What are taxable sales?

Point of Sale (POS) Glossary

Taxable sales in retail are those transactions where sales tax was charged. Generally, businesses are required to collect sales tax from customers, though there are some exceptions.

Some unprepared grocery store food is not subject to the same tax as prepared restaurant food and may not be taxed at all. Some out-of-state eCommerce purchases may not be taxed by the merchant, though buyers may be required to report those sales and pay the sales tax to their local states. If a customer is purchasing items for resale, they may be exempt from sales tax.

A point of sale system must be programmed to determine which items are taxable, which rates are applicable, and store the reasons for any exceptions. Merchants are required to submit any tax collected, and POS analytics that report collected tax are essential to this process.