4 Ways for Marketplace Facilitators to Adapt to Market Changes

What marketplace facilitators are responsible for

The South Dakota v. Wayfair Supreme Court decision changed the e-commerce tax landscape permanently. Since that ruling, states have increasingly placed the burden of sales tax collection and remittance on marketplace facilitators (MPFs): the businesses that run digital platforms enabling third-party sales. If you operate a marketplace, you are likely the audited entity. You are responsible for accurate recordkeeping, correct tax calculation on every transaction, and providing sellers with the information they need to file their own returns.

Four questions every MPF tax leader should answer

This eBook works through four of the most common questions tax leaders at marketplace facilitators face today. Who owns audit exposure and recordkeeping? How is collection responsibility determined across different states? How do you calculate economic nexus thresholds when a seller mixes direct and facilitated sales? And how is taxability determined when clear guidance from states is still lacking? The answers are not always simple. Over 40 states have ruled that MPFs bear collection responsibility, yet each state applies its own rules and thresholds.

Why the complexity keeps growing

The breadth of products sold through third-party sellers creates real risk. Tax rates differ by product type, by state, and sometimes by local jurisdiction. Getting a tax calculation wrong means someone is liable, and in most states, that someone is the marketplace facilitator. Add the continued expansion of e-commerce and states' growing motivation to recover lost tax revenues, and the pressure on MPFs will only increase.

A practical path to staying ahead

The eBook outlines five steps prudent MPFs can take now: consolidate transaction data into a single source of truth, review current processes and controls, prioritize states by transaction volume and nexus thresholds, assess whether voluntary disclosure makes sense, and automate the tax management lifecycle. Tax automation helps you maintain accurate records, handle audit preparation, and deliver correct invoices at scale, without redirecting your team's time away from higher-value work.

For tax leaders navigating e-commerce compliance, this guide offers clear, actionable perspective on where your responsibilities begin and how technology can help you meet them.