SalesThumb calculates sales tax with one manual rate you set — there's no automatic jurisdiction lookup or Stripe Tax integration to configure. Here's how to set it up and how the tax-exempt customer roster works.
Set your rate, label, and registration ID
Go to Settings → Sales Tax. Under "Tax rate & label," enter your Default tax rate as a percentage (e.g. 8.25). The input will let you type a third decimal place, but don't rely on it: the rate is actually stored as a whole number of basis points (hundredths of a percent), so anything past the second decimal gets rounded off when you save. Plan on entering your rate to the nearest hundredth of a percent. Under the hood the rate is stored in basis points, but you never have to think in those terms day-to-day; just type the percentage you charge.
This rate applies to new quotes and invoices going forward, and can still be overridden on an individual quote if a specific job needs a different number. The page also lists a few reference rates (NV 8.375%, CA 7.25%, TX 6.25%, NY 4%) as a sanity check — it doesn't detect your actual jurisdiction for you.
Tax label controls what prints on invoices and receipts — leave it as "Sales Tax" or change it to something like "GST," "VAT," or "TVQ" if that matches your local terminology. Tax registration ID prints on invoice PDFs and is worth filling in, since many states require it there for an audit.
Click "Save Tax Settings" at the bottom to apply changes. You'll see a brief "Saved" confirmation.
If you see a Stripe Tax note
Stripe Tax was built toward as an automatic-calculation mode but never actually launched. If your shop's settings still carry that old flag internally, the page shows an informational note saying tax has always been calculated from the manual rate below regardless. Saving the form once clears this — it silently converts the stored setting over to the manual mode that's actually in use. There's nothing you need to configure differently; it's just cleanup that happens automatically the first time you hit Save.
Managing tax-exempt customers
The "Tax-exempt customers" table on this page is a roster, not where exemptions get created. To add someone, go to their customer profile and toggle "Tax-exempt" there — they'll then appear here. This page is where you maintain the supporting details afterward: click the pencil icon on a row to edit the Reason (Resale, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Government, Out-of-state, or Other), attach a Certificate URL — a link to wherever you've stored the signed exemption form (R2, Dropbox, etc.; SalesThumb doesn't host the file itself) — and set an expiration date.
Exempt customers get a $0 tax line on every quote and invoice while their exemption is active. Rows with no certificate link show a "No cert on file" warning, and certificates are flagged as they approach expiration — amber once you're inside 30 days, red once the date has passed — so you can catch lapsed paperwork before an audit rather than during one.
To remove someone's exemption, either open their row's edit dialog here, uncheck "Tax-exempt customer," and save, or go back to their customer profile and switch off the "Tax-exempt" toggle there — both immediately clear the exemption and its supporting details.
Memberships and services
Recurring membership charges are taxed at the same default rate as any other invoice line. If your state doesn't tax services and you only sell service-based memberships, mark the linked service non-taxable on the catalog page instead — the membership invoice line inherits that setting automatically.
For a breakdown of tax collected over time, use the "View sales-tax reports" link on this page.