Sales Tax on Marketplace Fees: Etsy, Whatnot and Which States

Fee on the tax versus tax on the fee

The first kind is common. eBay figures its final value fee on the total amount of the sale, which its fees page says includes sales tax. Depop’s fee page says its payment processing fee is charged on the item price plus shipping and any applicable taxes. Etsy’s fee page says its processing fee is taken from the total sale price including shipping and sales tax where tax is charged on the listing. Our eBay fees guide works one case through.

The second kind is a tax charged on the fee. Etsy says its Texas charge follows a change to Texas Rule §3.330, which it describes as treating certain marketplace fees, such as those for maintaining transaction records, as subject to Texas sales tax. On Whatnot the two kinds can stack: processing is charged on the buyer’s tax, and tax may then be charged on the processing fee.

What each platform says

Platforms that are not in the table are not cleared by their absence. Either the pages we read say nothing on the point, or the page could not be read the normal way on this date. A silent page is not proof that no tax applies, so check the statement behind a sale rather than assume.

The two named lists differ a lot. Etsy’s page names only Texas and one fee. Whatnot’s covers eight jurisdictions across three fee types, from Connecticut and DC to Texas, South Dakota and Hawaii. A seller in Vermont, Illinois or Alaska finds no tax named on Whatnot’s page, but a seller in Hawaii or New Mexico is named for all three fee types.

What it does to one $50 order

The house example is a $50.00 item with $8.00 shipping charged to the buyer, an $8.00 label, and an example 8% sales tax, so the buyer pays $62.64. On Etsy you buy the label; on Whatnot the buyer pays shipping through Whatnot, so no label comes out of the Whatnot rows. The Whatnot rows use the calculator’s base-setting 8% commission; your rate depends on your tier and category (see our Whatnot tiers guide). The marketplace charges the rate for the buyer’s address; 8% is only an example. Fees below come from our calculators’ engines, with the sale dated October 31, 2026.

Etsy’s tax is the $3.77 transaction fee taxed at 6.25% on 80% of it, $0.19. Without the tax a Texas shop would keep $43.90; our Etsy fees guide has the full receipt.

Whatnot’s processing fee is 2.9% + $0.30 on the item, shipping and the buyer’s tax, which is $2.12 on $62.64. Whatnot’s own example is a Houston seller whose 8.25% local rate is reduced by 20% to 6.6%; applied to $3.20 of processing fees on $100 of payments, it gives $0.21. We use that 6.6% only as an illustration, and it is not every Texas seller’s rate. Connecticut’s 1% is the rate Whatnot’s page gives. For the commission states (DC, Hawaii, New Mexico, West Virginia) and for Show Promotion and Boost fees, Whatnot’s page gives no rate, so we show no figure. Rates vary by city and state, and Whatnot says to check your state’s tax authority for the local rate.

The tax is small next to the fee, but it repeats on every order. That is why it helps to look at the fee lines on a statement when working out what an item nets.

Whatnot and resale exemptions

Whatnot says sales tax exemptions for purchases made for resale, and other specific exemptions, don’t apply to the taxes it charges on its commissions and fees. Etsy’s Texas article doesn’t address exemptions.

How the tax is treated on your own return, if it matters, is a question for a tax professional. This is general information, not tax advice.

How to check your own state

1. Open the platform’s fee-tax page: Whatnot’s “Taxes on Whatnot commissions and fees” or Etsy’s Texas article. Both are in the sources below and are the pages to recheck, because Etsy says its list may grow.
2. Look at a recent sale in your earnings or payment account. Whatnot deducts the tax from order earnings, and Etsy’s fee page says to open the order in your payment account to see the fees and taxes on it.
3. Compare the fees and any tax shown on the order with the fee list. If a tax amount appears on a fee, tax is being charged on it.
4. If your state is not named and you see a tax line anyway, or the rate looks wrong, ask the platform. For how the tax applies to you, ask your state revenue department or a tax professional. Texas sellers can also ask the Texas Comptroller, which Etsy names for questions.

For tax on the buyer’s side of a sale, and why a marketplace-only seller can still have registration or filing duties, see our marketplace sales tax guide.

Next step

Run a recent Whatnot order through the Whatnot fee calculator and check whether your state is on the list above. Pick your state in the calculator: if Whatnot taxes its fees there, the result carries a note and is marked incomplete instead of guessing the local rate. Then find where that order’s fees and any tax on them appear in your earnings and note the difference. Our Whatnot tiers guide covers the rates behind the fee itself.