Question

Which of the following taxpayers may owe a use tax on their state income tax return?
Yasmin bought a new sofa at a store located in her home state. She paid state sales tax on this purchase.
Luca ordered a new espresso maker from an online retailer located in a different state. The retailer did not collect any sales tax on the purchase.
Hana purchased shoes while on vacation in another state, paying a state sales tax of 9% to the state where she purchased the shoes. The sales tax rate in the county and state where Hana lives is 6%.
Layla ordered a birthday gift for her nephew through an out-of-state online retailer. The retailer collected the sales tax owed to Layla's home state at the time of purchase

Answer 1

Only Luca may owe use tax.

Reasoning:
- Yasmin: paid sales tax in her home state, so no use tax.
- Luca: ordered from an out-of-state seller that did not collect tax — the buyer is responsible for use tax on untaxed purchases.
- Hana: paid 9% to the other state while her home rate is 6% — she paid more than the home rate, so no additional use tax is due.
- Layla: the out-of-state retailer collected the home-state tax at purchase, so no use tax is owed.