How to show sales tax on an FF&E schedule (US)

Short answer: keep every price on your schedule pre-tax, add one sales tax column at the combined rate for the project's delivery address, and show the with-tax total where your client needs to see it. Note the date you captured each price, so you know which figures to recheck before you send the schedule.

Why sales tax trips up US schedules

There's no single US rate. States set sales tax, and counties and cities often add their own on top, so the rate depends on where the goods are delivered. Five states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon) have no statewide sales tax, though Alaska lets local areas charge one.

Most US suppliers quote prices before tax, whether trade or retail. So plenty of designers leave tax off the schedule and add it at invoice. That works until your client builds a budget from your schedule and the invoice comes in higher.

Say the combined rate for your project is 8%. That's a placeholder, so swap in the rate for your client's address. A $3,000 sofa then costs your client $3,240. On a forty-line schedule, a missing tax line can leave your client's budget short by thousands of dollars.

A simple column layout

Give every line on your schedule the same columns, in the same order:

1. Item and room
2. Supplier and product link
3. Unit price (pre-tax)
4. Quantity
5. Line total (pre-tax)
6. Sales tax rate (the combined rate for the delivery address)
7. Sales tax amount
8. Line total with tax
9. Price captured on (date)

Keep the rate in its own column rather than baking it into a formula. If the delivery address changes, or one item is taxed differently, you change one number and can see every line it touches.

Want a head start? Begin with our FF&E schedule template, and check the FF&E glossary if a term is new.

Pre-tax or with tax for your client?

It depends on your client.

• Residential clients usually pay sales tax on the furniture and lighting you specify. Show the with-tax total so their budget is real.
• Commercial clients may be exempt, for example a nonprofit, or a business that is reselling the goods and gives you a resale certificate. Lead with pre-tax figures, and get the exemption certificate on file before you leave tax off.

If you buy at trade and resell to your client, you may use your own resale certificate with suppliers and collect sales tax from your client instead. Some states also tax delivery charges or design fees. Rules vary by state, so check with your accountant. This page covers layout, not tax advice.

Do you need a sales tax permit?

If your studio resells taxable goods to clients, most states expect you to hold a sales tax permit (sometimes called a seller's permit) and to collect and file the tax. Each state sets its own rules. If you sell into other states, you may also have to collect there once your sales pass that state's threshold. Many states set it at $100,000 in sales a year, but it varies. Find your state's tax agency on the Federation of Tax Administrators list and check its rules, or ask your accountant.

If your clients buy direct from suppliers instead, they still pay sales tax on the products you specify. Your schedule should still show it, because your client is paying it.

Keep your prices current before you send

Sales tax errors are easy to fix. Old prices are harder. A supplier can change a price between the day you saved a product and the day your client signs off.

That's why the "price captured on" column matters. Before you send a schedule, recheck anything captured more than a few weeks ago.

Doing this in Aalto

Aalto can add the sales tax columns for you. Tax support is part of Aalto Pro. In Settings > Workspace, set your tax region to United States. The tax label becomes Sales tax, and prices entered for new items default to Ex Sales tax, which matches how most US suppliers quote. Because many US designers keep tax off their schedules, sales tax stays hidden in projects until you tick Show Sales tax in projects by default, or turn it on for a single project.

The United States preset leaves the default rate blank, so you set the rate per project. Aalto doesn't look up rates by address, so enter the combined state and local rate for that project's delivery address yourself. Open Project Sales tax from the project's More menu and choose Manual rate, or save the rates you use often under Saved rates in Settings so you can pick one for each project.

Your project table then shows the price and line total before tax and after tax. The sales tax rate and amount are optional columns. The footer shows the subtotal before tax, the sales tax and the total with tax. If one item needs different treatment, give it a custom rate, or set it to zero-rated or exempt. If a client is tax exempt or has given you a resale certificate, tick Client is Sales tax-exempt in that project's Project Sales tax settings, and add a short line such as "Resale certificate on file" in Note on exports. Items priced in another currency, such as Canadian dollars, don't get sales tax unless you give them a custom rate.

When you save a product from a supplier site with the Aalto extension, it captures the name, brand, price, image and supplier link in one click, and keeps the spec sheet when the page links one. It takes the price shown on the page at the moment you save, so check whether that price already includes any tax or delivery.

When you need a current figure, refresh the price on demand before you send the schedule.

Every product you save goes into one product library that spans all your projects. Add a sofa once and reuse it on the next job, with no hunting for the link.

When the schedule is ready, export it. CSV and Excel files include every tax column unless you hide tax. The PDF Lookbook shows the prices you pick: pre-tax, with tax or both. See how to export an FF&E schedule for the steps. Treat the figures as planning estimates, not a tax invoice.

Working on a project outside the US? See how to show VAT on an FF&E schedule (UK) or how to show VAT on an FF&E schedule (EU).