Sales tax is a destination tax in the United States. The ship-to state on the order determines the sales tax rate.
The states of Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon do not levy a sales tax. Cisco is registered to collect sales tax in all other states. Please note that Alaska imposes city tax rates. Effective September 1, 2023, Cisco is registered with the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC) and is required to charge the city tax on orders delivered into participating Alaska cities.
Because of the legal obligation to the states in which Cisco Systems Inc and BroadSoft Adaption LLC are registered, the companies must collect sales tax on all customer orders. Sales tax does not have to be collected if proper documentation exempting the customer from sales tax is provided, or if the product or service sold is exempt for the ship-to state.
A Resale Certificate is an agreement between Cisco and its customer (the bill-to name on the invoice), stating:
A Direct Pay Permit is a permit issued by the state after a company has applied to pay all sales and use tax directly to the state, instead of to the vendors. A photocopy of the direct pay permit is required if no tax is to be included on the invoice.
A State-Specific Exemption Certificate is a form issued by the state.
A Communication Exemption – must be a registered communication provider and provide a completed exemption certificate.
Please note that business licenses or business permits are not considered acceptable documentation to exempt purchases from sales tax with the exception of Mississippi and Washington.
Virginia Communication Tax (VA CT): the state of VA has deemed the Webex Hosted Services to be subject to the 5% Virginia Communication tax. Only registered Communication Tax filers as well as state and local government authorities are exempt from this tax. Qualified companies must complete the VA CT 10 and submit it to Cisco Systems Inc and Broadsoft Adaption LLC using the CSH.
Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) – Sold by BroadSoft Adaption LLC: includes the possibility to purchase one of the solutions for connecting people across the world through voice communications. Various taxes and fees are applied to these services, as required by federal, state and local laws. The various taxes and fees will be detailed by tax type and taxing jurisdiction on the customer invoice. Please contact the specific state for more information.
Maryland tax on digital products: the state of MD has deemed WebEx hosted services to be subject to the 6% digital products tax. Qualified companies must submit tax exemption certificates to Cisco Systems Inc or BroadSoft Adaption LLC using CSH. For additional information about tax exempt eligibility, customers can contact the Maryland Comptroller’s office at sut@marylandtaxes.gov.
Most states have their own resale certificate forms. Some states require copies of the state-issued sales tax certificate to be issued to the vendors. Other states will accept a multi-jurisdiction certificate (MTC) or the Streamline Sales Tax Certificate (SSTC) that requests the same information but lists multiple states.
Please note that not all states allow this form to apply to services purchased for resale purposes. For this reason, the state-specific forms are required.
Printable, state-specific exemption and resale certificates are provided by Cisco.
To submit Tax certificate please create a case through customer service hub and search by "Sales Use Tax Support".
Items purchased for export purposes may be exempt from sales tax if the items are not used in the United States. The term “use” includes integration of other tangibles, configuration, or software implementation while in the United States. To support the exempt status, items must be delivered to a registered Freight Forwarding Agent which is registered as an international exporter. The legal name of the Freight Forwarding Agent in the “ship-to” fields of an invoice. Effective July 1, 2023, the state of Florida requires Forwarding Agents to register their business addresses. The state will issue a Certificate of Registration which should be provided to their clients. A copy of the Certificate of Registration should be provided to Cisco and will be stored under the Cisco customer’s account for audit purposes. Note that these certificates expire after five years.
To Submit Tax certificate for Broadsoft Inc, please send the updated certificate to broadsoftgsinquiries@cisco.com.