This blog was last updated on November 23, 2020
While there is no state-wide Alaska sales tax, numerous local cities and boroughs have their own sales tax ordinances. After the South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. decision, several of these local governments established the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission and adopted the Uniform Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Code to have a system to collect sales tax on remote sales in the state. The number of cities and boroughs that are part of the above Commission continues to grow as local governments adopt the uniform code on an ongoing basis. We have highlighted several of the key points below, but remote sellers and marketplace facilitators need to verify the details of each city or borough in which they operate.
Enforcement date:
Varies by specific city or borough, dependent upon when the jurisdiction adopted the Uniform Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Code.
Sales/transactions threshold:
$100,000 or 200 transactions.
Measurement period:
Calendar year.
Included transactions/sales:
All gross sales from goods, property, products, or services rendered within the state of Alaska.
When You Need to Register Once You Meet or Exceed the Threshold:
Within 30 calendar days of the adoption of the Remote Seller Sales Tax Code in the local and/or within 30 calendar days of meeting the threshold.
Summary: Although there is no state-level sales tax in Alaska and no state-wide economic nexus rules, a portion of local governments signed an intergovernmental agreement establishing a system for a streamlined, single-level administration of sales tax collection and remittance. Cities and boroughs that are members of the Commission and have adopted the uniform sales tax code, require remote sellers and marketplace facilitators meeting their thresholds for establishing economic nexus to collect and remit sales tax. The threshold includes the gross sales of goods, property, products, or services rendered within the state of Alaska for the last calendar year.
It is important to note, given the application of sales taxes in Alaska being regulated at the city and borough levels and the fact such regulations can vary local to local, remote sellers and marketplace facilitators must ensure that they are current on such regulations in light of the above work towards uniformity.
Alaska Sales Tax Resources: For more information on Alaska sales tax nexus details, reach out to our team. Check out our real-time interactive state nexus map as well, for the latest on each state.