Troubleshooting Missing or Incorrect Taxes on Orders

Taxes suddenly appeared on my wholesale manifests that weren't there yesterday. What happened?

Check the following in Settings > Taxes & compliance > Taxes:

1. Tax rate application rules — Review each tax rate's Customer types setting. If a tax was recently changed from "Apply to all" to specific types (or vice versa), it may now apply to wholesale customer types that it didn't before.
2. Tax categories — Verify the products on the manifest are assigned to the correct tax category. A category change could cause a tax to start applying.
3. Location — Confirm you're logged into the correct location, as tax rates are location-specific.

Key fact: Transactions are calculated using the tax rates in effect at the time of the transaction. Changes to tax rates do not apply retroactively to already-completed transactions.

The POS charged the wrong tax amount. Can I fix it?

Once a transaction is completed, the tax amount cannot be changed because it's calculated based on the tax rates that were configured at the time of sale. If the tax rate was set incorrectly:

1. Fix the tax rate in Settings > Taxes & compliance > Taxes.
2. The corrected rate will apply to all future transactions, but will not retroactively change past transactions.
3. If needed, void the incorrect transaction and re-ring it with the corrected tax settings.

My online orders are showing a different tax amount than what the POS calculates. Why?

POS is the source of truth for tax collection. If you change taxes in E-Commerce first, then change POS second, any orders placed between those changes will use incorrect tax amounts. Always update POS taxes first, then update E-Commerce.

If you're integrated with Dutchie POS and have Discount Sync enabled, taxes shown in carts and applied at checkout are based on Dutchie POS settings. However, menus and product detail pages may still reflect Dutchie E-Commerce taxes until this is fully deprecated.

Configuring Tax Rates by Geography

How do I set up different tax rates for different delivery zones?

Dutchie POS supports zone-based tax rates for deliveries:

1. First, set up delivery zones in Delivery > Configure > Zones.
2. Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance > Taxes.
3. Click Add rate or edit an existing rate.
4. Under Application Rules, find the Zones field.
5. Select which zones this tax rate applies to.
6. Click Save.

This allows you to apply different tax rates based on where the delivery is going (e.g., different city/county tax rates).

How do I set up city and county taxes separately from state taxes?

Create a separate tax rate for each level of taxation:

1. Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance > Taxes.
2. Click Add rate for each tax level (e.g., "State Sales Tax," "City Tax," "County Tax").
3. For each rate, configure:
   • Rate name: A descriptive name (e.g., "Denver City Tax")
   • Rate type: Percentage
   • Rate amount: Enter the rate as a decimal (e.g., 6% = 0.06)
   • Metrc Tax type: Select the appropriate type (City, County, Excise, or Sales) if your state requires tax reporting to Metrc. Select None if not required.
4. Click Save for each rate.

Assigning Tax Categories to Products

What are tax categories and how do I set them up?

A: Tax categories broadly classify products subject to different tax rates (e.g., "Cannabis" vs. "Non-Cannabis"). They are different from product categories (like Flower, Edibles, etc.).

To create tax categories:

1. Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance and select the Taxes tab.
2. Click Add category.
3. Enter a descriptive Name (e.g., "Cannabis," "Non-Cannabis," "CBD").
4. Click Save.

To assign a tax category to products:

• By product category: Go to Products > Configure > Categories, select a category, and set its Tax category.
• By individual product: Go to Products > Catalog, select a product, and set its Tax category field. This overrides the category-level assignment.

How do I check which products are in which tax category?

Run the Product Applied Tax Category report in Reports > Inventory. Export to CSV and filter the "Tax Category Applied" column. Blanks represent products with no tax category assigned — you'll need to fix these by going to the product in the Catalog and selecting the correct category.

Configuring How Discounts Affect Taxes

How do I control whether taxes are calculated before or after discounts?

Each tax rate has a Gross tax setting in its Application Rules:

• Gross tax = Yes: Tax is calculated on the original price before discounts (used in California and some other states that require gross tax).
• Gross tax = No: Tax is calculated on the discounted price (after discounts are applied).

To configure: Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance > Taxes, edit the rate, and set Gross tax to Yes or No.

What are the discount application options and how do they affect taxes?

In your E-Commerce tax settings, you can choose from three discount application methods:

Note: With out-the-door pricing enabled and Discount Application set to "Taxes First," the tax breakdown won't appear separately at checkout — it will show as "Subtotal" with tax included.

Enabling Tax-Inclusive Out-the-Door Pricing

How do I enable out-the-door pricing so the sticker price includes tax?

