PSN/XBLA/WiiP Cards Without Tax
- Thread starter J7.
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It all depends on your state tax laws.
Here in PA these types of cards are considered "stored value" or "giftcards" and legally cannot be charged tax according to state law.
I fought Blockbuster's corporate office on the PSN cards being charged tax and I got them to change it in all stores across the state from what I was told.
Here in PA these types of cards are considered "stored value" or "giftcards" and legally cannot be charged tax according to state law.
I fought Blockbuster's corporate office on the PSN cards being charged tax and I got them to change it in all stores across the state from what I was told.
breakingcustoms
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thank god for living in delaware with NO tax!
Stay_Wii_Fit
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Bought 2 Wii Point cards the other day at Target here in Illinois and didnt get charged any tax.
Keavy_Rain
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I live in CA and can't get a straight answer out of anyone on this issue.
Target and GameStop do not charge tax on their cards. Best Buy and Wal-Mart do, as did Circuit City. I don't know about K-Mart since none exist near me.
The store managers of both Target and GameStop say its illegal to charge tax but Best Buy's store manager disagrees and Wal-Mart said they'll refund the tax if I purchase a card there and bring in proof that other retailer(s) do not charge tax but said I would have to contact Bentonville to find out what their official stance is.
I sent an e-mail to Bentonville in October and haven't heard anything since. I've also contacted pretty much everyone I can think of on this issue and either haven't heard back or get the "We don't know *Shrug*" response.
I really do want to know because, while I don't mind buying all my cards at GameStop or Target I'd hate for others to unknowingly pay taxes if they're not supposed to. I'd hate to find out Target and GameStop are wrong, though. The new tax rate is bad enough but having to pay taxes on prepaid cards would suck even more.
Target and GameStop do not charge tax on their cards. Best Buy and Wal-Mart do, as did Circuit City. I don't know about K-Mart since none exist near me.
The store managers of both Target and GameStop say its illegal to charge tax but Best Buy's store manager disagrees and Wal-Mart said they'll refund the tax if I purchase a card there and bring in proof that other retailer(s) do not charge tax but said I would have to contact Bentonville to find out what their official stance is.
I sent an e-mail to Bentonville in October and haven't heard anything since. I've also contacted pretty much everyone I can think of on this issue and either haven't heard back or get the "We don't know *Shrug*" response.
I really do want to know because, while I don't mind buying all my cards at GameStop or Target I'd hate for others to unknowingly pay taxes if they're not supposed to. I'd hate to find out Target and GameStop are wrong, though. The new tax rate is bad enough but having to pay taxes on prepaid cards would suck even more.
anotherpoorgamer
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I take it tax is based on what state you live on, but does anyone know if you are charged tax when buying PSN/XBLA/WiiP games/download content?
[quote name='anotherpoorgamer']I take it tax is based on what state you live on, but does anyone know if you are charged tax when buying PSN/XBLA/WiiP games/download content?[/QUOTE]
Once again, it's location based- I'm in Washington state, there's no tax when you buy the card- but there is when you actually get the download on PSN. XBLA doesn't (I think using the points system lets them dodge the tax thing), and I don't own a Wii so no clue there.
I know awhile ago someone said if you change your zip code to Miami, there's no tax in the PSN store. I've never bothered to try it though.
Once again, it's location based- I'm in Washington state, there's no tax when you buy the card- but there is when you actually get the download on PSN. XBLA doesn't (I think using the points system lets them dodge the tax thing), and I don't own a Wii so no clue there.
I know awhile ago someone said if you change your zip code to Miami, there's no tax in the PSN store. I've never bothered to try it though.
anotherpoorgamer
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Yes that's what I wanted to know, if people are being taxed on PSN.
[quote name='Keavy_Rain']I live in CA and can't get a straight answer out of anyone on this issue.
Target and GameStop do not charge tax on their cards. Best Buy and Wal-Mart do, as did Circuit City. I don't know about K-Mart since none exist near me.
The store managers of both Target and GameStop say its illegal to charge tax but Best Buy's store manager disagrees and Wal-Mart said they'll refund the tax if I purchase a card there and bring in proof that other retailer(s) do not charge tax but said I would have to contact Bentonville to find out what their official stance is.
I sent an e-mail to Bentonville in October and haven't heard anything since. I've also contacted pretty much everyone I can think of on this issue and either haven't heard back or get the "We don't know *Shrug*" response.
