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Everything that decides the tax on an order sits on one screen. Navigate to Settings → Taxes, under the Selling group. The screen has three tabs:
  • Categories - How your products are grouped for tax, such as Standard or Reduced rate. See Tax Categories.
  • Rates - The percentages Spree’s built-in tax calculation charges, per category and place. See Tax Rates.
  • Exemption reasons - Why a business may buy without tax. See Tax Exemption Reasons below.
You only see the tabs your role lets you open.

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Which Service Works Out Your Tax

Each market chooses who works out its tax: Spree’s built-in calculation, or a connected service such as Avalara. The Tax calculation box under the page title lists your markets by the service each one uses, for example Avalara AvaTax in United States. Click Manage markets to change it. This matters for the Rates tab. Your tax rates only apply to markets on Spree’s built-in calculation. A connected service works the tax out itself and never reads them. The Rates tab says so, and when some of your markets use a connected service it names them, so you know the rates you edit there do not apply in those markets.

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Tax Exemption Reasons

Why a business buys without tax, such as resale or a government purchase. Staff pick one when recording a company’s tax exemption certificate. Each reason has a Name, which is your own wording, and a Code, which your tax service receives. Spree’s built-in calculation only keeps the code for reference, so any short code works. If a market calculates tax through Avalara, the code decides the exemption: once a market uses Avalara, the form offers Avalara’s codes, such as G for resale or A for federal government, and you name each reason however you like. Change the code of each reason you use to Avalara’s. A new store arrives with six:
  • Agricultural
  • Charitable organization
  • Educational institution
  • Government
  • Manufacturing
  • Resale
To add one, click Add reason and fill in:
  • Name - What staff pick from the list on a certificate.
  • Code - What your tax service receives. Saved in capital letters.
  • Available on new records - On by default. Turn it off to stop offering the reason on new certificates.
You can change a reason’s name or code at any time. Every certificate with that reason follows, while orders already placed keep the reason they were taxed with. A reason that certificates use cannot be deleted, but you can retire it by turning off Available on new records.

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Further Reading

  • Tax Categories - Grouping products by how they are taxed
  • Tax Rates - The percentages charged in each place
  • Markets - Where each market’s tax service is chosen
  • Companies - Recording a business’s tax exemption certificates
  • Integrations - Connecting a tax service such as Avalara