A US KDP author pays no VAT and, in almost every state, no tax at all on Amazon ads. The one exception is Washington State: since October 1, 2025, Amazon adds Washington sales tax to the ad invoice of any advertiser billed at a Washington address, from 7.6% to 10.7% depending on the city. You cannot reclaim it like a VAT. But a business that advertises across the US can legally give Amazon a "multiple points of use" certificate and pay the tax only on the Washington share.
For self-published authors living in the United States, from Amazon Ads' help pages, Washington's laws and its Department of Revenue, checked in October 2026. This is information, not tax advice.
Check your own figures with our free Amazon Ads tax calculator
Who pays tax on Amazon ads in the US?
| Where you are billed | Tax Amazon adds | Can you get it back? |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 7.6% to 10.7% | No |
| Any other state | None | Nothing to get back |
The United States has no VAT and no federal sales tax. Amazon Ads' help center has a tax page for one state only, Washington: "This applies to Amazon Ads customers with billing addresses in Washington."
For an author outside Washington, there is nothing to recover, because nothing is added. Your ad cost is the amount you bid and spend, no more.
Why Washington taxes your Amazon ads
A 2025 law made advertising a taxable retail sale. Washington's ESSB 5814 took effect on October 1, 2025. The definition it wrote into RCW 82.04.050 covers "online referrals, search engine marketing" and "the acquisition of advertising space in the internet media". Sponsored Products ads are exactly that.
Amazon applies it to "all Display and Sponsored Ads products", for advertisers with a Washington billing address. The tax shows as a line item on your PDF invoice.
The rate is 6.5% for the state plus a local rate. In the Department of Revenue's table for October to December 2026:
| Location | Combined rate |
|---|---|
| Klickitat County (unincorporated) | 7.6% (the lowest) |
| Seattle | 10.55% |
| Edmonds, Lynnwood | 10.7% (the highest) |
The tax stays after 2029. A 2026 law removes several of the services ESSB 5814 taxed from January 1, 2029, but the 2029 version of RCW 82.04.050 still lists advertising.
What it costs a Seattle author
At Seattle's 10.55%:
| Ads per month | Tax per month | Tax per year |
|---|---|---|
| $300 | $31.65 | $379.80 |
| $1,000 | $105.50 | $1,266 |
| $3,000 | $316.50 | $3,798 |
Can a Washington author get the tax back?
No. Washington's sales tax is not a VAT: it has no credit you claim back on a return, and selling books does not change that. Paid on a taxable purchase, it is a cost.
So the only question is whether the purchase has to be taxable at all. Amazon names two exemption certificates it accepts for advertising.
A reseller certificate: not for authors
Amazon accepts it only if "you are an agency or reseller that purchases advertising services from Amazon for the purpose of resale to advertisers". You buy ads for your own books, so you resell nothing. Using one anyway would be a false certificate.
A "multiple points of use" certificate: yes, for a business
This one fits most authors who advertise beyond Washington. RCW 82.08.0208(6) says sales tax "does not apply to the sale of advertising services" when the buyer gives the seller a multiple points of use (MPU) certificate. The conditions:
- You buy as a business, not "for personal use". Advertising the books you sell is a business purchase.
- Your ads are "concurrently available for use within and outside this state". For online ads, the Department of Revenue says it "will presume there is concurrent use" when ads are shown inside and outside Washington. Ads on amazon.com reach shoppers in every state.
The tax does not vanish: you pay use tax on the Washington share yourself. The buyer "must report and pay" the use tax directly to the Department of Revenue. The share is where the people who see your ads are. When you cannot know that, the Department accepts "a reasonable estimation method using internet usage statistics or other information".
Example. You spend $1,000 a month and are billed in Seattle. Say 2% of the shoppers who see your ads are in Washington (our assumption, for the example):
| Per month | Without MPU | With MPU |
|---|---|---|
| Tax base | $1,000 | $20 |
| Tax at 10.55% | $105.50 | $2.11 |
| Per year | $1,266 | $25.32 |
The cost is paperwork: an exemption certificate on file with Amazon (its Washington tax page links to the exemption portal), records of how you split the spend, and use tax returns to the Department of Revenue. If the Department rejects your split, you owe the difference with interest, so keep your figures and ask it directly if in doubt.
Do not move your billing address out of Washington to avoid the tax. The Department lets sellers use a billing address only when it is "not determined in bad faith", and you would still owe Washington use tax on ads you use there.
How to lose less: waste less ad spend
Whatever your state, the lever you control is the ad spend itself. In Seattle, every dollar wasted on a click that never sells costs you $1.1055.
- Add negative keywords on search terms that spend without selling: how negative keywords work.
- Move spend from automatic to manual targeting once you know which searches sell: automatic vs manual targeting.
- Know what a click costs before you raise a bid: what Sponsored Products cost.
Gloriads can do the first two for you every day, by rules you set: for example, add a negative on any search term that spent more than a set amount without a sale.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay VAT on Amazon UK or Amazon.de ads as a US author?
No. Amazon charges VAT on ads to advertisers who live in a country on its list of "Countries that collect tax on Electronically Supplied Services". The United States is not on it.
Is Washington's tax on advertising going away?
No. The 2026 changes that start on January 1, 2029 keep advertising in the taxable services of RCW 82.04.050.
Which Washington rate applies to me?
The rate of the address on your Amazon Ads billing profile. Amazon: "the address associated with that billing profile will be used to determine the tax location".
Check your figures
Work out what tax adds to your Amazon ads with our free calculator, then take the figure to your accountant before you file an exemption certificate.
Authors elsewhere: Canada, the UK.
Sources
- Washington State Sales Tax Requirements for Amazon Ads, Amazon Ads help
- Countries that collect tax on Electronically Supplied Services, Amazon Ads help
- Interim guidance statement on ESSB 5814 advertising services, Washington Department of Revenue
- Local sales and use tax rates, October to December 2026, Washington Department of Revenue
- RCW 82.04.050 (advertising services as a retail sale), Washington State Legislature
- RCW 82.08.0208 (multiple points of use, subsection 6), Washington State Legislature
- SB 6113 (2026), chapter 250, Laws of 2026, Washington State Legislature
Gloriads is an Amazon Ads automation platform that creates, monitors and optimizes Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display and Streaming TV campaigns for sellers, brands, authors and agencies, by rules you control. See how it works.