A Note About Sales Taxes

Updated January 9, 2025.

Ecommerce sales tax policies can be confusing! 

In this post we'll explain how US state sales taxes and international VAT/GST/customs duties are handled on our online stores.

As of this update in 2025, Walnut Studiolo does not need to collect any US State sales taxes on its website. This is because it does not meet the minimum economic nexus threshold (as a small/micro business), according to Avalara. In addition, our state of residence/business, Oregon, has no sales tax. [Source: Avalara]

However, sales of Walnut Studiolo products on marketplaces like Etsy or Houzz are subject to sales tax. These marketplaces are responsible for charging, collecting, and disbursing the sales tax, and we have no role in the process. The marketplace charges, collects, and remits the taxes independently of us.

We re-assess the economic nexus threshold and update this post annually.

The US has no federal sales tax. However, we ship to over 200 countries and many do have a national-level or federation-level sales tax, usually called the VAT (Value Added Tax) or the GST (Goods & Services Tax). In addition, many countries charge additional duties and tariffs on particular products at different rates.

Countries with a VAT/GST or other import taxes /custom excises collect these taxes directly from the recipient prior to delivering packages. This may be done at the post office or via the third-party carrier who handles the transactions on both our behalfs, such as DHL Express. This includes some of our more popular destinations, including Canada, Australia, member countries of the EU, and the UK, although this is not a comprehensive list.

As a micro-business who is shipping to so many countries with several categories of products, and the majority of its sales in the US, Walnut Studiolo does not have the expertise to assess, collect, and remit international taxes in advance.

In practice, that means that when a customer's package arrives at their local post office, the country may charge additional taxes that must be paid prior to delivery. This both slows down delivery and can be an unwelcome surprise. On our website, we provide a link to a duty calculator and HTS tariff codes for customers to estimate the cost in advance.

However, some countries (EU, UK) have passed laws requiring marketplaces with an economic threshold to collect and remit VAT / GST in advance. Sales of Walnut Studiolo products on marketplaces like Etsy have the tax collected up-front, which speeds up delivery and prevents any surprise tax bills. Policies are always changing: this webpage collates Etsy's international tax collection policies. Thus, customers who would like to pre-pay or pre-calculate VAT/GST are recommended to purchase on our Etsy store. Note that Etsy may not be collecting all customs duties and import taxes.

Please note that there are other considerations in shipping internationally. In 2025, we are closely watching the implementation of the new EU GPSR product safety regulations, which may prevent Walnut Studiolo from shipping to Europe in the future.