Overview
Some states, including New York, require taxes to be calculated on the original item price, even when discounts are applied at checkout. Treez supports this requirement by ensuring that discounts do not reduce the taxable amount, while still applying discounts correctly to the final total.
๐ This setting is not accessible to end users. If your store is required to calculate taxes on pre-discount prices, please contact Treez Support to enable the appropriate tax behavior for your location.
How Tax Calculation Works
When this behavior is enabled:
All configured taxes (state, local, compounding, etc.) are calculated on the original item prices before discounts
Discounts do not reduce the tax basis
What This Means for Discounts
All discount types continue to apply to the order as expected, including:
Automatic and manual discounts
Reward discounts and loyalty redemptions
Round down at checkout
Tier pricing
However, these discounts will not lower the taxable amount.
Promotion & Pricing Consideration
When taxes are calculated on original (pre-discount) prices, promotions with very deep discounts may result in a final total higher than the advertised discounted price, especially for stores that use post-tax pricing.
This typically occurs when the discount percentage exceeds the effective tax rate. In these cases, the discount reduces the item price, but taxes are still calculated on the original price, which can lead to customer confusion if the promotion is advertised as a final โout-the-doorโ price.
How Taxes and Discounts Work Together
Example order
Item price: $100.00
Discounts applied: $20.00
Total taxes (state + local): 8%
Result
Taxes are calculated on $100.00
Total taxes = $8.00
Discounts reduce the total, but do not reduce taxes
Final total
$100.00 โ $20.00 discounts + $8.00 taxes = $88.00
What to Notice
The tax amount stays the same, even with discounts
Discounts still reduce what the customer pays