Do you want to save some bucks on sales tax when purchasing jewelry from James Allen?
You have come to the perfect place!
James Allen is a well known online diamond jewelry store.
Many online jewelry stores allow consumers to buy diamonds directly from the shop. James Allen gives the same option that enables people to save money as opposed to buying from a brick and mortar store.
Purchasing jewelry online allows you to save money and get good quality pieces too.
As much as James Allen offers you the opportunity to save money, you will still be required to pay sales tax on the items that you order. This online store has a calculator that you can use to know how much money you will be charged for sales tax.
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Different countries and states have different sales taxes and duties. The state or country you are in will determine whether you should pay the taxes or not.
In this article, we shall look at various situations that will require you to pay taxes for the James Allen jewelry you order. James Allen charges sales tax to buyers from most of the states, although in some instances they may allow a minimal or zero tax paid.
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James Allen Sales Tax: Is it There?
Sales taxes in America are quite complicated, different states have different tax duties requirements. Only four states in America do not have a sales tax obligation regulation.
Paying sales tax for any James Allen diamonds depends on the state you come from. If you come from a state that does not have a sales tax, then this online jewelry store will not charge any taxes on the rings, necklaces, bands, or pendants that you order.
Delaware, New Hampshire, Montana, and Oregon are the only four states that do not have sales taxes. If you are lucky enough to be coming from any of these states, James Allen will not add any amount to your jewelry order.
States Where James Allen Sales Tax Applies
This can become a little complicated if you reside in a state that has a sales tax. Several state laws insist on businesses that are licensed to operate in that state to pay sales tax. This means that if you are a resident of any of the states where James Allen is licensed, you will pay sales tax. James Allen is licensed in a majority of states in America but has brick and mortar shops in two states only.
In short, James Allen is licensed to operate in and charges sales tax o 34 states. These include;
Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska, Indiana, Utah, Massachusetts, Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Connecticut, Mississippi, Illinois, District of Columbia, California, Nevada, Maine, Colorado, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, New Jersey, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and Washington.
The sales tax is different in all these states. For example, Colorado charges sales tax at 2.9% while California’s is 7.25%.
Calculating Sales Tax On James Allen Jewelry Pieces
Sales tax on jewelry from James Allen is calculated based on the state to which you intend to ship the jewelry. Calculating the amount to pay is easy, just look up the rate charged at your state and multiply that by the cost of all the jewelry you have ordered.
Let’s take the 7.25% rate in California as earlier stated. Let’s say the jewelry you have ordered costs $5,000 and you are shipping them to California. Your sales tax for the order will be $3625.
To make things easy for you, James Allen calculates this automatically and adds it to your order immediately you include your address.
Can You Bypass James Allen Sales Tax on Jewelry?
The easiest way to bypass the sales tax payment if you live in America is to ship your order to one of the states where James Allen is not licensed. These are the states where the company is not obliged to charge any tax. It is worth noting that James Allen does not charge sales tax in most states.
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There is a list of states listed on the James Allen website where they do not charge sales duty. The website lists 16 states where you will not pay any amount in the name of taxes, not to mention some of these states have a sales tax.
Shipping Jewelry to States With Low Sales Tax Rates
Wait a minute, this is accepted by law. Why? The sales tax is being calculated depending on the state to which the order is being shipped, not the real state where the buyer lives. It is the same thing as buying something from a town nearby. You will pay the tax charged in that state even if you are not a resident.
This sounds easy in theory, but it is difficult practically. To start with, you must have a place located in that state in mind where you can ship your order.
It is easy if you have a member of your family or friend in that state. The order can be shipped to them and they, in turn, send it to you. Although it is somewhat complicated, it saves you a lot of money especially if you have ordered expensive jewelry.
However, you need to be careful about the name listed on your order. If your name is listed, the signature and last name may not match during delivery. This means the package may be sent back to James Allen.
James Allen does not use PO Box to ship jewelry, instead, they use FedEx for all its domestic orders. FedEx does not deliver orders to PO box addresses. Any PO box address you try to list on the James Allen website will be rejected.
What If You Are Shipping Abroad?
Shipping James Allen jewelry to another country attracts payment in terms of import duty. Unfortunately, you cannot escape this. Legally, you must pay import duty. Any attempt to try and avoid import duty will end up costing you more and in the extreme get you into trouble with the customs department.
James Allen works hand in hand with USPS and FedEx to ship diamond jewelry. Whichever courier that ships your order, will contact and charge you ant taxes that you owe. Since it is the courier that charges the duties, you have no way of escaping the payment.
The only way to make it a little easier is to ship your order to a country that charges a low import duty and they have the jewelry shipped to you later. However, there are disadvantages: the order may get lost while on transit, it may cost more or you may end up on the wrong side of customs.
James Allen Sales Tax on Jewelry
Jewelry costs a lot of money, especially if you are buying those made from precious metals. You naturally would like to save up some money. There is good news, there are ways you can escape paying sales tax when buying diamonds from James Allen.
Items ordered from a majority of the states in the US attract a sales tax but you can avoid paying this amount by changing your order’s address. The easiest way is to put an address of a state near you whose tax rate is low. In this case, you will pay the tax rate of the state to which your order is being shipped and not for the state where you stay. Alternatively, you can choose one from the 16 states where zero tax is collected by James Allen.
What if you are a resident of the 34 states where James Allen charges sales tax, with no option of shipping your order in a different state? Is there still a way for you to avoid paying taxes? Yes, there is! You can use one of the small online jewelry sellers who do not have business licenses. Such stores will ship for you the diamonds without additional amounts in the name of taxes.
Unfortunately, if you are shipping your order overseas, there is no way of getting out of the import taxes. This is because the shipping courier has the sole responsibility of charging the taxes. The only way to save money with international shipments is to ship to a country with lower import duty.
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