U.S. sales tax

Zonos simplifies U.S. sales tax compliance by providing comprehensive solutions for both domestic and international merchants shipping to the U.S. Whether through our API and Shopify integrations as a co-operator or our Checkout integration as merchant of record (MoR), Zonos takes on the responsibility for managing U.S. sales tax, providing a seamless experience for both you and your customers.

With all Zonos U.S. sales tax solutions, we leverage our in-house tax data to accurately calculate state, district, county, and city taxes based on the buyer's location.

Through these solutions, we:

• Calculate accurate sales tax using up-to-date tax data
• Use Zonos tax IDs to enable tax compliance
• Take on the responsibility of remitting and filing taxes directly to appropriate authorities

This end-to-end approach minimizes errors, prevents penalties, and ensures your business stays compliant with all U.S. tax laws.

Zonos U.S. sales tax solution models 

Zonos offers two primary models for handling U.S. sales tax compliance, depending on your integration and business needs: our co-operator model and our merchant of record model.

API or Shopify: Co-operator model

For international merchants using our API or Shopify integrations, Zonos functions as a co-operator. With this model, the merchant handles their own payment processing and Zonos doesn't appear on bank statements, but the tax compliance aspects are still fully managed by Zonos.

Co-operator requirements

For Zonos to provide co-operator services for U.S. sales tax, the following must be in place:

1. Zonos Hello integration — Zonos Hello must be implemented on your website (even if running invisibly in the background without the flag icon)
2. Landed cost calculation — Zonos must be calculating the landed costs
3. Signed order form — A new order form must be signed acknowledging Zonos as co-operator
4. Website reference — The merchant must make reference to Zonos on their website

Zonos Checkout: Merchant of Record (MoR) model

When Zonos acts as the merchant of record through Checkout for domestic transactions, we take on full legal responsibility for managing every aspect of sales tax compliance. With the MoR model, Zonos appears on the customer's bank statement as "Zonos-[merchant]", handles payment processing, and the tax compliance aspects are still fully managed by Zonos.

Phasing out existing U.S. state tax IDs 

Zonos takes full responsibility for U.S. sales tax when acting as the merchant of record (MoR). For Zonos Checkout domestic orders, we automatically handle tax calculation, remittance, and filing. For other integrations, such as Shopify and API integrations, Zonos as MoR tax services are available as an opt-in. Depending on your integration, this transition means you may no longer need your own U.S. tax IDs for transactions processed through Zonos.

Selling on multiple channels

If Zonos is your only sales channel, you no longer need to maintain your own U.S. tax IDs. However, if you sell through other channels, you will still need to manage, remit, and file taxes for those transactions separately using your own tax IDs. Zonos assumes responsibility only for transactions processed through Zonos.

For detailed guidance on phasing out your existing tax IDs and transitioning to Zonos tax IDs, please refer to our tax phase-out documentation.