What is sales tax nexus, briefly
Nexus is the legal connection between your business and a state that creates an obligation to register for, collect, and remit sales tax. Two main flavors:
- Economic nexus — triggered by sales activity into a state, regardless of physical presence. The thresholds in this guide are economic nexus thresholds.
- Physical nexus — triggered by inventory storage, employees, contractors, real or personal property, or other in-state activity. FBA inventory is the most common physical nexus trigger for ecommerce sellers.
If you cross the economic nexus threshold in a state, you generally need to register, collect tax on taxable sales, and file returns. The specific rules vary considerably state-to-state — that's what this guide is for.
How to read the table
Five things to understand before scanning the data:
Threshold
The dollar amount and/or transaction count that triggers a registration obligation. Most states are OR (either trigger). Two states — Connecticut and New York — use AND (both required). That distinction matters and gets misread frequently.
Measurement period
The time window over which sales are counted toward the threshold. Most states use calendar year (current, previous, or both). A few use rolling 12-month windows. Some use unique periods — Connecticut, for example, measures the 12-month period ending September 30.
Includable sales
Which sales count toward the threshold:
- Gross — all sales including resale and exempt
- Retail — excludes sales for resale
- Taxable — excludes any nontaxable sales for any reason
Marketplace sales (Mktp.)
Whether sales made through marketplace facilitators (Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, Etsy, eBay) count toward the seller's individual threshold. Yes means those sales count even when the marketplace collects tax. No means they don't count toward the seller's threshold. This is the single most commonly misunderstood rule and is why some FBA sellers register too late.
Registration timing
When the obligation kicks in after you cross the threshold. Some states give you 30+ days, others say next transaction, and a handful have unusual lag periods (Massachusetts has a built-in two-month delay).
Five gotchas worth knowing up front
State-by-state nexus thresholds
Listed alphabetically. All 45 U.S. states with statewide sales tax, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Notes column flags state-specific items worth knowing — and gotchas in red.
| State | Threshold | Measurement Period | Includes | Mktp. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $250,000 | Previous calendar year | Retail | No | Higher threshold than most states; also requires specified in-state activities. |
| Alaska | $100,000 | Current or previous calendar year | Gross | Yes | No statewide sales tax — applies only to local jurisdictions that have adopted the Remote Seller Sales Tax Code. Transaction threshold removed effective 1/1/2025. |
| Arizona | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | No | TPT (Transaction Privilege Tax) license required, not a typical sales tax permit. |
| Arkansas | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Taxable | No | Still uses dual-trigger; transactions count even with low revenue. |
| California | $500,000 | Preceding or current calendar year | Gross (TPP) | Yes | Higher threshold ($500K). Marketplace sales count toward seller's threshold even when marketplace facilitator collects. |
| Colorado | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Retail | No | Home-rule jurisdictions may have separate registration requirements beyond the state. |
| Connecticut ⚠ | $100,000 AND 200 transactions | 12-month period ending Sept 30 | Retail | Yes | Dual-trigger (AND, not OR) — must meet BOTH thresholds. Unique measurement window ending 9/30. |
| District of Columbia | $100,000 OR 200 retail sales | Previous or current calendar year | Retail | Yes | Standard threshold structure. |
| Florida | $100,000 | Previous calendar year | Taxable | No | Late adopter — economic nexus only effective 7/1/2021. Uses prior-year measurement only (not current year). |
| Georgia | $100,000 OR 200 sales | Previous or current calendar year | Retail (TPP, taxable or exempt) | No | Still uses dual-trigger; includes exempt sales of TPP toward threshold. |
| Hawaii | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Current or immediately preceding calendar year | Gross | Yes | General Excise Tax (GET), not technically a sales tax — different mechanics. |
| Idaho | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Standard threshold. |
| Illinois | $100,000 | Preceding 12-month period | Retail | No | Transaction threshold removed effective 1/1/2026 — recent change. Rolling 12-month measurement. |
| Indiana | $100,000 | Calendar year of sale or preceding calendar year | Gross | No | Transaction threshold removed effective 1/1/2024. |
| Iowa | $100,000 | Current or immediately preceding calendar year | Gross | Yes | Transaction threshold removed effective 5/3/2019. |
| Kansas | $100,000 | Current or immediately preceding calendar year | Gross (sellers) | Yes | Late adopter — formal economic nexus effective 7/1/2021. Marketplace facilitators use taxable sales (different basis). |
| Kentucky | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Transaction threshold scheduled for removal effective 8/1/2026 — verify before relying on 200-transaction threshold. |
| Louisiana | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross / Retail* | Yes | Gross sales for remote sellers; Retail sales for marketplace facilitators (effective 8/1/2023). Transaction threshold removed 8/1/2023. Parish-level filing complexity in addition to state. |
| Maine | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | No | Transaction threshold removed effective 1/1/2022. Don't include marketplace sales on returns if marketplace facilitator reported. |
| Maryland | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Standard dual-trigger structure. |
| Massachusetts | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | No | Unusually long registration delay — two-month lag built in. |
| Michigan | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous calendar year | Gross | Yes | Uses prior-year-only measurement (not current year). |
| Minnesota | $100,000 OR 200 retail sales | 12-month period ending last day of most recent quarter | Retail | Yes | Rolling 12-month window measured at quarter-end. |
