Comments on: Do you actively avoid sales tax?

By: Now that’s a good vacuum!

Now that’s a good vacuum! — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 19:40:38 +0000

[...] we’d buy from an online retailer, thereby avoiding sales tax. Together with cash back, we’d save $15-20 over what we’d pay in [...]

By: H Lee D

H Lee D — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:27:56 +0000

FYI — in AZ (where I also am!), the state sales tax is 6.6% (don’t remember, don’t really care), Maricopa county adds on a bit, and the municipalities add on the rest. So if you’re spending a good deal of cash (i.e. buying electronics or a car or something), you might want to find out what neighboring town’s sales tax is and see if it’s lower than where you are. Here is a list of taxes by city in Maricopa County: http://phoenix.about.com/od/govtoff/a/salestax.htm

You’d need to find a relevant list if you’re not in Maricopa County, of course.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 23:36:06 +0000

Hey Abigail,

You could do what I do with clothes shopping: go to the brick & mortar store, find stuff you like, write down all the details (brand, size, colour, style number if you can find it), then leave the store without buying anything and look for that item online. I save a considerable amount off the retail price that way — it stands to reason you could tweak it so you're saving the sales tax too. The trouble, of course, is giving up instant gratification.

By: Holly

Holly — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:46:13 +0000

I live in a state that has no sales tax, so it's not really an issue. I didn't realize that people could order things from the internet tax-free…when I order online, I just assume that since my billing address indicates a tax-free state, I am not charged sales tax.

By: Abigail

Abigail — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:27:46 +0000

Jerry,

We moved down to Arizona, so that’s not an option anymore. Also, it’s not too much savings if you keep making a four-hour drive. Still, on big stuff it would have made sense, for sure.