Collecting tax on gross ticket sales for online events

In some jurisdictions, Eventbrite is required to collect and remit tax on applicable ticket sales for online events, unless you’re exempt from sales tax. If you host online events and are located in the U.S., applicable tax will be determined by both your location and your ticket buyer’s location. To determine tax collection on your events, go to Payments & Tax and select Tax Settings. Then, answer the questions in your tax settings. Depending on your answers, Tax Options may be available.

NOTE: Consult a tax professional if you have questions about your tax obligations. Eventbrite is unable to offer tax advice.

In this article

Tax for online events
If you or your event is exempt
Complete your tax settings
How tax collection affects your tickets
How tax collection affects your payouts
View collected tax

Tax for online events

Tax rates and rules differ based on the buyer’s state, county, and local jurisdiction. Generally, tax is calculated by multiplying the buyer's total by the tax rate of the buyer’s location. Eventbrite is required to collect tax if your attendee is in a taxable location.

Since applicable tax is based on the buyer’s location, attendees may see different tax rates, or no tax at all, depending on their specific location:

If your ticket buyer is located in a taxable state, then Eventbrite will collect and remit taxes on the ticket sale (unless you’re an exempt organization).
If you’ve added a separate tax rate using Tax Options, tax will only be collected if you and the ticket buyer are located in the same state.

If you or your event is exempt

If you’re a non-profit organization under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, you may qualify to have sales tax waived. If your event qualifies for possible exemptions, you will see an exemptions question in your Tax Settings. Exemptions are only applicable if you, as the event host, are located in a state where Eventbrite has a tax obligation.

For any questions regarding your tax obligations, please consult a tax professional, as Eventbrite cannot provide tax advice.

Complete your tax settings

Go to Manage my events and select your event. Then, select Tax Settings (under Payments & Tax) and complete your tax settings:

Select yes or no to confirm whether or not you reside in one of the states listed.
Enter your zip code.
If you reside in one of the states listed, select yes or no to confirm if your organization is a non-profit.
Select the button to confirm you understand that tax rates may differ per order since the applicable tax is determined by the ticket buyer’s location.
(Optional) If you reside in a state that is not listed, you can choose to add tax options. Per online event tax rules, the tax rate you set will only apply when the ticket buyer is located in your state.
(Optional) By default, your attendees will pay tax on top of their ticket price. However, if you check the box to Absorb tax, the tax won’t be paid by your attendees and instead will reduce your payout.
Select Save.

You’ll need to complete your tax settings for each individual event you host.

How tax collection affects your tickets

To understand how tax will affect the price of your tickets, go to your event’s Dashboard and select Add tickets. Then, select a ticket type and select How fees work. In the modal, you might see the following text:

Estimated cost to buyer: By default, attendees pay the tax amount on top of the ticket price. The tax amount can vary depending on the attendee’s location provided during checkout.
Excluding sales tax deductions and your estimated payout: If you chose to absorb tax, then the tax amount is deducted from your final payout. The tax amount can vary depending on the attendee’s location.
Tax to file is not applicable for all transactions: If you added a Tax Option, it will only be collected if you and your ticket buyer are located in the same state. If the ticket buyer is not located in the same state, Eventbrite may instead collect and remit other online event taxes on your behalf.

How tax collection affects your payouts

Your payouts may be affected depending on how you’ve set up your tax:

(Default) If you add tax on top of the total price, you won’t notice any difference in your payout. The tax is added on top of the buyer total and paid by the attendee.
If you check the box to Absorb tax, the tax won’t be paid by your attendees and instead will reduce your payout.

Keep in mind, the total amount each ticket buyer pays may vary, since tax collection is determined by the ticket buyer’s location.

View collected tax

To view taxes collected on each order, download your Orders report and view the following columns:

Eventbrite tax: Taxes collected and remitted by Eventbrite on your behalf.
Organizer tax: Any Taxes that you chose to collect in Tax Options. These taxes are paid to you in your payout and are your responsibility to remit to the proper tax authorities. If you chose to absorb tax, the tax amount was not collected from your ticket buyer.