US: Sales tax applies to resold goods under Trump tariffs, says SSTGB

The SSTGB confirmed that sales tax applies to tariffs on imported goods resold in its 24 member states.

The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board (SSTGB) has confirmed that sales tax applies to tariffs on imported goods, including those recently introduced by President Donald Trump, when these goods are resold within any of the 24 member states of the SSTGB.

SSTGB mentioned that tariffs are imposed on the importer when goods are imported. Many importers include tariffs in the amount charged for the product. With the recent tariff changes, some importers may pass the tariff on to their customers as a separate line item on the invoice or receipt.

The SSTGB announced that resellers must include tariffs in the taxable sales price, regardless of whether they are separately listed on an invoice or included in the retail price. This clarification, published after the federal government expanded tariffs on various consumer products, aligns with earlier guidance from California, Washington, Illinois, and New Jersey, offering sellers a unified rule.

The response depends on who is responsible for covering the customs bill. The SSTGB provided the following explanation:

Importer resells product

Streamlined states consider tariff costs passed from an importer to a customer as part of the importer’s sales price and subject to the same sales and use tax as the product being sold. It does not matter if the tariff is line itemed on the invoice or receipt or billed separately to the customer.  If the importer does not collect sales or use tax, the customer is responsible for reporting use tax on the sales price, which includes the tariff the importer billed.

Importer is the consumer

If a consumer imports a product and is responsible for paying the tariff to the customs authority, the tariff paid by the importer (the consumer) to the customs authority is not subject to sales or use tax. The consumer is responsible for the applicable use tax on the product sales price, which does not include the tariff the consumer paid to the customs authority.