Reeds Ferry Sheds factory-showroom is located just over the Mass border in tax-free New Hampshire. So why do we promote tax savings during the Massachusetts Tax Holiday if we are in the “no tax” state of New Hampshire? The reason is Massachusetts law requires all out-of-state businesses to charge Mass sales tax if they “knowingly sell a product to a Massachusetts resident”. And of course for us to install a shed for a customer living in Massachusetts we are aware of the buyers place of residence, so we are required to charge the Massachusetts tax.
The word “knowingly” is the key. If you live in Massachusetts and go to Sears in Nashua to buy a TV, if you put the TV in your car Sears will not charge the sales tax. But if the Sears store delivers the TV to your Massachusetts address they’d be required to charge the Massachusetts sales tax because they know where you live. Crazy!
Crazier still, if you live in Massachusetts and put the TV in your car you’re supposed to voluntarily declare the purchase on your state return and pay the sales tax on your own! Of course no one ever does this and Massachusetts ignores it, but they DO make great effort to penalize New Hampshire businesses that don’t collect the sales tax on Massachusetts deliveries. Perhaps the only way to avoid the tax is to strap our shed on the roof of your car and drive it home…
But rather than ruining the roof of your car, a better way to avoid the Massachusetts sales tax is to shop during the Tax Holiday. This year the Tax-Holiday is the weekend of August 16th and 17th. (You can order your shed before the weekend and we execute the actual purchase on the 16th-17th ) Purchases made by Mass residents totaling $2,500 or less aren’t subject to the Massachusetts 6.25% sales tax. And for larger sheds priced above the $2,500 limit Reeds Ferry will reduce the price by $156.25, (which is the maximum 6.25% tax savings on the $2,500 cap). There are additional saving during the Tax Holiday as well. Please ask your Reeds Ferry sales rep.
Frankly Reeds Ferry would prefer to operate like the Sears in Nashua and charge no sales tax to any Massachusetts customer. We’d trust that all our Massachusetts customers would follow the “honor system” and report the purchase on their own. (wink) But the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has proven they know how to audit and collect sales tax from New Hampshire businesses that don’t adhere to their tax code. Nothing in life is more certain than death and taxes… and in Massachusetts you might have a better chance of beating “death”… 😉 -Reeds Ferry Sheds®
