We have to collect New York sales tax based on the final location of the shipment.  All sales in our Niagara Falls, New York warehouse will be charged the local tax rate.  Shipments to each zip code in New York will be charged at the rate required by the state of New York.

Sales to Native Americans are taxable unless the merchandise is delivered to a reservation.  We cannot allow customers to pick up merchandise from our warehouse and deliver it themselves.  We must either ship it or drop it off ourselves at your cost.  A number of Native Americans have said that they have accounts at Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Home Depot that give them tax-free status.  According to a representative of the New York State Sales Tax Information Center, this is not supposed to happen.  Once Native Americans step off the reservation, unless they are purchasing an automobile, they are no longer considered an Indian for tax purposes and therefore do not have tax exempt status. He said Wal-Mart, etc. are wrong to give them exempt status.

Not all deliveries to reservations are exempt from New York State Sales Tax, only if the recipient has a DTF801: “Certificate of Individual Indian Exemption from State Taxes on Property or Services Delivered on a Reservation.” If they are picking up the goods, it doesn’t matter if they have a DTF801; they have to pay sales tax. The goods must be delivered by us or a courier company. ALSO, the certificate states: “This certificate may not be used to purchase property or services for resale.”  The only way they don’t have to pay sales tax anywhere is if they are an exempt organization and have an ST-119.2 Exempt Organization Certificate or have a DTF-17-A Certificate of Authority and collect sales tax on items for resale.