Setting up automatic tax rates in the US

Connect the TaxJar extension to calculate sales tax for your orders.

Last updated January 22, 2025

If you sell in the United States, you can use our TaxJar extension to calculate sales tax automatically at checkout, based on your customer’s shipping or billing address. This extension automatically calculates tax rates for states, counties, cities and zip codes, using TaxJar’s real-time sales tax data.

If you sell outside the US, you can add international tax rates by setting up manual tax rates.

Accessing this feature

TaxJar's automatic tax rates feature is free if your on a Core, Plus, Advanced, Commerce Basic, or Commerce Advanced plan. If you're on either the Basic or Business plan, you can upgrade your website subscription. If you stay on the Basic or Business plan, you'll need to sign up for TaxJar's Professional plan and connect the TaxJar extension through the Extensions panel

Note

This guide is available as a resource, but should not be construed or relied upon in any way as legal or tax accounting advice. Per our Terms of Service, Squarespace doesn't provide advice or recommendations regarding laws applicable to your site or business. If you have questions about collecting taxes, you can consult with a tax advisor.

Tip

Register for our Setting up shipping and taxes for Squarespace Commerce webinar where we’ll show you how to set up tax rates and add shipping and pickup options for physical products.

Limitations

  • You'll need to be located in the United States and sell in the US to use this feature. If you sell outside the US, you can set manual tax rates for international orders.
  • It’s not possible to add product tax categories to member sites subscriptions, so these subscriptions are taxed at the standard sales tax rate.
  • It's not possible to exempt certain customers from paying sales tax.
  • It's not possible to create tax rules that apply to specific products. Instead, you can add product tax categories to charge sales tax based on the product category. Available categories and their sales tax rates are provided by TaxJar's realtime sales tax data, and can't be edited.
  • Subscription products renew at the same tax rate used in the initial order, even if the standard sales tax rate changes over time.
  • Our TaxJar extension only includes the automatic tax rates feature, which calculates accurate sale tax on orders at checkout. For more TaxJar features, including economic nexus monitoring, reporting, and filing, upgrade to TaxJar's Professional plan.

Step 1 - Sign up for your TaxJar account

You’ll need to connect the TaxJar extension to your site and sign up for a TaxJar account before you can enable automatic tax rates. Also, ensure you add your business information to your TaxJar Business profile.

Note

If you signed up for TaxJar directly through their website and TaxJar shows you're on a trial, go to Why is my TaxJar plan on a trial? for next steps.

How you connect your TaxJar account depends on which Squarespace plan your site is on. Click your plan below to review how to connect:

If you have a Squarespace Business plan, you'll need to sign up for TaxJar's paid Professional Plan, then connect the extension through your site's Extensions panel.

  1. Sign up for TaxJar's Professional Plan. If you already have a paid Professional plan, you can skip this step. 
  2. Return to your Squarespace site and open the Extensions panel.
  3. Search for "TaxJar" and connect the extension.
  4. In the TaxJar window that appears, click Create Account.
    • If you have an existing TaxJar Professional account, you'll still enter your information, then click Create Account.
  5. A Try signing in link appears at the top of the page. Click the link, then log in with your TaxJar account information.
  6. After you log into your new TaxJar account, in the upper right-hand corner, click your email address. From the drop-down menu, select Business profile.
  7. Enter your business information in the fields and click Save information.

If you have a Squarespace Business plan, you'll need to sign up for TaxJar's paid Professional Plan, then connect the extension through your site's Extensions panel.

  1. Sign up for TaxJar's Professional Plan. If you already have a paid Professional plan, you can skip this step. 
  2. Return to your Squarespace site and open the Extensions panel.
  3. Search for "TaxJar" and connect the extension.
  4. In the TaxJar window that appears, click Create Account.
    • If you have an existing TaxJar Professional account, you'll still enter your information, then click Create Account.
  5. A Try signing in link appears at the top of the page. Click the link, then log in with your TaxJar account information.
  6. After you log into your new TaxJar account, in the upper right-hand corner, click your email address. From the drop-down menu, select Business profile.
  7. Enter your business information in the fields and click Save information.

Step 2 - Add your business locations in TaxJar

After creating your TaxJar account and entering your Business profile information, add the registered states where you’ll charge sales tax. Learn more about the states where you have business locations, also called "nexus."

  1. Click Add State Registrations.
  2. Under Nexus states, select a state from the State drop-down menu and enter your information in the rest of the fields on the page.
  3. Check Enable TaxJar's API to calculate sales tax for this state.
  4. Click Save information.
  5. Click Add state if you'd like to add more states. Repeat these steps for each state where you'll charge sales tax.

