E-Commerce Accountant for Online Sellers

Tax, accounting, plus multi-state sales tax compliance for online sellers on Shopify, Amazon, and eBay.

A workspace with a laptop, stacked shipping boxes, and a label printer

Facing the Complexities of the Online Environment

Every state your customers live in sets its own nexus rules. Cross-state selling stacks up obligations most general accountants rarely handle: economic nexus thresholds, marketplace facilitator rules, sales tax registrations in each new state.

Sellers on Shopify, Amazon, and eBay use GT for accounting that keeps pace with their channels, with each state's nexus rules tracked as the business grows.

Experienced E-Commerce Accountants

Past compliance, the same CPA runs the monthly accounting, reviews the entity structure as volume grows, then handles tax planning before year-end.

Our E-Commerce Accounting Services Include:

  • Full-service accounting
  • Payroll processing & payroll tax reporting
  • Multi-state nexus analysis
  • Multi-state business tax preparation & individual income tax preparation
  • Sales tax preparation
  • Federal and state tax planning
  • E-commerce consulting services
  • Business formation / entity selection

When does an online seller owe tax in another state?

Once your sales into a state cross its economic nexus threshold (a dollar amount or transaction count, set state by state), you must register and report there, with or without a physical presence. Marketplace facilitator laws move part of that burden to Amazon or eBay. Direct channels like your own Shopify store stay yours. A nexus analysis tells you where you stand before a state notice does.

Books built for e-commerce

Marketplace payouts arrive net of fees, refunds, reserves, so recording the deposit as revenue misstates your books. We reconcile channel reports to your accounting, stating gross sales, fees, plus sales tax collected separately. Your margins stay honest and your filings hold up.

E-Commerce Tax Questions

Do I owe sales tax in a state where I have no office or warehouse?

Often, yes. Since the Wayfair decision, a state can require an out-of-state seller to register and collect once sales into that state pass its economic nexus threshold. Most states draw the line at $100,000 of sales into the state in a year. California and Texas set theirs at $500,000. New York requires $500,000 plus 100 transactions, and a few other states also count transactions. Because the rules differ state by state, we track your sales by destination and tell you where registration is due before a notice arrives.

If Amazon or eBay collects sales tax for me, do I still need to register anywhere?

Marketplace facilitator laws shift collection on marketplace orders to the platform, so those sales are usually covered. Orders through your own Shopify store are still yours to collect on wherever you have nexus. Inventory held in a fulfillment warehouse can also create a physical presence in that state, which some states treat as a reason to register even when the marketplace is collecting.

How should a marketplace payout be recorded in my books?

Not as revenue. The deposit arrives net of platform fees, refunds, reserves, plus the sales tax the marketplace collected. We reconcile each channel's settlement report to the deposit, so the books show gross sales, fees, and tax separately. Your margins stay accurate, and the sales figures on your returns match what the platforms report to the states.

Get in Touch with Our Tax Experts

Prefer to talk? Call 818-570-0071 or email info@gttaxcpa.com.