Support

Overview

VapeTax is a BigCommerce app that calculates vape excise tax and state sales tax at checkout. It connects to BigCommerce's Tax Provider API, meaning tax is calculated in real time when your customers check out — no manual work required.

The app comes preconfigured with all 50 states + DC using Tax Foundation 2026 data. You classify your products once, review the rules for your nexus states, and VapeTax handles the rest.

How It Works

1. Customer adds products to cart and proceeds to checkout.
2. BigCommerce sends the cart items and shipping address to VapeTax.
3. VapeTax identifies each product's type (open liquid, closed pod, disposable, device, accessory).
4. VapeTax looks up the excise tax rules for the shipping state.
5. Excise tax is calculated based on the product type, volume, wholesale cost, or retail price.
6. Sales tax is applied on the excise-inclusive amount.
7. The tax breakdown is returned to BigCommerce and displayed at checkout.

Dashboard Guide

The VapeTax dashboard is accessible from Apps → VapeTax in your BigCommerce control panel. It has five tabs.

Tax Rules

All 63 state tax rules displayed in a searchable, filterable table. Filter by: All, Taxed, No Tax, or Disabled. Toggle any state on or off. Click Edit to change the method, rate, system type, thresholds, or nicotine settings.

Products

Your synced BigCommerce catalog with parent/variant grouping. Click Sync Catalog to pull the latest products. Classify each product to set its type, volume, cartridge count, nicotine flag, and wholesale cost. Use Ignore for non-vape items.

Reports (Pro)

Date range picker with quick selects (This Month, Last Month, This Quarter, Last Quarter, This Year, Last Year). Filter by state. Summary cards show total excise tax, orders, taxable amount, and states. Breakdown table by state. CSV export with totals.

Markup

Set your wholesale and retail markup percentages. These are used as a fallback when a retail price isn't available from your BigCommerce catalog for states that tax on a retail basis.

Settings

Store information, tax provider connection registration, and subscription management with plan comparison.

Tax Rules

VapeTax pre-loads 63 tax rules on install covering all 50 states + DC. This includes 16 states with no vape-specific excise tax, 10 bifurcated states with separate open/closed rules, and special cases like California (stacked), Washington (nicotine split), Maryland and Nebraska (volume thresholds).

Tax Methods

Method	Calculation	Fields Used
pct_wholesale	Wholesale cost x rate	wholesale_cost, rate
pct_retail	Retail price x rate	retail_price, rate
pct_mfg	Manufacturer price x rate	wholesale_cost (proxy), rate
per_ml	Volume in mL x rate	volume_ml, rate
per_cartridge	Cartridge count x rate	cartridge_count, rate
none	Returns $0	None

System Types

Some states tax open systems (refillable e-liquids) and closed systems (pods, disposables) at different rates. VapeTax supports three system type settings on each rule:

• All — Rule applies to all vape products
• Open — Rule applies only to open_liquid products
• Closed — Rule applies only to closed_pod and closed_disposable products

Editing Rules

Click the Edit button on any state to open the rule editor. You can change the method, rate, system type, volume threshold, threshold direction, nicotine requirement, and add notes. Click Save to apply. Changes take effect on the next checkout.

Product Classification

After syncing your catalog, each product needs to be classified. This tells VapeTax how to calculate tax for that product.

Product Type	Taxable	Example
Open Liquid	Yes	Refillable e-liquid bottles (30mL, 60mL, 100mL)
Closed Pod	Yes	Pre-filled pod packs (JUUL, Vuse)
Closed Disposable	Yes	Single-use disposable vapes (Elf Bar, Lost Mary)
Device	No	Mods, batteries, tanks, starter kits
Accessory	No	Coils, chargers, drip tips, cases

Classification Fields

• Volume (mL) — Required for per_ml states and volume threshold states (MD, NE).
• Cartridge Count — Required for per_cartridge states (KY, NM).
• Contains Nicotine — Required for Washington state nicotine split rules.
• Wholesale Cost — Used by pct_wholesale and pct_mfg states.

Parent/Variant Behavior

Products with variants show an expand arrow. Click to see individual variants. Use Classify All on a parent product to cascade the product type and nicotine flag to all its variants. Individual variants can be edited separately if they differ (e.g., different volumes).

Ignoring Products

For non-vape products (merchandise, gift cards, etc.), click Ignore. This sets the product to accessory/non-taxable and greys it out. Use Ignore All on a parent to cascade to all variants. Use Unignore to reset.

