Configuring TaxJar
- Hunter Schaeffer
- Jonathan Tew
- 1 About
- 2 TaxJar Knowledgebase Articles
Navigate: Main Menu → Configuration → (middle menu) Checkout → Sales Tax
About
http://taxjar.com A cloud-based platform automates the entire sales tax life cycle across all of your sales channels — from calculations and nexus tracking to reporting and filing. With innovative technology and award-winning support, we simplify sales tax compliance so you can grow with ease.
TaxJar Configuration
Activate the TaxJar provider by clicking on the checkbox at the top left and then clicking the Save button.
Once saved, click the Settings button to configure TaxJar.
Select the desired settings:
Field | Description |
|---|---|
API Token | Paste your TaxJar API token here. |
Active | Slider button actives and deactivates Tax Jar. |
Use Distribution Center Location as the From Address When Calculating Taxes | If on, UltraCart will send your Distribution Center address as the 'from' address for tax calculations. |
Estimate Tax Only | |
Send test orders through to TaxJar | Allows test orders to be sent over to TaxJar. This is useful for initial testing of the integration. |
Send orders outside your nexuses to TaxJar | Sending orders outside your nexuses will result in more API calls (and possibly higher TaxJar bill), but will allow TaxJar to create new nexuses for states where your orders exceed their minimum threshold for reporting. |
Do not send channel partner orders to TaxJar | If enabled, orders coming in from channels partner integration will not be sent to TaxJar. |
TaxJar API Token
You can obtain your Taxjar API token by following the steps below:
Login to www.taxjar.com
Navigate to Account (https://app.taxjar.com/account)
Then click the link on the left side of the screen for SmartCalcs API.
The Live Token will display as shown below.
Test TaxJar Connection
After configuring the TaxJar token, you'll want to test the connection by clicking the "Tex Connection" button:
The test results will appear like this:
There should always be about 29 categories. These categories are managed by Taxjar and may vary, but it should always be around 30. Zero means a problem! |
To minimize the number of API calls to TaxJar, UltraCart will look up the TaxJar Nexus Regions and only send them orders for those particular regions. You can see the Nexus regions in the "Test Connection" output as shown below. |
Tax Codes
Item Tax Codes
Item tax codes have their own screen within the Item Editor. Edit an item, and then select the last tab. You may search for a tax code if needed.
Customer Tax Codes
You may provide a tax code for a customer profile by editing a customer, scrolling to the bottom, and providing codes. The tax section is located at the very bottom of the customer screen.
Tax Exemption Configuration
For Tax Exempt Customers, choose the appropriate Tax Exemption Type from the drop-down list.
ATTENTION: In order to apply customer specific tax settings (such as non taxable customers) you’ll need to log into TaxJar and create the customer there, then copy and paste the TaxJar Customer Code (TaxJar customer identifier) into the Taxes tab of the customer profile editor, as displayed above.
Shipping Method Tax Codes
You may assign a tax code to each shipping method. Avalara supports shipping tax codes and will use the code to determine if that particular shipping method should be taxed.
FAQ
Q: Refunding and order seems to replace the original transaction in Tax Jar, is this expected behavior?
A: This is how TaxJar handles refunds within their API.
Q: We are getting about twice as many API calls as orders, is this to be expected or can anything be done?
A: Yes, it's expected as we have to make rating calls throughout the checkout process as data changes. We have as much caching as possible in place to minimize calls, but it's still going to be greater than a 1:1 between API calls and orders placed.