Does RealNetworks charge sales tax in the US?

RealNetworks charges sales tax for downloads and subscriptions where required by law. If sales tax applies to your order, you will see a statement to this effect on the order form when checking out. Please read below or refer to the Terms and Conditions for your product or subscription for further details.

Sales Tax
Companies selling over the Internet are subject to the same sales tax collection requirements as any other retailers.  Remote sellers must evaluate a number of factors, physical presence in the state, including employees, property, as well as any in-state business relationships.  We have evaluated our business and determined that by law, in some states, we have a sales tax collection obligation.  Therefore, we will charge sales tax in those states where we have the legal obligation to collect. Please click here to access the list of states from which we currently collect or are scheduled to collect sales tax.

For sales tax purposes, electronically delivered products (digital games and electronically delivered software) are considered to be shipped to your credit card billing address. The tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for your billing address.

No sales tax is charged when purchasing gift certificates; however, purchases paid for with gift certificates may be subject to tax.

How Tax Is Calculated
If an item is subject to sales tax, tax is generally calculated on the total selling price of each individual item. For digital orders, the tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for your billing address.

For subscription services many factors can change between the time you place an order and the time of your monthly credit card charge authorization, which could affect the calculation of sales taxes.

For example, tax law or tax rate changes, may occur between monthly billing cycles that could result in an increase or decrease in taxes charged. Other factors, such as a change to your credit card billing address may also effect the calculation of sales taxes.

Effect of the Internet Tax Freedom Act
Companies selling over the Internet are subject to the same sales tax collection requirements as any other retailers. Remote sellers (including Internet retailers and catalog companies) are generally required to collect taxes where they have a physical selling presence. If they do not have any such presence, they are not required to collect sales taxes.

The Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) has been renewed through November 1, 2014.

Please note, the ITFA was primarily intended to prevent state and local governments from imposing new or discriminatory taxes on Internet transactions and on Internet access. Despite the name of the Act, ITFA does not preclude state and local governments from imposing existing sales tax collection requirements on companies selling over the Internet.

Games Specific – Shipping address/Billing address
The tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for the address where your order was shipped. For digital orders, the tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for your billing address. Therefore, the sales tax rate applied to your shipped order may be different than it is for your digital order.

Tax Rate Increase
There may be a slight change to the total tax you are being charged as we have recently implemented taxing software which more accurately calculates the local sales taxes. Please read below or refer to the Terms and Conditions for your product or subscription for further details.

Sales Tax
Companies selling over the Internet are subject to the same sales tax collection requirements as any other retailers.  Remote sellers must evaluate a number of factors, physical presence in the state, including employees, property, as well as any in-state business relationships.  We have evaluated our business and determined that by law, in some states, we have a sales tax collection obligation.  Therefore, we will charge sales tax in those states where we have the legal obligation to collect. Please click here to access the list of states from which we currently collect or are scheduled to collect sales tax.

For sales tax purposes, electronically delivered products (digital games and electronically delivered software) are considered to be shipped to your credit card billing address. The tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for your billing address. No sales tax is charged when purchasing gift certificates; however, purchases paid for with gift certificates may be subject to tax.

How Tax Is Calculated
If an item is subject to sales tax, tax is generally calculated on the total selling price of each individual item. For digital orders, the tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for your billing address.

For subscription services many factors can change between the time you place an order and the time of your monthly credit card charge authorization, which could affect the calculation of sales taxes.

For example, tax law or tax rate changes, may occur between monthly billing cycles that could result in an increase or decrease in taxes charged. Other factors, such as a change to your credit card billing address may also effect the calculation of sales taxes.

Effect of the Internet Tax Freedom Act
Companies selling over the Internet are subject to the same sales tax collection requirements as any other retailers. Remote sellers (including Internet retailers and catalog companies) are generally required to collect taxes where they have a physical selling presence. If they do not have any such presence, they are not required to collect sales taxes.

The Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) has been renewed through November 1, 2014.

Please note, the ITFA was primarily intended to prevent state and local governments from imposing new or discriminatory taxes on Internet transactions and on Internet access. Despite the name of the Act, ITFA does not preclude state and local governments from imposing existing sales tax collection requirements on companies selling over the Internet.

Games Specific – Shipping address/Billing address
The tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for the address where your order was shipped. For digital orders, the tax rate applied to your order will generally be the combined state and local rate for your billing address. Therefore, the sales tax rate applied to your shipped order may be different than it is for your digital order.

Tax Rate Increase
There may be a slight change to the total tax you are being charged as we have recently implemented taxing software which more accurately calculates the local sales taxes.