Supply Lens

eBay tax and inventory

Lesson 14 of 30 8 min read

Handle orders where eBay sends no tax, orders where eBay collects the tax itself, and choose between the current and legacy stock APIs.

Tax is where eBay orders go wrong. Some orders arrive with no tax information at all. Others include tax that eBay collected and paid to a tax authority on the seller's behalf, such as IOSS VAT for EU buyers or US state sales tax. Those two cases need opposite handling, and the eBay order Configuration has a setting for each.

By the end of this lesson you'll be able to choose the right tax settings for a seller's mix of marketplaces, and configure eBay stock updates.

Case 1: eBay sends no tax

calculateTaxIfNotProvidedWhen on, tax is calculated when the eBay order has no tax information, so every order has a tax component.
marketplaceTaxRatesThe rates used for that calculation. Each rule has a listingMarketplaceId, a purchaseMarketplaceId (either can be blank to match any) and a taxRate such as 0.20 for 20%.

Rules are matched in order, and the most specific match wins: a rule with both the listing and purchase marketplace set takes priority over one with only one set.

listingMarketplaceIdpurchaseMarketplaceIdtaxRateMatches
EBAY_GBEBAY_GB0.20Listed and bought on eBay UK
EBAY_GB(blank)0.20Listed on eBay UK, bought anywhere
(blank)(blank)0.00Everything else

Good to know

The guide says rules are "matched in order" and also that the most specific match takes priority. To stay safe, list your most specific rules first so both readings give the same answer.

Case 2: eBay collected the tax itself

When eBay collects tax and pays it to the authority (IOSS VAT for EU buyers, US state sales tax), it adds that tax on top of the item price and sends no rate for it.

excludeEBayCollectedTaxDefault false. When on, such an order is imported tax-exclusive and zero rated: lines and delivery carry net amounts with no tax, and the payable total leaves out eBay's tax. When off, the order carries eBay's tax amounts against tax-inclusive prices.

Orders where eBay collected no tax are unaffected either way, and follow calculateTaxIfNotProvided.

Rendering diagram...

Why exclude eBay-collected tax?

The seller never receives or pays that tax; eBay does. Importing it as the seller's own tax can overstate the VAT the seller owes. Agree the treatment with the seller's accountant, then set excludeEBayCollectedTax to match.

Inventory

useLegacySystemSend stock using eBay's legacy API rather than the current inventory API, for compatibility with some eBay setups or during migration.
legacySystemAllowMultipleItemsPerSkuWith the legacy system, allow several eBay listings to share one SKU. No effect unless useLegacySystem is on.

Use the current inventory API unless the seller's listings were created in a way that needs the legacy one. If one SKU appears on several listings (variants or duplicate listings), you'll need the legacy system with legacySystemAllowMultipleItemsPerSku on.

Shipments

The eBay Shipment Configuration has no settings beyond the shared setupDate.

Hilltop Coffee's EU buyers

Hilltop Coffee is VAT registered in the UK and sells to EU buyers through eBay, where eBay collects IOSS VAT.

  • excludeEBayCollectedTax is turned on after the accountant confirms that IOSS VAT isn't Hilltop's to account for. EU orders now arrive net and zero rated.
  • Some UK orders arrive with no tax, so calculateTaxIfNotProvided is on with a rule for EBAY_GB/EBAY_GB at 0.20 listed first, and a catch-all rule after it.
  • Hilltop's older listings share SKUs across several listings, so stock uses useLegacySystem with legacySystemAllowMultipleItemsPerSku.

Recap

  • calculateTaxIfNotProvided with marketplaceTaxRates fills in tax that eBay didn't send.
  • Specific marketplace rules beat general ones; list them first.
  • excludeEBayCollectedTax imports eBay-collected tax orders net and zero rated.
  • Use the legacy stock API only when needed, for example several listings per SKU.
  • Agree tax treatment with the seller's accountant before go-live.

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