Out-the-door (OTD) pricing makes the listed price the final price the customer pays, with tax already included. To enable it:

1. Go to Settings > Location > Options in the Backoffice.
2. Enable Out-the-door pricing.
3. Click Save.

⚠️ Contact Dutchie Support before changing this setting. Enabling or disabling OTD pricing can have unintended effects on your base prices and taxed prices.

If I have out-the-door pricing in POS, how does it affect my online menu?

If OTD pricing is enabled in POS, cart and checkout prices in E-Commerce will also be tax-inclusive. For each tax rate, you can further control online display with two settings:

• Include tax in online menu prices — Prices consumers see while browsing include this tax.
• Include tax in online prices at checkout — Prices in the Summary section at checkout include this tax.

Example: An $8 base price item with 25% tax:

• OTD OFF + Include Tax Online: Online price shows $10 (tax added)
• OTD OFF + Exclude Tax Online: Online price shows $8 (tax not added)
• OTD ON + Include Tax Online: Online price shows $10 (no change)
• OTD ON + Exclude Tax Online: Online price shows $8 (tax subtracted)

Regardless of these settings, the order summary always shows a breakdown of subtotal + taxes.

Configuring State-Specific Cannabis Excise Rules

How do I set up my state's cannabis excise tax?

Cannabis excise taxes are configured as regular tax rates with specific settings:

1. Go to Settings > Taxes & compliance > Taxes.
2. Click Add rate.
3. Configure:
   • Rate name: e.g., "CA Cannabis Excise Tax"
   • Rate type: Percentage
   • Rate amount: Enter as decimal (e.g., 15% = 0.15)
   • Is excise tax: Yes
   • Metrc Tax type: Select Excise (if your state reports to Metrc)
4. Under Application Rules, set Tax categories to apply only to your cannabis tax category.
5. Click Save.

State-specific examples from your knowledge base:

• California: Excise tax with Is excise tax = Yes, Tax type = Excise, Arm's length setting available
• New York: 9% state + 4% local cannabis tax, both with Gross tax = Yes, Is excise tax = Yes
• Maryland: 9% cannabis tax + 6% local tax for recreational, Tax type = Sales
• Michigan: 24% wholesale tax on transfers to adult-use retailers

Synchronizing POS and E-Commerce Tax Settings

Do I need to set up taxes in both POS and E-Commerce?

If you're integrated with Dutchie POS and have Discount Sync enabled:

• Carts and checkout use Dutchie POS taxes — these are the source of truth.
• Menus and product detail pages currently still reflect Dutchie E-Commerce taxes, so you should maintain tax configurations in both systems for now.

In the future, menus will also reflect POS taxes and E-Commerce tax configuration will be deprecated.

Which system should I update first when changing tax rates?

Always update Dutchie POS first, then Dutchie E-Commerce. If you change E-Commerce first and an order is placed before you update POS, the POS will charge the wrong tax amount since POS is the source of truth for tax collection.

Configuring Customer Tax Rules

How do I charge different tax rates for medical vs. recreational customers?

When creating or editing a tax rate:

1. Under Application Rules, find the Customer types field.
2. Select Apply to selected types and check the appropriate customer types.
3. If the rate differs by customer type, enter different percentages next to each type — these override the main "Rate amount" field. Leave blank to use the default rate.
4. Click Save.

Example: To apply a 9% cannabis tax only to recreational customers:

• Customer types: Apply to selected types → check Recreational
• Rate amount: 0.09

Medical patients might be exempt or have a lower rate depending on your state.

Configuring Cash Rounding Rules

How does rounding interact with tax calculations?

Tax is applied before rounding. The rounding amount appears as a separate line in the closing report. Gross tax collection combined with rounding might create small discrepancies, which is expected behavior. The Rounded Amount field in your POS Transaction Summary report shows the total rounding applied to each transaction.

Common questions

• "How do I set up the new cannabis excise tax for my state?"
• "My customer is being charged tax on a medical order but they should be tax exempt"
• "How do I enter a 6% tax rate? Do I type 6 or 0.06?" (a common error — rates must be in decimal form)
• "We changed our tax rate but old orders still show the old amount — is this a bug?"
• "Where do I set up taxes for my online menu? Do I need to do it in both POS and E-Commerce?"
• "What Metrc Tax type should I select — City, County, Excise, or Sales?"
• "We turned on out-the-door pricing and all our online prices changed — how do I fix this?"
• "My discounts are showing lower than expected after we enabled gross tax — is this normal?"
• "How do I make non-cannabis items (like accessories) tax-free?"
• "Do I need to set up stacking taxes if my state has both a sales tax and a cannabis excise tax?"

Additional reading

• Troubleshooting for Dutchie POS