After you connect TaxJar and add state registrations, the setup is complete. Your site automatically calculates sales tax at checkout on all orders from states you added in TaxJar, including specific rates for counties or postal regions. Ensure you add all states where you do business.

Any existing US tax rates you manually created are disabled. To use the original tax rates you set up, disable automatic rates.

Step 3 - Add product tax categories in Squarespace (optional)

Product tax categories let you charge category-specific taxes during checkout. After you sign up for TaxJar and add business locations, you can return to your Squarespace site and add tax categories to your products when editing your product details.

Keep in mind:

  • You can only add one tax category to each product in your store.
  • If you don’t add product tax categories, all of your products are taxed at the standard sales tax rate, based on your business locations and registered states.
  • Squarespace uses categories provided by TaxJar. You may not always find tax categories that correspond exactly with the kinds of products you sell. If you're not sure which category to use for a specific product, we recommend consulting with your tax advisor to confirm the appropriate tax codes for your business.

To learn more about product tax categories, visit TaxJar.

How sales tax is calculated at checkout

When a customer checks out, the sales tax they're charged appears after entering their:

The order total updates to reflect the tax rate for their location.

Disable automatic rates

To disable automatic rates:

  1. Open the Taxes panel.
  2. Click Disconnect TaxJar.
  3. Click Disconnect.

All tax rates you added before switching to automatic rates are turned back on.

FAQ

Why is there an "incomplete setup" warning?

An Incomplete setup warning will display if you connected TaxJar but didn't register states where you will charge sales tax. When this message displays, it means your site isn't automatically charging sales tax at checkout. To resolve the issue, click Go to TaxJar and add your business locations.

Where should I collect sales tax?

You should collect sales tax in states where you have business locations, also called nexus. This includes states where you have a physical location, and possibly other states where you make sales, depending on the local laws. To learn more, contact a tax professional. You might also find TaxJar’s documentation helpful.

Where does the tax data come from?

Your store calculates sales tax automatically using TaxJar’s real-time sales tax data. If you have questions about the tax rates your store is charging, contact TaxJar.

Why didn’t my store charge sales tax?

Your store won’t charge sales tax after you set up automatic rates if: 

  • You didn't complete the TaxJar connection process. Ensure the taxes panel displays a green Connected message beside TaxJar. If an Incomplete setup message displays, add your business locations in TaxJar to complete the process.
  • An order is outside the United States and you haven’t set up international tax rates.
  • An order is in a US state for which you haven’t enabled nexus in your TaxJar state settings.
  • An order contains products with applied tax categories that are exempt at the order’s shipping or billing address.

I disconnected TaxJar. Why are some customers still being charged tax?

Tax rates set up through TaxJar may continue being added to orders, even after you disconnect your TaxJar extension. This happens for customers who signed up for recurring subscription products or memberships. The amount your customer pays remains the same even after you disconnect TaxJar. Their total is based on their initial order, which includes the price of the product plus any taxes.

This doesn't happen with one-time orders. If your customer wants to continue their subscription, but doesn't want to continue paying the tax rate:

  1. You can cancel their subscription or membership fee. Your customer can also cancel their subscription or membership fee.
  2. Ask your customer to sign up again for their subscription or membership. Their new charges won't include taxes.

Where can I learn more about charging sales tax?

The best way to learn about your sales tax obligation is to consult with a tax advisor who understands your business. These TaxJar resources may also be helpful as an introduction:

Why is my TaxJar plan on a trial? My TaxJar plan should be free.

If your Squarespace website plan supports free automatic tax calculations and your TaxJar account shows your trial ending soon, this means you signed up for TaxJar directly through TaxJar's site. For help getting moved to the free TaxJar plan, contact TaxJar.

Can I connect more than one Squarespace site to my TaxJar account?

No. You can connect only one Squarespace site to your TaxJar account. To connect another Squarespace site to TaxJar, you'll need to create a second TaxJar account, using a different email address.

I'm in the United States. Why doesn't setting up automatic tax rates appear?

If you're in the US and the panel to set up automatic tax rates doesn't appear, this might be caused by VPN software on your computer. Using an IP address outside the US hides this tax feature, because it's only available in the US. If you're using a VPN, disable it, then connect to your internet service provider using their IP address.

Who do I contact for support?

For help enabling this extension or setting up your online store, contact us. You can also give feedback about the extension.

For questions about sales tax, rate calculation, or changing your TaxJar settings, contact TaxJar.

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Setting up automatic tax rates in the US