Avalara Taxrates > Blog > Internet sales tax > Alabama’s new sales tax rules for remote sellers - Avalara

Alabama’s new sales tax rules for remote sellers

  • Jul 6, 2017 | Gail Cole

 Remote sellers with no physical presence in Alabama are encouraged to participate in the Simplified Sellers Use Tax Remittance Program.

Alabama amended its Simplified Sellers Use Tax Program as of July 1, 2017. The program facilitates sales and use tax compliance for remote retailers that lack a physical presence in the state, thereby encouraging them to comply. Instead of collecting and remitting according to a variety of local sales tax rates, participants collect and remit a flat 8 percent sellers use tax on all sales made into Alabama.

Act 2017-82:

  • Requires non-collecting remote sellers to report retail sales and customer notifications, “within constitutional limitations”
  • Removes the six-month deferral restriction on eligible sellers (participants may remain in the program unless the seller establishes nexus)
  • Allows the Department of Revenue to disclose the names of participating eligible sellers, as well as the dates they started and/or ceased participating in the program
  • Allows the department to initiate monthly distributions of Simplified Sellers Use Tax collections

Additional information is available from the Alabama Department of Revenue.

New exemption for small sellers with no physical presence

Another new law, Act 2017-415, exempts businesses from the purchase of a delivery license “if its deliveries do not exceed $5,000 per year and the business has no physical presence in the municipality or its police jurisdiction.” The act also specifies that the interest rate on past due taxes is as provided by general law, and prohibits counties and municipalities from charging interest at the rate of 1 percent per month. Additional information.

States want remote sales tax revenue

Alabama isn’t the only state looking to increase sales and use tax collections from remote retailers, though it was one of the first to do so. As of January 1, 2016, Department of Revenue Regulation 810-6-2-.90.03 requires remote retailers with a substantial economic presence in Alabama to collect and remit tax. The regulation was designed, in part at least, to be challenged, and it is currently making its way through the courts. If all goes as state officials hope, Alabama will be permitted to defend its regulation before the Supreme Court of the United States. This could pave the way for all states to more easily collect remote sales tax revenue.

In the meantime, numerous states are adjusting existing or enacting new laws to capture more revenue from out-of-state sellers. Some of the most recent changes have been adopted by Louisiana, Maine, and Vermont.

Learn more about remote sales tax revenue and state attempts to obtain it.


Sales tax rates, rules, and regulations change frequently. Although we hope you'll find this information helpful, this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal or tax advice.
Gail Cole
Avalara Author
Gail Cole
Gail Cole
Avalara Author Gail Cole
Gail began researching and writing about sales tax in 2012 and has been fascinated with it ever since. She has a penchant for uncovering unusual tax facts, and endeavors to make complex sales tax laws more digestible for both experts and laypeople.