> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Total Tax Collected, BigCommerce > Total Tax Collected for BigCommerce stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Ecommerce Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Total tax collected from customers in the period. Sums VAT (UK / EU), state and local sales tax (US), GST (Australia / NZ / Canada), and any other tax types configured. **BigCommerce supports three distinct tax engines**: native BC tax (manual rate tables), Avalara AvaTax (real-time API rates), and TaxJar (similar). Each produces slightly different numbers, and reconciliation between this card and the tax-engine dashboard is essential for stores with multi-jurisdiction nexus. The aggregate dollar version of [BC Tax Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/tax-collected-over-time). | | | | ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `SUM(total_tax)` over the period. The customer-paid tax across all order line items. | | **VAT / tax treatment** | This card *is* the tax view. | | **Shipping** | Tax on shipping is included if the merchant configured shipping as taxable (typical for UK / EU; varies by US state). | | **Discounts** | Tax is calculated on the post-discount subtotal in BC's default mode. | | **Refunds** | Tax on refunded orders included by default (gross). For net tax (refund-adjusted), use the BC tax export. | | **Cancelled orders** | Excluded. | | **`Incomplete` orders** | Excluded. | | **Currency** | Multi-currency without FX. | | **Channels / sources** | All channels aggregate, with a major caveat: **marketplace-collected tax** (Amazon, eBay, Walmart in marketplace-facilitator states) is NOT collected by the merchant; BC `total_tax` on those orders shows \$0 even though tax was collected by the marketplace and remitted directly. **This is a significant reconciliation gap on Amazon-heavy stores**; pair with the marketplace tax report. | | **Tax engine caveat** | Stores using Avalara or TaxJar see tax calculated by the engine and recorded in BC's `total_tax`. If the engine fails (timeout, expired creds), BC falls back to native tax tables, which usually compute differently. **Sudden movements in this card commonly signal engine failover** rather than sales change. | | **B2B Edition behaviour** | B2B customer groups are typically tax-exempt (resale certificates on file). Tax on B2B can be near-zero even on substantial revenue. Filter to retail customer groups for end-customer tax view. | | **Time window** | `30D` (rolling 30 days). | | **Alert trigger** | None directly; an anomaly fires if effective tax rate (tax / revenue) shifts more than 2pp. | | **Roles** | owner | ## Calculation ``` SUM(totalTax) WHERE date BETWEEN [period_start, period_end] ``` ## Worked example A US apparel brand on BigCommerce, 30-day window. Multi-state nexus: registered in CA, NY, TX, FL, IL, WA, MA. Avalara AvaTax integration. | Channel | Revenue (\$) | Tax collected (\$) | Effective tax rate | Notes | | ---------------------- | ------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Web (`channel_id = 1`) | \$172,000 | \$11,200 | 6.5% | Avalara-managed across nexus states | | Amazon UK | \$42,400 | \$0 | 0.0% | **Marketplace facilitator (Amazon collects + remits)** | | B2B Edition | \$6,800 | \$80 | 1.2% | Most B2B customers tax-exempt | | POS (single store, NY) | \$1,800 | \$144 | 8.0% | NY sales tax on apparel | | **Blended** | **\$223,000** | **\$11,424** | **5.1%** | | What's interesting: 1. **Amazon shows $0 tax in BC even though Amazon collected tax.** Amazon is a marketplace facilitator in 47 states; they collect and remit on the merchant's behalf. **This $0 is correct from BC's perspective but understates total tax collected** by the merchant + Amazon together. For total tax reporting, sum Amazon's tax report + BC's tax. This is a common reconciliation gap. 2. **Effective rate of 6.5% on web** reflects multi-state nexus mix. CA (7.25-10.5%), NY (4-9%), TX (6.25-8.25%) all weighted by sales volume. Single-state stores have flatter rates; multi-state stores have weighted-average rates. 3. **B2B at 1.2%** because most B2B customers have resale certificates on file (tax-exempt). The 1.2% comes from B2B sales to non-exempt buyers. 4. **POS at 8.0%** because NY apparel-tax exemption (apparel under \$110 is tax-exempt in NY) only applies to lower-priced items; higher-priced apparel pulls the rate above the standard apparel-rate. 5. **Blended 5.1% is meaningful for trend monitoring** but actionable analysis happens at channel level. Action playbook this card surfaces: 1. **Track effective tax rate as a stability signal.