Stripe Tax for BigCommerce

Learn about the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce.

Use the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce to automatically calculate and collect sales tax, VAT, and GST. The app applies the accurate tax rate for all your transactions in your BigCommerce store.

Stripe Tax pricing is usage-based. Users of the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce pay based on the related setting Stripe Tax API pricing or the selected subscription-based pricing. If you have any questions, contact us.

Install the Stripe Tax app

1. Verify that you or someone on your team is an admin user. Only admin users can install the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce.
2. Open the Stripe Tax app in the BigCommerce marketplace, and click Install > Confirm to install the app.
3. Make sure you set up your Stripe account to use Stripe Apps.
4. Within 10 minutes after installing the app, click Connect Stripe .
5. After you connect your Stripe account, you can configure your tax settings.

Configure your Stripe Tax settings

Complete steps 1 to 4 in the Stripe Tax setup guide. You can skip step 5 because you don’t need to enable tax in your Stripe integration or use the Stripe Tax API.

In the Stripe Dashboard:

1. Set your head office address.
2. Select your preset tax code.
3. Select whether or not prices include tax by default.
4. Add registrations.

Configure your BigCommerce store to use the Stripe Tax app

Next, configure BigCommerce to set up Stripe Tax as a tax service:

1. In your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Settings > Tax .
2. Under Configured tax services , click Edit next to Stripe.
3. Click Test Connection to verify that your app is correctly installed.

Set up the head office address

In your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Settings > Shipping > Edit. Set your shipping origin address, if you haven’t already.

You must update the head office address in the Stripe Dashboard and the origin address in BigCommerce. These settings don’t sync automatically. Tax calculations through the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce always use the BigCommerce origin address, while tax monitoring and tax registration availability use the Stripe head office address.

Configure the countries to use Stripe Tax

In your BigCommerce dashboard, update the Provider targeting to choose the countries where you want to use Stripe Tax.

Set the provider options

In your BigCommerce dashboard, under Provider Options, select Please submit my order data so that I can use solution tax reporting and returns features.

Optional Set up tax codes

Configure the tax treatment for your store

In your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Settings > Tax > Store tax settings. Click Edit and then set the Prices entered with tax to one of the following:

• Yes, I will enter prices inclusive of tax
• No, I will enter prices exclusive of tax

The value that you configure in the BigCommerce dashboard takes precedence over the value configured in the Stripe Dashboard. These values don’t sync automatically between Stripe and BigCommerce.

Optional Configure the tax code for each of your products

Optional Configure the tax exemption status for your customers

Optional Handle tax for refunds, voids, and credits

Optional Disable fallback tax in BigCommerce

Test with Sandbox Mode

You can test your tax configurations for your BigCommerce Stripe Tax app in Sandbox Mode to make sure it’s working properly before going live.

Benefits of Sandbox Mode

• Simulate transactions without affecting real orders or customers.
• Test different tax scenarios and configurations.
• Ensure accuracy and compliance before applying changes to your live store.
• Transition from testing to production without code.

Use Sandbox Mode

1. In your BigCommerce dashboard, go to Apps > My Apps > Stripe Tax .
2. Toggle the Sandbox Mode switch to “On” and connect to your Stripe account.
3. Finish the app installation, connecting to your Stripe sandbox account.
4. Run test transactions to verify your setup.
5. When satisfied with your configuration, click Switch to live to switch to your live account.

Note

Sandbox mode doesn’t process real transactions or apply tax calculations to actual orders. Use the Switch to live button when you’re ready to process real transactions.

Limitations

• The Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce is incompatible with third-party tax providers. You can’t use it on the same store alongside another tax provider. If your Stripe account is configured to use a third-party tax provider, the app returns an error. To use the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce, remove any third-party tax provider from your Stripe account.
• You can’t update your Stripe connection directly. You must reinstall the app to link your BigCommerce Store to a new Stripe account.
• You can’t specify multiple shipping addresses for a single order. Create separate orders for each unique shipping address.
• We provide limited support for currencies with three or more decimals. We recommend converting prices to a supported currency .
• We classify Puerto Rico and the United States Minor Outlying Islands as US territories, not as standalone countries. To prevent missing tax calculations, disable them as shipping destinations in the BigCommerce shipping settings . Customers can select United States as the country and the corresponding territory as the state or province.

Troubleshooting

To troubleshoot the Stripe Tax app for BigCommerce, add a product to the shopping cart, then start the checkout process.

If you don’t see a tax amount displayed, do the following:

• Verify that you installed and connected the Stripe Tax app correctly. Follow the installation steps again.
• Verify that the customer you added is in a market configured in the Provider targeting tax setting.
• Verify that the customer’s address is correct. Check the Dashboard logs for failed tax calculation requests.
• Verify that the customer’s address is located in one of the registered locations. Many businesses miss or skip this step.
• Verify your tax registrations in the Stripe Dashboard.
• Verify that the customer isn’t tax-exempt.
• Verify where you’re calculating tax. Some product tax codes might use the seller’s address instead of the shipping address for tax calculations. Check the Dashboard logs to determine the exact location where your taxes are applied. We recommend that you select a product tax code with a description that closely matches your product. Incorrect tax calculations often occur when selecting a general product tax code instead of a specific one. For example, selecting General - Services when a more specific category applies can result in taxes calculated based on the seller’s location. Selecting the most accurate tax code ensures taxes are calculated correctly.

For more information about why Stripe Tax applies zero tax to some calculations, see Zero tax amounts. If you’re still experiencing issues after following these troubleshooting steps, contact us.