In Magento 2, configuring taxes is a crucial operation that requires close attention, particularly in the eCommerce industry. Tax rules vary from country to country. Accordingly, you must be well-versed in the tax laws of your nation before setting up tax rules, tax rates, or tax classes in Magento 2. After reading this article you will know everything about taxes in Magento 2—how to manage tax rates, set up tax classes, and construct tax rules and calculations.

Taxes are automatically computed in Magento 2 depending on tax laws. However, they vary depending on the customer, the product tax classes, the shipping and billing addresses of the customers, and the store’s location. Follow our step-by-step instructions as we take you through the configuration process to establish taxes in Magento 2 stores.

As was already said, each country has its unique tax system, thus the location of the customer affects the tax rate. So setting up tax rates is the first thing you need to do. You may have several tax rates for a single geographic region since each tax zone and the rate has its unique identification.

 For configuration of tax rates in Magento 2:

1. Go to Stores > Taxes > Tax Zones and Rates in Magento 2 to set up tax rates. You may change the current tax rate or add a new tax rate here. 

2.  Complete the tax rate page’s tax rate information. 

·       Select the Tax Identifier 

·       To specify the tax rates for a range of ZIP or Postal Codes, check the Zip/Post box.

3.  After selecting this option, you must specify the range by the first and last ZIP or postal codes by setting Range From and Range To. 

·       To apply a tax to a certain ZIP code or postal code, enter the code. 

·       Asterisks (*) are used in codes to match up to 10 characters. 

·       Pick the State and Country where the Tax Rate will be applied. The tax rate percent should now be set.

Configure Tax Classes in Magento 2

Customer, product, and shipping are the three tax classes that Magento by default allows you to set up. The ultimate tax amount that is calculated upon product purchase is determined by the tax class and the applicable tax rate. 

To set up tax classes in Magento 2, follow these steps: 

1.     Locate the Tax Classes section by going to Stores > Configuration > Sales > Tax > Tax Classes.  

2.     Configure the Default Tax Class for the Product and the Tax Class for Shipping. 

They each have similar alternatives available to them. 

·       Taxable Goods 

·       Refund Adjustments 

·       Gift Options 

·       Order Gift Wrapping 

·       Item Gift Wrapping 

·       Printed Gift Card 

·       Reward Points

When setting up a product, you have the option to define different tax classes in addition to the configuration’s default tax class. 

3.     Establish the Customers’ Default Tax Class. 

The default setting that Magento offers is Retail Customer. You can, however, designate several customer tax classes to distinct customer groups in your business. Each customer will afterward fall under a certain tax class. Note that while establishing tax rules in Magento 2, you can also add tax classes.

Set Up Tax Rules in Magento

Once you get done with setting up tax rates and tax classes, you may go ahead and establish tax rules to specify the circumstances under which taxes will be computed. To establish tax rules in Magento 2, follow these steps: 

1. Select the Add New Tax Rule option under Stores > Taxes > Tax Rules in Magento 2 to establish a new tax rule. 
2. Enter the Tax Rule Data which entails naming the tax rule, selecting the tax rate from the list of offered rates or manually entering a new tax rate.

Complete the Additional Settings form. 

·   Simply input the tax name to add new tax classes or choose the customer and product tax classes. 

·     Configure Tax Class Priority. If there are two or more appropriate taxes, it specifies which tax is to be paid first. 

It should be noted that taxes are added together when two tax regulations with the same priority are applicable and compounded when two tax rules apply but have different priorities. 

·       If you want taxes to be calculated based on the order subtotal, check the Calculate off Subtotal Only box. 

·       Choose the Sort Order, which determines where the tax rule appears in the grid of tax regulations.

Tax Calculation Settings

You are almost there after you establish tax rates, classifications, and guidelines. To specify taxes, you must also choose whether they should be applied to the entire basket or just a single item, the delivery address or the shipping origin and whether they should be applied before or after discounts. Taxes vary by area. Therefore, the parameters for taxation will also depend on the location of your store. 

To set up tax calculation: 

1.     Specify the Tax Calculation Method Based On the field with the desired tax calculation. You can decide to base your tax calculations on: 

·       Unit Price – a price for a specific product 

·       Row Total – a total of the products in the basket without any discounts  

·       Total – order total

2.     In the Tax Calculation Based On field set, the address tax will be calculated based on. You can base tax calculation based on Billing, Shipping Address or Shipping Origin.

3.     Choose whether prices entered from the Admin Panel include taxes in Catalog Prices.

4.     Set whether shipping amounts entered from the admin panel include taxes in Shipping Prices.

5.     Select when to Apply Customer Tax: Before or After the Discount.

6.     Choose if you want to Apply a Discount On Prices Excluding or Including Tax.

7.     Set whether you want to Apply Tax On the custom price if available, or only on the original price.

8.     Select whether to Enable Cross Border Trade.

Tax Display Settings

Once you have finished calculating tax rates and classes, your selections will calculate taxes. The remaining component is the customer experience. You will also have to configure taxes displayed in the catalog, shopping cart, orders, invoices, and credit notes. 

To inform clients of the amount they will be charged before completing their purchase, we advise either incorporating taxes in the price display or showing prices both with and without them. If you just show taxes at checkout or in the shopping cart, this may result in more cart abandonment. Nobody likes being burdened with more obligations than necessary.

Catalog Prices

Select whether to include or exclude taxes from the product prices displayed in the catalog and shipping prices. Prices with and without taxes can be shown side by side. 

Shopping Cart, Order, Invoice and Credit Memo

You must also configure the tax showing in Magento 2 for the shopping cart, orders, and sales documents. Therefore, you must decide whether to show prices, the subtotal, and shipping costs with or without tax. 

Price with and without tax will appear in the shopping cart as follows:

On Checkout it will look like this:

Additionally, you must decide whether you wish to Display a Full Tax Summary, Include Tax in Order Total, or Display Zero Tax Subtotal. Taxes are automatically added to the order total once they are set up (based on your configuration, customer & product classes, rules and location, and others). 

And now, we hope that through this guide you will be able to set up taxes in Magento 2 in the best possible manner. Navigating a new software can seem difficult but we have tried to be as thorough as we can to help ease the process. If there are any more questions feel free to reach out to us!