Economic nexus thresholds
Most US states: $100K sales OR 200 transactions per year per state. Some states lower: California $500K, New York $500K. Some states only sales-based, others both. Crossing the threshold in a state means you must register, collect, and remit sales tax.
Marketplace facilitator laws
Most US states (40+) have marketplace facilitator laws requiring eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, etc. to collect and remit sales tax on your behalf for sales through their platforms. So if you sell only through marketplaces, you typically do not need to register for state sales tax.
Direct sales (Stripe)
Direct Stripe sales (your own website, not through a marketplace) are your responsibility. You must register for sales tax in states where you have economic nexus and collect tax from customers in those states. Stripe Tax automates this if you enable it.
Tools to monitor nexus
- TaxJar: $99/month, integrates with Stripe, Shopify, Amazon, etc. Monitors nexus per state.
- Avalara: enterprise tax automation. More expensive but more comprehensive.
- Stripe Tax: built-in if you use Stripe (0.5% additional fee).
- Quaderno: similar to TaxJar, popular with SaaS founders.
Common nexus scenarios for non-resident LLCs
- SaaS founder selling to US customers via Stripe: monitor nexus in major states (CA, NY, TX, FL, WA) and register when triggered
- Etsy seller: marketplace facilitator law handles most states automatically
- Amazon FBA seller: Amazon handles sales tax in most states; you handle the few remaining
- Dropshipper through Shopify Payments: Shopify handles most state taxes via Shopify Tax
What happens if you do not register
State revenue departments enforce. Common penalties: back taxes owed, late penalties, interest, registration assessment. Some states (California, Texas) are aggressive on enforcement. Non-resident LLCs face the same enforcement as US-resident LLCs once nexus is established.