I really do want to know because, while I don't mind buying all my cards at GameStop or Target I'd hate for others to unknowingly pay taxes if they're not supposed to. I'd hate to find out Target and GameStop are wrong, though. The new tax rate is bad enough but having to pay taxes on prepaid cards would suck even more.[/quote]
I just love how these managers throw the "it's Illegal" line like they know the laws. It's not like they can get arrested by the cops or anything. Anyways that's funny you should mention it because two years ago when my cousin and I got our 360's from Microcenter, I bought a 12 month live card for him and they charged no tax. When I bought one from Best Buy, they charged tax. When I spoke to the manager about this, they said they have to charge tax. ooooooooooooookkkk.
Target and GameStop do not charge tax on their cards. Best Buy and Wal-Mart do, as did Circuit City. I don't know about K-Mart since none exist near me.
The store managers of both Target and GameStop say its illegal to charge tax but Best Buy's store manager disagrees and Wal-Mart said they'll refund the tax if I purchase a card there and bring in proof that other retailer(s) do not charge tax but said I would have to contact Bentonville to find out what their official stance is.
I sent an e-mail to Bentonville in October and haven't heard anything since. I've also contacted pretty much everyone I can think of on this issue and either haven't heard back or get the "We don't know *Shrug*" response.
I really do want to know because, while I don't mind buying all my cards at GameStop or Target I'd hate for others to unknowingly pay taxes if they're not supposed to. I'd hate to find out Target and GameStop are wrong, though. The new tax rate is bad enough but having to pay taxes on prepaid cards would suck even more.[/quote]
I just love how these managers throw the "it's Illegal" line like they know the laws. It's not like they can get arrested by the cops or anything. Anyways that's funny you should mention it because two years ago when my cousin and I got our 360's from Microcenter, I bought a 12 month live card for him and they charged no tax. When I bought one from Best Buy, they charged tax. When I spoke to the manager about this, they said they have to charge tax. ooooooooooooookkkk.
I am being taxed in NY on all digital downloads. The thing is they were going to impose ANOTHER tax on top of what is already being charged, but thankfully that got shot down pretty quickly. I don't buy digital downloads but the one time I tried from the PSN store (with a credit card through the PSN store) they were trying to charge me NYS %8.75 sales tax, and the same with Wii points.
I ended up not buying from the PSN store because it would just put me with an odd number of points, and no matter what I do I would never be able to come out with an even amount, so there would be money wasted no matter what. So if I buy 20$ of credit from the PSN store, I couldn't just buy 2 10$ games since I am being charged tax every time I buy a game. I don't like the idea of wasting any amount of money so I decided that I can live without PSN purchases.
You could probably go to an online store like Newegg.com or Deepdiscount.com and buy them tax free though, since those sites don't charge tax to NY at all. Also try ebay from a reputable seller.
I ended up not buying from the PSN store because it would just put me with an odd number of points, and no matter what I do I would never be able to come out with an even amount, so there would be money wasted no matter what. So if I buy 20$ of credit from the PSN store, I couldn't just buy 2 10$ games since I am being charged tax every time I buy a game. I don't like the idea of wasting any amount of money so I decided that I can live without PSN purchases.
You could probably go to an online store like Newegg.com or Deepdiscount.com and buy them tax free though, since those sites don't charge tax to NY at all. Also try ebay from a reputable seller.
meilojelio
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xbox mole that was you?
chuckywang
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Here is my experience with XBLA cards. They come in two varieties: one in a clamshell packaging, and another that's just a card that needs to be activated at the register.
I've bought the claimshell cards from Circuit City during their liquidation. They charged me tax. However, I did not need to pay tax on the card that needs to be registered when I bought it at BBV.
I've bought the claimshell cards from Circuit City during their liquidation. They charged me tax. However, I did not need to pay tax on the card that needs to be registered when I bought it at BBV.
Keavy_Rain
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[quote name='chuckywang']Here is my experience with XBLA cards. They come in two varieties: one in a clamshell packaging, and another that's just a card that needs to be activated at the register.
I've bought the claimshell cards from Circuit City during their liquidation. They charged me tax. However, I did not need to pay tax on the card that needs to be registered when I bought it at BBV.[/quote]
I'm about to ruin your theory:
GameStop and Best Buy sell the Clamshell variety. Best Buy charges tax, GameStop does not. Target and Wal-Mart sell the activation kind. Wal-Mart charges tax, Target does not.
So you see, its the retailer and not the type of card that matters.
