This step-by-step guide covers the initial setup process for US Sales Tax compliance on the Lappa platform.
Step 1: Complete your company profile
Start in the “Profile” section and fill in your company details:
- company name;
- full business address;
- contact email and phone number;
- your domestic Sales Tax Permit number — Georgia in this example.
Step 2: Add your Sales Tax permits
Go to “Tax Settings” and open the “Sales Tax” subsection. Here you can add all active Sales Tax permits. To add your first permit:
- select the relevant state (Georgia);
- enter your Sales Tax ID — the same number added in your profile;
- set the permit issue date (1 July 2021 in this example);
- choose the certificate type — “In-State Dealer” for a Georgia-based business.
Click “Add Sales Tax Permit” to save.
Step 3: Connect your store
Navigate to the “Stores” section and click “Add Store”. Select Shopify from the list of available integrations, then fill in:
- Domestic country — United States;
- Default warehouse — United States;
- Departure state — Georgia;
- Departure ZIP code;
- Product type — Goods;
- Product description and HS code — e.g. phone cases.
Scroll down, enter your Shopify store URL and click “Connect”. You will be redirected to Shopify to authorise the Lappa integration. If you need help with this step, refer to the dedicated Shopify connection tutorial.
Step 4: Upload your transactions
Go to “Transactions”, click “Add Transactions”, select your Shopify store and choose the upload period — starting from 1 July (the permit issue date) in this case. Click “Next” and wait for the upload to complete. Once done, all transactions will be visible and ready for review.
Step 5: Monitor economic nexus thresholds
With US transactions uploaded, Lappa can now track your economic nexus thresholds by state. Head to the “Home” dashboard and locate the threshold tracker. Click “View All” for a full breakdown:
- Idaho and Maryland — thresholds exceeded, Sales Tax registration required;
- Alabama — threshold not yet reached, no registration needed at this stage.
Sales Tax registration can be ordered directly through Lappa support whenever a new threshold is crossed.
For states where nexus has not been reached and no registration is in place, Sales Tax will be calculated on the origin principle — meaning your domestic state of Georgia applies by default.