Every state with a sales tax now enforces economic nexus: sell enough into the state and you must collect, even if you have never set foot there. In 2026 the line is still $100,000 in gross sales or 200 transactions in most states — and crossing it without registering is the notice sellers dread.
The Wayfair Rule, Eight Years On
South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018) let states tax remote sellers. By 2026 every SST state has an economic nexus law, typically:
- $100,000 in gross retail sales into the state in the current or prior calendar year, or
- 200 separate transactions into the state (a growing minority has repealed the transaction prong; many still keep it)
Meet either prong and you have nexus on the next sale. Some states measure on a rolling twelve months, others on calendar year; the difference determines whether a strong Q4 pushes you over in January.
Where Sellers Get Tripped
- Gross, not taxable. The $100K counts gross sales, including exempt and wholesale in many states, not just taxable retail. A $110K year with $90K of exempt resale still trips the threshold where gross is the measure.
- Marketplace facilitator sales still count in some states. Even if a marketplace collects on your behalf, the gross can still count toward your own $100K for direct sales.
- 200 transactions is retail-friendly but SaaS-hostile. 200 $15 subscriptions is $3,000 and still nexus in the states that keep the count test.
Keep Your Finances Organized From Day One
Nexus is a trailing threshold — you only know you crossed it by summing sales by state, by day, before the state does.
Beancount.io keeps every sale tagged by ship-to state with a rolling 12-month sum and transaction count, version-controlled and checkable before registration is late. Get started for free and make the next state's notice a filing you already made.
