How to Mark Customers Tax Exempt in Shopify

If you have customers who are exempt from sales tax—such as resellers or nonprofit organizations—you'll need to take two steps to ensure they're not charged tax when checking out in Shopify using the TaxCloud integration.

This guide walks you through how to mark those customers as tax-exempt in Shopify and upload the appropriate exemption documentation to TaxCloud.

Step 1 – Mark Customers as Tax-Exempt in Shopify

Start by identifying which customers should be exempt from sales tax.

1. Follow this step-by-step guide from Shopify to mark the customer as exempt.
2. Record the customer's Shopify customer ID. You'll need their ID in the next step.
   • Check the URL in your browser; the customer ID is the number at the end of the URL, right after /customers/ .
   • For example: https://admin.shopify.com/store/your-shop-name/customers/123456789.
   • In this case, 123456789  is the customer ID.

Step 2 – Upload Exemption Certificates to TaxCloud

In addition to marking customers as exempt in Shopify, you must also upload valid exemption certificates to TaxCloud for compliance. TaxCloud requires a valid exemption certificate on file for each exempt customer in order to report the transaction as exempt to the state(s).

We offer a guide that shows you how to upload exemption certificates manually:

👉 How to Upload an Exemption Certificate in TaxCloud

• When you add the certificate, be sure to select your Shopify connection.
• Enter the Shopify Customer ID you copied previously.