Reply
Honored Contributor
Posts: 69,382
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

@SeaMaiden.  You may need to check your state law.  We are not charged tax on groceries in NM, UNLESS  the groceries are delivered.  Due to some quirk in the law, people who use Instacart are charged an extra 8% tax in addition to all the other fees and tips.  Another reason to not use them.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
Honored Contributor
Posts: 23,835
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.


@furbabylover wrote:

@SeaMaiden  You have done a real, substantial public service by posting this information. I have been paying sales tax to Walmart not even realizing that they do not have the right to do it in my state- which I just learned by checking my state's website that they don't. First, You and I both know customer service is NOT going to do anything about relaying your message. The only way to do something is to contact their corporate lawyers, which is almost impossible. Perhaps going to their Facebook page and posting your experience will catch the attention of their moderators. Usually when you nail a company on Facebook they respond quickly. Thank you again for posting your experience!


@furbabylover     I did email corporate office and told them my experience... I will get back with you and let you know what they say about it.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 23,835
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.


@suzyQ3 wrote:

@SeaMaiden wrote:

 I placed an order today. It was for    grocery items.  I noticed after I placed the order that they charged me sales tax. In my state( Washington) we are not charged sales tax on groceries.... It was $8.00 and I was not going to pay taxes that I do not owe. 

 

So I called to talk to someone in CS about this and they did take off the $8.00 I was taxed.  I asked her how I could order next time without being taxed so I did not have to call to correct the problem. She said that the system was just set up to tax...) in otherwords, she had no clue....)

 

She did say she would bring it up to be looked into...  I told her it was very important that they fix this error.

 

I wonder how they get away with this with all people in washington state ordering groceries.... where is that money being taken out for taxes going... into Walmarts pockets? 

 

Next order I will call it in and see how they deal with it.   Maybe it will be fixed... I hope so. 


Just to make sure, @SeaMaiden, did your order include any non-food items?


@suzyQ3   I ordered almond milk, salt and salsa... all food items non taxable in Washington state

Honored Contributor
Posts: 23,835
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.


@Kachina624 wrote:

@SeaMaiden.  You may need to check your state law.  We are not charged tax on groceries in NM, UNLESS  the groceries are delivered.  Due to some quirk in the law, people who use Instacart are charged an extra 8% tax in addition to all the other fees and tips.  Another reason to not use them.


@Kachina624    I would think they would have to clarify that on the receipt... but I did email corporate so I will see what they have to say.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,074
Registered: ‎10-03-2014

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

Happened to me as well.  Supervisor argued with me that my state did charge tax for the item I purchased.  It was a back and forth..."No it doesn't" and "Yes it does" when I told her I should know, I live here.  I asked what does Walmart do with the money.  She said it goes directly to the state.  

 

Called the state Dept of Revenue to report Walmart for charging tax.  Was told Walmart does that sometimes and is fined whenever a customer reports it.  

 

Evidently, it's not all that uncommon.  The Dept of Revenue said Amazon is reported a lot.  

 

The next time I ordered the same thing, I wasn't charged tax.  Either it was fixed for my state or Walmart has a glitch in their system.  

 

 

 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 23,835
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

[ Edited ]

@froggy wrote:

@suzyQ3 wrote:

@SeaMaiden wrote:

 I placed an order today. It was for    grocery items.  I noticed after I placed the order that they charged me sales tax. In my state( Washington) we are not charged sales tax on groceries.... It was $8.00 and I was not going to pay taxes that I do not owe. 

 

So I called to talk to someone in CS about this and they did take off the $8.00 I was taxed.  I asked her how I could order next time without being taxed so I did not have to call to correct the problem. She said that the system was just set up to tax...) in otherwords, she had no clue....)

 

She did say she would bring it up to be looked into...  I told her it was very important that they fix this error.

 

I wonder how they get away with this with all people in washington state ordering groceries.... where is that money being taken out for taxes going... into Walmarts pockets? 

 

Next order I will call it in and see how they deal with it.   Maybe it will be fixed... I hope so. 


Just to make sure, @SeaMaiden, did your order include any non-food items?


@suzyQ3  That was my first thought also, but even in a high sales tax state she would have had to buy a heck of a lot of items to be charged $8 sales tax.

 

I've never had any problem with WM orders. 


@froggy   It was a large grocery order... sales tax in Wa. state is 10%( really high!)

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,510
Registered: ‎05-23-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

I checked back through my 2020 orders that contained both food and non food items and only the non food items were taxed. It's possible that IT recently made an error when programming tax information. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,648
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

[ Edited ]

I think it's possible that some retailers don't properly delineate the differences with sales tax laws for some states.

 

In my state, food is NOT taxable unless it's "prepared and served".  That inclues fast food.  So, grocery store food is not taxable. Of course, pet food is taxable.  It's just 'people food' that is nontaxable.

 

One time I was purchasing a food item from Shop NBC (or whatever they call themselves lately - I haven't kept up) and they wanted to charge sales tax.   I contacted them and they just said to make the order and then, after I receive it, to call again and they will remove it.

 

Uh, no, that's not the way to fix it.  The way to fix it is to change the system for charging sales tax on nontaxable items in this state.  I did not order.

 

BTW, I have ordered some food items from WM online and they didn't charge sales tax on them here.  Maybe they have it right for some states but not others.

Contributor
Posts: 73
Registered: ‎03-14-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

My state does not charge sales tax on food or prescriptions. Just checked my bills. No tax charged. That store is doing something wrong. Call 1-800-925-6278 (1-800-WALMART). I had a complaint and got response within several hours and situation was resolved to my satisfaction.

Highlighted
Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,245
Registered: ‎04-16-2010

Re: interesting Walmart online experience with being charged sales tax.

We have to pay 10% tax on everything.  Any kind of food or drink is also taxed. Raw, cooked, canned, bottled.... I bought a few groceries yesterday, mostly fresh fruit and raw vegetables. No meat, fish, or fowl,milk, cheese, etc. I bought some kibble and wet food for my dog and two cats. The total was $132.42 plus 10% tax of $13.42, total of $144.56