Apple Care Purchase at Apple Store

Hi Folks,

I have a question for those who purchased their Apple Care Protection plans at an Apple Store. Basically, I had received an Apple Care Protection Plan for MBP as a gift about a week ago. It was purchased in a state that collects sales tax. Since I already had Apple Care for my MBP, I took it back to the Apple Store today (in sealed, original condition) to return it and get credit towards another purchase. I was under the impression that sales tax would be returned when a purchase is returned. However, I only received a credit of 349.00; no tax. So I began to wonder if Apple Care is a "taxed" item.

So my question is, to those of you who purchased their Apple Care Protection Plan at an Apple Store, did you get charged tax at the point of sale?

 

While I didn't purchase my AppleCare at the Apple Store, but rather eBay, that I was NOT charged of any sales tax. And I got mine from an eBay Store.

 

Ebay almost rarely never charges tax.

 

I think you meant ebay almost rarely charges taxes.

In any case, I specifically wanted to know if those who purchased their Apple Care at an Apple Store in a state where sales tax is collected, was actually charged the tax. Again the reason I ask is that I don't want to be short-changed by Apple by about 20 bucks, because the sales clerk forgot to return the tax as a part of the return process.

 

That's probably true. It could have been a scam, because the seller said his item was coming from a state that had an 8% sales tax, and he insisted that every product on eBay from that state would have the tax.

 

Colton,

Sellers who have registered businesses and ship their items to a state where they have representation, they are obligated to collect sales tax. Take for example Company X based in Milton, MA. Consider that the buyer Y also lives in MA. If Buyer Y buys an item from Company X on eBay, Company X is legally required to collect sales tax from Buyer Y. On the other hand, consider the same scenario, but this time, Buyer Y lives in RI. Assuming Buyer Y purchases an item from Company X, Company X is not required to charge sales tax, since the sale is technically occuring outside the state.

Thus it could be that the seller was based in the same state as you are and hence charged sales tax.

Talking about "scamming" moves on the part of sellers, what really ticks me off is sellers automatically raising their prices according to the live cashback percentage.

 

Tax is charged when Applecare is purchased through Apple.com so yes.

Subtotal: $349.00
Free Shipping : $0.00
Estimated Tax: $27.05
Estimated Total:

$376.05

 

If you want sales tax refunded, you have to take it up with the state the tax was collected for.

Ie; I live in sales tax free Oregon. About 30 miles north east of me, is Washington state. If I buy something in Vancouver, WA for $100, they'll charge me 6.5% (ie; $6.50). If I return it to the same chain of stores, but at a retailer down here in Oregon, they have no access to that $6.50. It's already been sent to Olympia, WA to the department of treasury, which my state and it's retailers have no access nor rights to.

 

It turns out that in the state of MA, Apple Care is considered a service item and not an actual retail item. Thus its exempt from sales tax. Funny thing is, if I try to order the item through Apple.com, I still get charged the sales tax. It says "estimated" so, I bet when it comes time to shipping the item, I would only be billed for the item price alone.

 

Hmm that sucks, I'm pretty sure here in Canada when you return something you get tax back, witch makes more sense because you no longer own the product. But then we get charged 13% tax D:

 

In the US, you will get the tax back as well, but only if you return the item to a state that also charges state sales tax. Here is an example:

Say person A purchases an item in MA where the sales tax is 5%, and then returns the item in MA, then person A will be refunded the purchase price and the 5% sales tax.

Say person A purchases an item in MA where the sales tax is 5% and then returns the item in RI, where the sales tax is 7%, then person A will technically be refunded purchase price + 7% sales tax. Now many computer systems are aware of this "error" if you will, and will only refund the total paid price (i.e. no more than purchase price + 5%), although some systems will still give you a refund of more than what you paid for the item.

Say person A purchases an item in MA where the sales tax is 5% and then subsequently returns the item in NH where the sales tax is 0%, the person will be refunded the purchase price only (i.e. no sales tax). In this case, if a person wants to collect the sales tax, they must submit an appeal to the MA Dept. of Revenue with proof that the item has been returned to obtain a refund. In most cases, the tax amount is negligible and many people don't go through with this procedure. But if you are returning a big ticket item, it would be prudent to return it in the same state that you purchased it to avoid these sort of issues.

It just gets tricky when you live on the border between two states and have the option of shopping on either side of the state line.