| Mississippi | More than $250,000 | Prior 12-month period | Gross | No | Higher threshold ($250K). No transaction threshold. |
| Missouri | $100,000 | Previous 12 months, reviewed quarterly | Taxable (TPP, includes marketplace) | Yes | Late adopter — economic nexus only effective 1/1/2023. Quarterly review cadence. |
| Nebraska | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Retail | Yes | Standard dual-trigger. |
| Nevada | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Retail | Yes | Standard dual-trigger. |
| New Jersey | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Strict — collection required from first taxable sale after threshold. |
| New Mexico | $100,000 | Previous calendar year | Taxable | No | Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), not strictly sales tax. Prior-year-only measurement. |
| New York ⚠ | $500,000 AND 100 transactions | Immediately preceding 4 sales tax quarters | Gross (TPP) | Yes | DUAL-TRIGGER (AND) — must meet BOTH the $500K AND 100-transaction thresholds. Easy to misread as OR. |
| North Carolina | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Transaction threshold removed effective 7/1/2024. |
| North Dakota | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Taxable | No | Transaction threshold removed effective 12/31/2018. |
| Ohio | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Retail | Yes | Standard dual-trigger; very fast registration trigger. |
| Oklahoma | $100,000 (TPP aggregate) | Preceding or current calendar year | Taxable | No | Standard threshold. TPP only. |
| Pennsylvania ⚠ | $100,000 | Prior calendar year | Gross (all channels) | Yes | Includes ALL sales channels in threshold — including marketplace sales already collected by facilitator. Common gotcha. |
| Puerto Rico | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Seller's accounting/fiscal year | Gross | No | Uses seller's fiscal year, not calendar year. |
| Rhode Island | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Immediately preceding calendar year | Gross | Yes | Prior-year-only measurement. |
| South Carolina | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Standard threshold. |
| South Dakota | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Transaction threshold removed effective 7/1/2023. The original Wayfair state. |
| Tennessee | $100,000 | Previous 12-month period | Retail | No | Rolling 12-month measurement, not calendar year. Lowered from $500K to $100K effective 10/1/2020. |
| Texas ⚠ | $500,000 | Preceding 12 calendar months | Gross (taxable, nontaxable, exempt) | Yes | Threshold counts ALL revenue — taxable, nontaxable, AND exempt. Marketplace sales count toward seller's threshold even when marketplace collects. Resale/wholesale included. |
| Utah | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | No | Transaction threshold removed effective 7/1/2025. |
| Vermont | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Prior 4 calendar quarters | Gross | Yes | Rolling 4-quarter measurement. |
| Virginia | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Previous or current calendar year | Retail | No | Standard dual-trigger. |
| Washington ⚠ | $100,000 | Current or preceding calendar year | Gross (since 1/1/2020) | Yes | Marketplace sales count toward seller's threshold even when marketplace collects. Threshold based on gross income, not just retail. |
| West Virginia | $100,000 OR 200 transactions | Preceding or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Standard dual-trigger. |
| Wisconsin | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | Yes | Transaction threshold removed effective 2/20/2021. If ALL sales are through a collecting marketplace, individual seller need not register. |
| Wyoming | $100,000 | Previous or current calendar year | Gross | No | Transaction threshold removed effective 7/1/2024. |
States without statewide sales tax
Five states do not impose a statewide sales tax. They generally require no remote-seller registration. Each has caveats worth knowing.
New Hampshire. No statewide sales tax.
Oregon. No statewide sales tax.
Montana. No statewide sales tax. Some resort areas have local lodging/sales taxes that generally don't apply to remote sellers.
Alaska. No statewide sales tax, but local jurisdictions that have adopted the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Code may impose obligations. Treated as a regular state in the main table for this reason.
Delaware. No statewide sales tax. Imposes a Gross Receipts Tax on businesses with physical nexus, but no economic nexus regime for remote sellers.
Things this guide does not cover
This is a quick reference, not a complete compliance treatise. Several things are intentionally out of scope:
- Physical nexus rules. Inventory, employees, and property nexus follow separate and often more punishing rules. FBA inventory location is the most common physical nexus issue for ecommerce sellers.
- Local jurisdiction rules in home-rule states. Colorado, Louisiana, Alabama, and Alaska all have meaningful local-level rules layered on top of state thresholds.
- Income tax nexus. Different framework, different thresholds, different rules.
- Voluntary disclosure programs. When a seller has prior-period exposure, registering forward without addressing the prior periods can sometimes create problems. Voluntary disclosure is a separate process worth considering.
- Specific product taxability. What's taxable varies dramatically by state — clothing, food, digital goods, services, SaaS all have state-specific rules.
How current is this guide
Threshold data was compiled from the Sales Tax Institute's Economic Nexus State-by-State Chart (current as of May 2026), cross-referenced with the relevant state Departments of Revenue.
Three states have changes either recently effective or scheduled in 2026 worth confirming directly with the state before relying on this for a registration decision: Illinois (200-transaction threshold removed 1/1/2026), Kentucky (200-transaction threshold scheduled for removal 8/1/2026), and Utah (200-transaction threshold removed 7/1/2025). Other states change rules on shorter notice than this page is updated.
For any specific registration decision, the relevant state Department of Revenue is the authoritative source — and the only one that controls in a dispute.