** If the rate moves >2pp suddenly, investigate (engine issue, customer-mix shift, jurisdiction rate change). 2. **Reconcile against Avalara / TaxJar dashboard monthly.** The engine knows what tax should have been collected; BC knows what was collected. Gaps signal engine issues. 3. **Treat marketplace-collected tax separately.** Amazon, eBay, Walmart tax reports are authoritative for those channels. 4. **Audit B2B exempt certificates annually.** Expired or missing certificates create unintended tax-exempt orders that fail audit. 5. **Pair with [BC Tax Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/tax-collected-over-time)** for the time-series view. 6. **Use the Avalara filings export** for actual tax filings, not this card; this card is for trend monitoring only. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Total Tax | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [BC Tax Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/tax-collected-over-time) | Time series. Gives trend; this card gives magnitude. | | [Total Revenue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/total-revenue) | Denominator for effective tax rate. | | [BC Customer Countries](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/orders-by-country) | Tax rates differ by destination country. | | [BC Top Cities](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/top-cities-by-orders) | Sub-jurisdiction tax (city, county) shows here in aggregate. | | [BC Channel Revenue Mix](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/revenue-mix-by-channel) | Marketplace-collected tax hides; channel mix shifts move the effective rate. | | [BC Customer Segments](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/customer-spend-segments) | B2B / wholesale segments often tax-exempt; mix affects rate. | | [Refund Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/refund-rate) | Refund-related tax adjustments correlate with refund volumes. | | [Discount Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/discounts-given-over-time) | Discount handling changes tax basis. | | [Avalara Tax Liability](/nerve-centre/avalara/avalara_tax_liability) | Cross-connector source of truth for engine-managed orders. | ## 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** (all tiers) or **Analytics → Insights → Sales** with the tax column toggled on (Plus and Enterprise). The BC Tax Report is the authoritative figure for what BC recorded. For tax-engine integrations, the engine dashboard is the source of truth: * **Avalara AvaTax:** Avalara console → Reports → Tax Liability Report. * **TaxJar:** TaxJar dashboard → Reports → Tax Liability. For marketplace-collected tax: Channel Manager → (channel) → Tax Reports. Amazon Seller Central also publishes tax reports separately. **Why our number may legitimately differ from the vendor's:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | ------------------------------ | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Marketplace-collected tax** | Ours lower | Amazon, eBay, Walmart often collect and remit; BC `total_tax` shows \$0. The marketplace dashboard has the truth. | | **Tax engine failover** | Either | If Avalara / TaxJar timed out and BC fell back to native, recorded tax differs. | | **Time zone** | Boundary days off | UTC vs store time zone. | | **Refund tax adjustments** | Either | We show gross; BC tax reports may show net. | | **Tax-exempt customer groups** | Either | B2B / wholesale exemptions configured differently in our index versus BC report. | | **Multi-currency** | Trivial | Per-currency aggregation. | **Cross-connector reconciliation (when both connectors are connected for this merchant):** | Card | Expected relationship | Notes | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | [`avalara.avalara_tax_liability`](/nerve-centre/avalara/avalara_tax_liability) | Should match BC `total_tax` within ±1% on engine-managed orders | Persistent gaps >2% signal engine failover or sync issue. | | [`taxjar.taxjar_tax_collected`](/nerve-centre/taxjar/taxjar_tax_collected) | Same idea | TaxJar's view should mirror BC for engine-managed orders. | ***
Documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multiple platforms) Total tax exists across platforms with similar definition. Tax-engine integration patterns differ (Shopify Tax is increasingly native; Adobe uses Magento native or third-party). * [`shopify.total_tax`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/total-tax-collected) * [`adobe_commerce.total_tax`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/total-tax-collected)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs \*\*Why is my Amazon tax showing $0?** Amazon is a marketplace facilitator in 47 US states; they collect sales tax on the customer's behalf and remit it directly to states. The merchant didn't collect the tax, so BC records $0. **For total tax including marketplace-collected, sum BC's `total_tax` + Amazon Seller Central tax report.** **My effective tax rate jumped from 5% to 8% in a week, what changed?** Three usual causes: (1) a new state nexus registration adding sales-tax collection in a new state, (2) a customer-base shift toward higher-tax-rate jurisdictions (more CA / WA orders, fewer NH / OR orders), (3) a tax-engine reconfiguration. Audit recent Settings → Tax changes and check Avalara / TaxJar for nexus updates. **Should I trust this number for tax filings?** Treat the tax engine (Avalara / TaxJar) as authoritative for filings; this card is for trend monitoring. The engine knows what should have been collected per jurisdiction; this card knows what was actually recorded. **Why does my B2B portal show near-zero tax?** B2B customer groups with resale certificates are tax-exempt. Structurally normal. **My tax dropped after I integrated Avalara, why?** Possible reasons: (1) Avalara is more accurate than your previous manual rates (you were over-collecting, now correctly collecting less), (2) Avalara isn't finding nexus for some states you thought you had nexus in, (3) Avalara is treating some categories as tax-exempt that your manual tables didn't. Verify Avalara nexus configuration matches your registrations. **Can I see tax by state?** Yes via Ask Viq: "tax collected by state for last 30 days". Useful for nexus monitoring. **Why does shipping tax appear in this card sometimes and not others?** Whether shipping is taxable varies by state and by configuration. UK / EU stores typically tax shipping; US states are split. Configuration changes mid-period cause movements. Audit Settings → Tax → Shipping Tax setting. **Does this include UK VAT?** Yes if you collect VAT (UK / EU stores). The BC `total_tax` field aggregates all tax types regardless of jurisdiction. **My multi-currency store shows tax for each currency, can I get a single number?** Use Ask Viq with currency conversion: "total tax converted to USD for last 30 days" applies day-rate FX for unified view. **Should I worry about chargebacks affecting this?** Chargebacks themselves don't directly affect this card; they affect refund tax adjustments. If a chargeback was processed via BC's refund flow, the tax adjustment posts; if processed gateway-side, BC may not know. **Why is my POS tax higher than my web tax for the same product?** Possibly: (1) POS uses store-location tax rate (NY 8%), web uses customer-location tax rate (varies by destination), (2) POS doesn't apply customer-group exemptions automatically, (3) different shipping-tax handling. Audit a sample of POS vs web orders for the same product. **Can I export this for my accountant?** Yes. BC's native Tax Report is the cleanest source; this card is for monitoring. Settings → Data Solutions → Export → Orders with tax columns provides line-item detail. **Does this card include tax on refunded orders?** Yes by default (gross). For net (refund-adjusted) tax, use Ask Viq: "show net tax for last 30 days". The difference is your refund tax liability adjustment. **Why does my Avalara console show different tax than BC?** Avalara may include tax that BC didn't record (engine timeout, manual override). Or Avalara may exclude tax that BC recorded (fallback to native rates). Reconcile per-state monthly. **My subscription store shows much higher tax % than expected, why?** Possible reason: subscription orders auto-renew at the customer's home rate, and your subscription customer base is concentrated in high-tax states. Check the geographic distribution of subscription customers via [BC Customer Countries](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/orders-by-country) or [BC Top Cities](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/top-cities-by-orders). *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Total Tax Collected* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across BigCommerce and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.