Retail | Tax FAQ

Tax FAQ

Please consult with your Tax Professionals when configuring BLAZE to your specific needs.

*** Updated Jan. 2023

 

Q: If we're only selling adult-use / recreational, can the tax option be kept on "regular?"
A: Yes, but you will lose some of the options that are available only through the "complex" option. 

Q: Is the Non-Cannabis tax tab for general sales tax?
A: Non-cannabis taxes apply specifically to non-cannabis items. Lighters, merch, rolling papers, or any other non-cannabis type product would be charged the tax rates set up in the Non-Cannabis tab. This tax rate would be the normal sales tax applied to non-cannabis items. To make a non-cannabis product, select the product's category to be a category that has cannabis type of "non-cannabis" in the product profile (Inventory > All > Click a product > "Category").  The category that you choose should be one that has Non-Cannabis selected as the Category Type (Inventory > Manage Categories).

 

Q:  How does the Compounding feature work when it is enabled?

A: 

  • City - Compound = Yes does not do anything, there are no taxes to compound on top of.
  • County - Compound Yes = It will compound on top of City and any other Tax rates entered in State or Fed will Compound onto City as well.
  • State - Compound Yes = it will compound on the next tax rate above it (county or if no rate in county then city) and Federal will also be compounded on these rates as well.
  • Federal - Compound Yes = it will compound on the next tax rate above it (State  or if no rate for state then, county or if no rate in county, then city)

Q: How does BLAZE know when to apply tax? Is this an inventory / product setup?
A: The combination of Category and Taxes tab of that specific product, and Consumer Type of the member will determine what taxes are set.

  • When creating a new product, or editing an existing product, the Category can be set, this is what determines which tax rates will apply: non-cannabis or cannabis taxes. If the Category is set to Non-Cannabis, non-cannabis taxes will apply, if set to Cannabis, cannabis rates will apply.
  • If you look into a product's profile, you will find a Taxes tab (Inventory > All > Click a product > Taxes tab); this will show you different options where you can set up individual taxes for that product or set it to "Inherit Taxes From Shop".
  • The Consumer Type determines which tax rates apply for cannabis products, if complex taxes are set. If regular taxes are set, the Consumer Type will not factor in when calculating taxes. 

Q: How does BLAZE set tax rates based on the Member's end delivery location?
A: In order for Delivery Tax Rates to apply properly, they must have corresponding regions associated with them (Global Settings > Company Settings > Regions). These regions need to be created in BLAZE and associated with the affiliated zipcodes. When a member places an order and enters an affiliated zipcode, BLAZE will look at the delivery tax rates for that specific order.

NOTE: If a user places an order OUTSIDE of the regions set, it will apply the general tax rates set up in the Tax Option page.

Q: When looking at the Delivery Tax Options, is that where I set the sales tax rate?
A: Click view, then scroll to the bottom of the page. That is where you would set & see the rates for that region / zipcode(s).

Q: How much tax will the customer be charged if they order from _____ region?
A: Create a Member profile (Use the name "Testing" or something obvious that it's not a real member), set their address to the zipcode you want to test out, then add them to the queue and fill out their order to view the taxes set. When done testing with the order, go ahead and remove it from the queue and select the reason "Testing."

NOTE: If a user places an order OUTSIDE of the regions set, it will apply the general tax rates set up in the Tax Option page.

Q: Does BLAZE tax delivery fees? 
A: By default, BLAZE does not tax delivery fees. However, delivery fees can easily be taxed in BLAZE with a few simple steps:

  1. Ensure Delivery Fees are set up correctly (Global Settings > Current Shop Settings > Fee Minimums > Delivery).
  2. Ensure tax option is set to complex (Global Settings > Current Shop Settings > Tax Options > "Tax Option").
  3. For each specified consumer type, enable the "Tax Delivery Fee" setting for each applicable tax rate (City, County, State, or Federal) that should include the delivery fee in the tax rate calculation. 
  1. NOTE: The tax order MUST be "Post-Tax" in order for the "Tax Delivery Fee" setting to be available.

***Always consult a Professional / CPA / Attorney, before setting / changing your taxes ***

BLAZE® is a complex and sophisticated SaaS platform that provides a series of individual tax settings for each client customer, subject to the advice of their tax advisor professional that enables the client customer to comply with local, state, and national governmental tax schemes. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR TAX SETTINGS. TAX RATES, NAMING CONVENTIONS AND THE ORDER OF OPERATION FOR THOSE RATES VARY BY JURISDICTION AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. YOU AND YOUR TAX PROFESSIONAL ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING, UPDATING, AND APPLYING THE SPECIFIC TAX SETTINGS, RATES AND THE ORDER OF OPERATION FOR YOUR SERVICE AREA(S). THE COLLECTION, RETENTION, AND PAYMENT OF APPLICABLE TAX LIABILITIES TO APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES IS YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY. BLAZE® MAKES NO WARRANTY NOR REPRESENTATION THE TAX SETTINGS, RATES AND THE ORDER OF OPERATION YOU SELECT ARE APPROPRIATE AND CORRECT. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE BLAZE® SHALL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY FOR UNDER OR OVERCOLLECTION OF YOUR TAX LIABILITIES BASED UPON THE SETTINGS YOU SELECT.