Is tax included with my monthly or yearly plan?

Is tax included with my purchase?

If you are outside of Texas, then we are not required to collect tax (e.g. sales tax, use tax or VAT) on your account.

Any customers with a billing address in Texas will be required to pay a state sales tax on top of the initial invoice (currently 6.6%*). This does affect current customers and will be applied to recurring charges.

The amount of sales tax added is indicated on your invoice, which can be viewed and printed at http://gbclient.hostgator.com.

Keep in mind, all currency is in U.S. Dollars (USD).

Do you accept tax exempt numbers?

We need the proper documentation proving tax exemption status.

For business tax exemption, we will require the appropriate form be completed and emailed or faxed back to us for verification.

• Texas Sales & Use Tax Resale & Exemption Certificate Forms (PDF)

For a non-profit organization, we will require a copy of your 501(c)3 certificate via email or fax.

Why do you collect sales tax from Texas residents and not from out-of-state residents?

According to United States Supreme Court decisions interpreting the U.S. Constitution, HostGator is only required to collect taxes for states in which it physically operates. As such, HostGator is not required to collect sales & use tax or value added tax (VAT) for states and countries it does not reside in.

For jurisdictions that HostGator does not collect sales & use tax or VAT for, it is the responsibility of the purchaser to pay any sales & use tax or VAT due, if any. Some jurisdictions require the purchaser to pay a use tax or VAT directly to the state when purchasing from any out-of-state vendors in certain circumstances (i.e. in some jurisdictions, the tax is still due, but HostGator is not required to collect it). Please consult your accountant or government tax office for specific advice.

Why are you collecting 6.6%? That is an unusual tax rate for Texas.

*Under Texas law, web hosting is considered a "data processing service." Our services are taxed at the full rate of 8.25%, however only 80% of the charge is taxable because twenty percent of the charge for data processing services is exempt from tax. This creates an effective tax rate of 6.6%. (Technically and legally you are being charged 8.25% on 80% of the charge, not 6.6%, but we will leave that to the accountants.)

References

If you are curious or just want to hear it directly from the taxing authority, here are some links to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts' website which will give you a greater understanding of the law.

• Internet Orders - Buying and Selling
• Taxable Services (PDF)

If you do business, or plan on doing business in Texas, this is recommended reading.