asks me to enter the total amount of all online purchases where Colorado tax was not paid to the seller.  I assume this means every purchase from Amazon, eBay, LAPG, etc, etc?!?   Not that I actually made many those purchases, but jeez, it seems like absolute bullsh*t that the state will charge tax on something not bought within the state.   Are folks actually keeping track of the total spent on every online purchase?  I wonder if Amazon or eBay reports this info to the state...
spqrzilla
04-15-2017, 12:55
Amazon is collecting Colorado state tax these days.
I believe it's been the law for a while but IMO it's total BS
Bailey Guns
04-15-2017, 13:28
Idaho was one of the last holdouts.  Amazon just started collecting Idaho tax last week.  Sucks.  I think there's only 4 states that don't collect sales tax...OR, NH, MT and ME, I believe.  But even when Amazon didn't collect, you were "required" to report it for as long as I can remember.
It's been the law going all the way back to catalog mail order days.. The state of Colorado has an online Use Tax form that you are supposed to file for any purchase where Colorado sales tax has not been paid.. The exception would be if you bought an item in another state and paid sales tax in that state.
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/tax/use-tax-instructions-and-forms
Fentonite
04-15-2017, 14:05
Wow, I guess I've had my head in the sand for a while.   Maybe it's worth letting the CPA keep doing our taxes instead of trying to save a few bucks doing them myself.
I think Colorado should just try and collect their taxes from out of state vendors directly. We'll see how that works out for them. 
Fortunately for me I never order anything online.
Madeinhb
04-15-2017, 14:14
I don't know if the state's can actually see your purchases to know if you did or didn't buy anything
thedave1164
04-15-2017, 14:15
Let's just say, they get plenty of taxes from me
I would treat those taxes the same way you handle all the taxes you owe the state from garage sale and other person to person purchases throughout the year.
Who shops online? 
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Madeinhb
04-15-2017, 16:11
Who shops online? 
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Those who shop up in the line.
BushMasterBoy
04-15-2017, 16:25
I'm saving my money for the FEMA camp commissary.
Madeinhb
04-15-2017, 16:27
I'm saving my money for the FEMA camp commissary.
Haha. Planning on going to the internment camp?
Bailey Guns
04-15-2017, 16:43
Yep...just did our taxes earlier in the week.  Ass-raped by the feds again.
It is not my responsibility to collect taxes for Colorado. 
That said.  Taxes should only be collected at the place of sale, not point of delivery.  Taxes support the community in which a store is located.  If that jurisdiction does not have a sales tax, it collects other ways.  My purchase is paying for someone's income which is taxed in that jurisdiction.   Colorado does not pay for the sewer, water, roads, ect in those jurisdictions, nor does general fund money pay for the roads that deliver said purchase.
Tracking out of state purchases is an undo burden on us.  I never keep receipts, so if they want to audit me, the burden is on the state to show I owe sales taxes.
sportbikeco
04-15-2017, 19:20
Amazon only collects tax from items sold by Amazon.  They do have a physical presence in Colorado now.
Aloha_Shooter
04-15-2017, 19:44
I think Colorado should just try and collect their taxes from out of state vendors directly. We'll see how that works out for them. 
Fortunately for me I never order anything online.
They have been trying to do so but it's difficult.  They only got Amazon to comply by joining with all the other states who felt they were losing revenue due to Amazon purchases.
It's a tricky issue because lack of sales tax is one reason local merchants lose out to online or mail order sales and government DOES have to be paid for.  On the other hand, the bookkeeping is a major pain in the butt for small merchants -- it's much easier for all concerned for citizens to keep track of their purchases than for small merchants to try to keep track of the tax policies in every jurisdiction they might ship to.  In fact, it's been alleged that one of the reasons Amazon flipped on the tax collection issue was to stick it to their smaller competitors -- it's much much easier for Amazon to develop the programming to automate tax collection across the jurisdictions than for their smaller competitors.
SideShow Bob
04-17-2017, 16:30
I 
Fortunately for me I never order anything online.
On line ? You can order stuff on line? Who da thunk...........
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