The Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC) is pleased to announce an important change to its sales tax framework that will simplify compliance for businesses selling to Alaskans, while ensuring fairness in our tax system. Beginning in 2025, the ARSSTC will eliminate the 200 separate transaction threshold, leaving only the dollar-based threshold of $100,000 in gross sales for remote sellers. This change will provide much-needed relief to small businesses across the country, including those in Alaska.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark South Dakota v. Wayfair decision, states, including Alaska, have gained the authority to collect sales tax from out-of-state sellers on goods and services sold to their residents. In response, the ARSSTC developed a streamlined and unified system for local governments to collect sales tax from remote sellers, providing a vital source of revenue for communities across Alaska.
Up until now, remote sellers had to meet either one of two thresholds to be required to collect and remit sales tax: making 200 separate transactions or exceeding $100,000 in sales. For small businesses, particularly those operating at lower sales volumes but with numerous transactions, the burden of compliance was likely more impactful than what larger businesses experienced.
By eliminating the 200 separate transaction threshold, the ARSSTC is now focusing solely on the dollar threshold of $100,000 in annual sales. This change simplifies the system, providing much-needed flexibility to small businesses that operate with lower volumes but many transactions, while ensuring that larger businesses still meet their tax obligations.
For small businesses in Alaska and across the country, this means that they can focus on growth without worrying about hitting transaction limits. Only those that exceed the $100,000 sales threshold will need to collect and remit sales tax, ensuring that the compliance burden is placed on businesses that are large enough to manage it.
This adjustment keeps Alaska’s tax system fair and ensures that local governments continue to receive the revenue they need to fund essential services like education, public safety, and infrastructure. At the same time, it shows that we’re listening to small businesses and responding to their concerns about the compliance challenges they have experienced.
The ARSSTC is committed to making this transition as smooth as possible. We will provide guidance and resources to help remote sellers understand the new rules, and ensure that both Alaskans and businesses across the nation can continue to benefit from a straightforward, equitable tax system.
Alaskans and businesses alike are encouraged to visit our website at https://arsstc.org/ for more information about the upcoming changes. By removing hurdles for small businesses, while ensuring that larger companies meet their responsibilities, Alaska is paving the way for a more balanced, modern approach to sales tax collection.