At a glance
Daily time-series of total tax collected over the rolling 90-day window. The chart finance teams use to verify tax collection is keeping pace with sales (and to catch tax-engine misconfigurations early). BigCommerce supports three distinct tax handling modes: native BC tax (manual rate tables), Avalara AvaTax integration (real-time API rates), and TaxJar integration (similar). Each tax engine produces slightly different numbers, and a sudden movement on this card frequently signals a tax-engine issue (failover from Avalara to native, expired Avalara credentials, TaxJar nexus changes) rather than a sales movement. Reconciliation between this card and the tax-engine dashboard is essential for stores in multi-jurisdiction territories.
Calculation
Calculated automatically from your BigCommerce data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.Worked example
A US apparel brand on BigCommerce, 90-day window 14 Feb 26 to 14 May 26. Multi-state nexus: ships to all 50 states, registered in 7 (CA, NY, TX, FL, IL, WA, MA). Avalara AvaTax integrated for tax calc.
What’s interesting:
- The Mar 15-28 step-down is the diagnostic gold. Tax dropped from 620/day while revenue rose. This is the signature of an Avalara outage: the tax engine timed out, BC fell back to native tax tables, native tax tables don’t have the multi-state matrix configured properly, so tax under-collected by ~37% for two weeks. The merchant collected ~$4,200 less tax than they owed. They’ll either eat that liability themselves or face penalty interest.
- Detection took two weeks. Without this chart, the merchant noticed only when their accountant did the monthly reconciliation. A daily-trending tax card with a 2pp ratio-shift alert would have flagged this on day 1.
- Effective tax rate of 6.2% is the read. US national average for retail varies 5-9%; 6.2% is consistent with apparel (often clothing-tax-exempt in some states like NY and PA, which lowers blended). The rate should be stable over time; movement is the signal.
- Multi-state nexus is the complexity. Each state has its own rate; some states tax apparel, some don’t; some tax shipping, some don’t. Avalara abstracts this away; native BC tax tables do not. Stores with nexus in 5+ states should use Avalara or TaxJar; native tables become unmaintainable.
- Reconciling against Avalara dashboard would have caught the outage immediately. The Avalara console shows API call success rate; a drop to 60% on Mar 15 would have been visible there. Pair this card with Avalara monitoring.
- Track effective tax rate (tax / revenue) as a stability KPI. Movement is the signal; absolute level is set by the rate-table jurisdiction mix.
- Set up an alert on 2pp ratio drift. Most tax-engine failures show as a 1-3pp drop in effective rate over a few days; the alert catches them before reconciliation.
- Reconcile monthly against the tax-engine dashboard (Avalara, TaxJar). The engine knows what should have been collected; BC knows what was collected. Gaps mean engine failover or misconfig.
- Audit marketplace-collected tax separately. Amazon, eBay, Walmart often collect and remit tax directly; BC
total_taxmay understate the truth. Use marketplace tax reports for the full picture. - Document tax-rate movements with explanations. Quarterly state rate changes, new nexus registrations, exemption certificate processing, all drive expected movements; track them in a change log so unexplained moves stand out.
Sibling cards merchants should reference together
Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard
Where to look in BigCommerce’s own dashboard: The native view is BC Control Panel → Reports → Tax Reports. Filter by the same date range; the Total Tax column should match this card’s sum directly. For tax-engine integrations, the authoritative tax view is the engine’s dashboard:- Avalara AvaTax: Avalara console → Reports → Tax Liability Report. This is the source of truth for what tax should have been collected based on transaction data.
- TaxJar: TaxJar dashboard → Reports → Tax Liability. Same idea.
Cross-connector reconciliation (when both connectors are connected for this merchant):
Known limitations / merchant FAQs
My effective tax rate dropped 3pp last month, what does that mean? Almost certainly a tax-engine issue or a customer-base shift toward tax-exempt categories. Check Avalara / TaxJar dashboards first; if engine is healthy, audit recent customer-group changes (more B2B exempt, more wholesale orders). Why does my Amazon channel show $0 tax in BC but Amazon collected tax? Amazon is a “marketplace facilitator” in most US states; they collect and remit tax directly. BC records the order without tax because the merchant didn’t collect it. Use Amazon’s tax report for marketplace-collected tax; this card only shows merchant-collected. Should I trust this number for my tax filings? Treat the engine (Avalara / TaxJar) as authoritative for filings, this card as authoritative for cash-collection reconciliation. The two should agree; if they don’t, investigate the gap. Why does my B2B Edition show near-zero tax? B2B customer groups are typically tax-exempt (resale certificates on file, wholesale buyers). Structurally normal; not a problem. My tax rate spiked from 6% to 9% over a week, is that a problem? Could be: (1) a state rate change taking effect, (2) a new nexus registration adding additional state collection, (3) channel mix shifting to higher-tax-rate channels. Check engine config; tax engines update rates automatically but only if the integration is healthy. Does this card include Avalara fees? No, Avalara fees are a service charge from Avalara to the merchant; they don’t appear in BC’stotal_tax field. Track them separately in finance.
Can I see tax by state?
Yes via Ask Viq: “tax collected by state for last 90 days”. Useful for nexus monitoring (your collection by state determines your nexus filing obligations).
Why is my UK tax (VAT) at 20% but the chart shows 16%?
Effective rate, not the marginal rate. UK VAT is 20% on standard goods, 5% on some categories (children’s clothing, books, most food), 0% on others (newspapers, public transport). The blended effective rate depends on your category mix.
My tax-engine integration shows healthy but BC tax dropped, why?
Possible reasons: (1) the engine was healthy on average but had per-transaction failures (some orders fell back to native), (2) customers in newly-added jurisdictions where the engine doesn’t have rates configured, (3) bulk orders with manual price adjustments that bypass the engine.
Can I export this for accounting?
Yes via Ask Viq or Settings → Data Solutions → Export → Orders (with tax columns). Most accountants use the BC Tax Report directly; our card is for trend monitoring.
Why does this not match my sales tax filing report?
Sales tax filings use the destination tax (where the customer is); BC’s total_tax is as collected (which may differ if shipping address changes after order). Avalara’s filing report is authoritative; this card is for daily trending.
Should I worry about tax on refunded orders?
Yes. Refund tax adjustments are reportable in most jurisdictions; if you refund a $100 order, you also “refund” the tax to the customer and reduce your liability accordingly. BC handles this if you use the refund flow correctly; gateway-side refunds can leave tax-adjustment gaps.
My multi-currency store shows tax for each currency separately, is that right?
Yes. Each currency’s tax is calculated and reported in that currency. For consolidated reporting, FX-convert at filing time using the period’s average rate (or daily rates for accrual accounting).
Why is the daily tax line bumpy compared to the smooth revenue line?
Tax cohorts in jagged bursts because high-tax states (CA, NY) cluster orders in waves; mid-tax states (FL, TX) average out; tax-exempt states (NH, DE) drag down. Day-to-day mix shifts move the daily tax more than the daily revenue.