Module 8: Marketplace & E-Commerce
1. 2026 nexus and remote-seller baseline
Ohio follows bright-line economic nexus for vendors and marketplace facilitators: remote sellers and facilitators meeting gross receipts and transaction count thresholds (generally $100,000 or 200 separate transactions in Ohio in the current or prior calendar year) must register and collect Ohio sales tax (state + applicable local) on taxable sales sourced to Ohio. Destination sourcing applies for many remote and marketplace transactions—rate follows where the consumer receives the property or service.
Verify annual figures and small-seller exceptions on tax.ohio.gov—thresholds and definitions are subject to statutory and administrative updates.
2. Marketplace facilitator obligation
A marketplace facilitator that lists or processes sales for third parties is generally responsible for collecting and remitting tax on facilitated sales as if it were the seller, subject to law and contract. That closes some gaps but does not eliminate all e-commerce leakage.
3. Collection failures: small-scale facilitators and “long tail” sellers
- Thin-margin platforms: Small marketplace facilitators may under-register, mis-map product tax codes, or delay compliance until after material volume—collection failure is structural when platform economics don’t fund tax engines.
- Seller-of-record confusion: Disputes over who is the retailer (third party vs. facilitator) cause double non-collection or wrong jurisdiction when APIs default wrong.
- Digital and mixed bundles: Classifying Module 4 services and digital goods inside a cart without line-level rules produces systematic under-tax.
4. Strategic implication
Nexus rules increase legal duty; they do not guarantee operational compliance at every small facilitator. Module 10 (enforcement) and Module 12 (real-time validation) address why rules on paper still produce revenue gaps.
Outcomes (to expand)
- [ ] Facilitator registration and API failure modes
- [ ] Marketplace vs. classified ads vs. payment processor only — different duties
- [ ] Combined view with Module 5 use tax when collection fails