Sales Tax

VapeTax calculates sales tax on the excise-inclusive amount. This means excise tax is calculated first, added to the product subtotal, and then sales tax is applied on top — which is how most states require it.

Sales tax rates are configured per state in the Sales Tax Rules section. Rates are seeded as zeros on install — you need to fill in the rates for your nexus states.

Markup Settings

The Markup tab lets you set default wholesale and retail markup percentages. These are used as a fallback when calculating tax for states that require a retail or wholesale price basis, and your BigCommerce catalog doesn't have the needed price.

Defaults: 5% wholesale markup, 30% retail markup (based on Tax Foundation assumptions). If your BigCommerce products have accurate retail prices set, VapeTax uses those directly at checkout instead of these estimates.

Compliance Reports (Pro Plan)

The Reports tab provides tax history and compliance summaries for filing.

• Date range picker with quick selects: This Month, Last Month, This Quarter, Last Quarter, This Year, Last Year.
• State filter to view data for specific states.
• Summary cards showing total excise tax, total orders, total taxable amount, and number of states.
• State breakdown table with excise tax, sales tax, and order count per state.
• CSV export with a totals row for your accountant or filing.

Tax Provider Connection

VapeTax connects to BigCommerce via the Tax Provider API. After installing the app, you need to register the connection and enable VapeTax in your store's tax settings.

1. Open VapeTax and go to the Settings tab.
2. Click Register Connection under Tax Provider Connection.
3. Go to Settings → Tax in your BigCommerce control panel.
4. Select VapeTax from the Tax Provider dropdown.
5. Click Save.

Billing & Plans

Feature	Base ($49.99/mo)	Pro ($99.99/mo)
Excise tax at checkout	Yes	Yes
Sales tax at checkout	Yes	Yes
Product classification	Yes	Yes
50-state rules, fully editable	Yes	Yes
Unlimited products	Yes	Yes
Compliance reports	—	Yes
Quarterly summaries	—	Yes
CSV export	—	Yes
Tax audit trail	—	Yes
Priority support	—	Yes

Both plans include a 14-day free trial with full access to all features. Billing is handled by BigCommerce — you'll see VapeTax charges on your BigCommerce invoice. Cancel anytime from the Settings tab.

Troubleshooting

Tax showing as $0 at checkout

• Make sure VapeTax is selected as your tax provider in Settings → Tax.
• Make sure you've clicked Register Connection in the VapeTax Settings tab.
• Verify the product is classified (not set to Device or Accessory).
• Check that the shipping state has an active, enabled tax rule.
• Check that the product has the correct volume, cartridge count, and/or wholesale cost set.
• Confirm your trial hasn't expired. If it has, subscribe to resume tax calculation.

Products not showing after sync

• Products are grouped by parent. Click the expand arrow to see variants.
• Use the search bar to find specific products by name or SKU.
• Try a fresh sync — click Sync Catalog again.

Tax rules seem incorrect

• VapeTax ships with Tax Foundation 2026 default rates. States may have updated since.
• Click Edit on the state to verify and update the method, rate, and system type.
• Check for bifurcated states — some states have separate rows for open and closed systems.
• Verify the product's system type matches the rule's system type.

Can't find the Tax Provider dropdown in BigCommerce

• Go to Settings → Tax in your BigCommerce control panel.
• The Tax Provider dropdown appears on stores with a tax provider app installed.
• Make sure you've clicked Register Connection in VapeTax first.

State Edge Cases

California — Stacked Tax

California applies two excise taxes simultaneously: 54.27% of wholesale cost plus 12.5% of retail price. Both calculate and sum. VapeTax handles this with two separate rules for CA.

Maryland — Volume Threshold

Maryland taxes at 60% of retail for products at or below 5mL, and 20% of retail for products above 5mL. Make sure the volume field is set correctly on your products.

Nebraska — Volume Threshold

Nebraska charges $0.05 per mL for products at or below 3mL, and 10% of retail for products above 3mL.

Washington — Nicotine Split

Washington taxes nicotine-containing products at 95% of wholesale cost, while non-nicotine products are taxed per milliliter. Set the Contains Nicotine flag correctly on your products.

Bifurcated States

10 states tax open and closed systems at different rates: CT, GA, IN, KY, MD, NE, NH, NJ, NM, and RI. VapeTax has separate rules for each system type in these states. Make sure your products are classified as the correct type.