I've bought the claimshell cards from Circuit City during their liquidation. They charged me tax. However, I did not need to pay tax on the card that needs to be registered when I bought it at BBV.[/quote]
I'm about to ruin your theory:
GameStop and Best Buy sell the Clamshell variety. Best Buy charges tax, GameStop does not. Target and Wal-Mart sell the activation kind. Wal-Mart charges tax, Target does not.
So you see, its the retailer and not the type of card that matters.
[quote name='SaraAB']I am being taxed in NY on all digital downloads. The thing is they were going to impose ANOTHER tax on top of what is already being charged, but thankfully that got shot down pretty quickly. I don't buy digital downloads but the one time I tried from the PSN store (with a credit card through the PSN store) they were trying to charge me NYS %8.75 sales tax, and the same with Wii points.
I ended up not buying from the PSN store because it would just put me with an odd number of points, and no matter what I do I would never be able to come out with an even amount, so there would be money wasted no matter what. So if I buy 20$ of credit from the PSN store, I couldn't just buy 2 10$ games since I am being charged tax every time I buy a game. I don't like the idea of wasting any amount of money so I decided that I can live without PSN purchases.
You could probably go to an online store like Newegg.com or Deepdiscount.com and buy them tax free though, since those sites don't charge tax to NY at all. Also try ebay from a reputable seller.[/quote]
If you use your credit card, you can put an exact amount onto your PSN account. So when I wanted Suikoden, I put $6.47 on it since that was the total with tax, then proceeded to go to the store and purchase the game.
I ended up not buying from the PSN store because it would just put me with an odd number of points, and no matter what I do I would never be able to come out with an even amount, so there would be money wasted no matter what. So if I buy 20$ of credit from the PSN store, I couldn't just buy 2 10$ games since I am being charged tax every time I buy a game. I don't like the idea of wasting any amount of money so I decided that I can live without PSN purchases.
You could probably go to an online store like Newegg.com or Deepdiscount.com and buy them tax free though, since those sites don't charge tax to NY at all. Also try ebay from a reputable seller.[/quote]
If you use your credit card, you can put an exact amount onto your PSN account. So when I wanted Suikoden, I put $6.47 on it since that was the total with tax, then proceeded to go to the store and purchase the game.
[quote name='Keavy_Rain']I live in CA and can't get a straight answer out of anyone on this issue.
Target and GameStop do not charge tax on their cards. Best Buy and Wal-Mart do, as did Circuit City. I don't know about K-Mart since none exist near me.
The store managers of both Target and GameStop say its illegal to charge tax but Best Buy's store manager disagrees and Wal-Mart said they'll refund the tax if I purchase a card there and bring in proof that other retailer(s) do not charge tax but said I would have to contact Bentonville to find out what their official stance is.
I sent an e-mail to Bentonville in October and haven't heard anything since. I've also contacted pretty much everyone I can think of on this issue and either haven't heard back or get the "We don't know *Shrug*" response.
I really do want to know because, while I don't mind buying all my cards at GameStop or Target I'd hate for others to unknowingly pay taxes if they're not supposed to. I'd hate to find out Target and GameStop are wrong, though. The new tax rate is bad enough but having to pay taxes on prepaid cards would suck even more.[/quote]
Next time it happens, just mention (not threaten) that you'll call Weights and Measures. If they're wrong, they can get into some trouble. If they're right, no harm no foul.
Target and GameStop do not charge tax on their cards. Best Buy and Wal-Mart do, as did Circuit City. I don't know about K-Mart since none exist near me.
The store managers of both Target and GameStop say its illegal to charge tax but Best Buy's store manager disagrees and Wal-Mart said they'll refund the tax if I purchase a card there and bring in proof that other retailer(s) do not charge tax but said I would have to contact Bentonville to find out what their official stance is.
I sent an e-mail to Bentonville in October and haven't heard anything since. I've also contacted pretty much everyone I can think of on this issue and either haven't heard back or get the "We don't know *Shrug*" response.
I really do want to know because, while I don't mind buying all my cards at GameStop or Target I'd hate for others to unknowingly pay taxes if they're not supposed to. I'd hate to find out Target and GameStop are wrong, though. The new tax rate is bad enough but having to pay taxes on prepaid cards would suck even more.[/quote]
Next time it happens, just mention (not threaten) that you'll call Weights and Measures. If they're wrong, they can get into some trouble. If they're right, no harm no foul.
bread's done