Installation & User Guide

Sales Tax DataLINK application for BigCommerce
Last updated: July 21, 2026

This guide walks you through installing the Sales Tax DataLINK app on your BigCommerce store, connecting it to your Sales Tax DataLINK account, activating it as your store's tax provider, and verifying that tax is calculated correctly at checkout.

Before You Begin

• An active BigCommerce store with permission to install apps and change tax settings (store owner or a user with those permissions).
• A Sales Tax DataLINK API key. The key is issued to you by Sales Tax DataLINK when your account is set up. If you don't have one yet, contact taxrates@salestaxdatalink.com.

Step 1 — Install the App

1. Find Sales Tax DataLINK in the BigCommerce App Marketplace and click Install (or Get This App).
2. Review the requested permissions and confirm. The entire install completes inside the BigCommerce control panel — you will not be redirected to an external site.
3. When installation finishes, you'll see a confirmation that Sales Tax DataLINK is installed, with a prompt to open the app and enter your API key.

Step 2 — Enter Your API Key

1. In the BigCommerce control panel, go to Apps → My Apps and open Sales Tax DataLINK.
2. The settings screen shows your store and the current connection status:
   • Needs API key — no key is saved yet; tax calculation is not active.
   • Active — a key is saved and the app is ready to calculate tax.
3. Paste your Sales Tax DataLINK API key into the Sales Tax DataLINK API Key field and click Save.
4. The app immediately verifies the key by running a sample rate lookup. You'll see one of:
   • "Saved and verified — sample rate for ZIP 90210 is …" — the key works. Continue to Step 3.
   • "Saved, but the key could not be verified…" — the key was stored but did not return a rate. Double-check for typos or extra spaces, and re-save. If it still fails, contact support (see below).

Note: Only the last 4 characters of your saved key are shown on the settings screen. To replace the key, just paste a new one and Save. Saving an empty field clears the key and disables tax calculation.

Step 3 — Activate the Tax Provider

Saving your API key connects the app, but BigCommerce also needs to be told to use Sales Tax DataLINK for the regions where you collect tax. Without this step, BigCommerce continues to use its built-in Basic Tax (often calculating $0 tax).

1. Go to Settings → Setup → Tax.
2. Find Sales Tax DataLINK in the list of tax services and click Edit.
3. Select United States, then select the states where you are registered to collect sales tax.
4. Click Save.

Sales Tax DataLINK is now the active tax provider for the selected states.

Step 4 — Verify at Checkout

1. On your storefront, add a taxable product to the cart.
2. Use Estimate Shipping & Tax in the cart with a ZIP code in one of your selected states — an estimated tax amount should appear.
3. Proceed to checkout and enter a full shipping address. The tax amount is refined using the complete street address for the most precise rate.
4. Confirm the order total shows a sales tax line.

How Tax Is Calculated

• Shipping & handling: Shipping is taxed only where freight is taxable for the destination; handling is taxed at the resolved rate.
• Tax-exempt items: Line items marked tax-exempt in BigCommerce are not taxed.
• Tax-inclusive pricing: Stores using tax-inclusive prices are supported — the app extracts the tax portion rather than adding tax on top.
• Non-US destinations: Orders shipping outside the United States are not taxed by the app.

Reporting and Filing

The app calculates and applies tax at checkout. Invoice submission, reporting, and filing are handled through your Sales Tax DataLINK service — your orders are not automatically filed from BigCommerce. Continue submitting your invoices to Sales Tax DataLINK through your existing process, or contact us to set one up.

Disabling or Uninstalling

• Temporarily disable: open the app under Apps → My Apps, clear the API key field, and Save. Tax calculation stops until a key is saved again.
• Uninstall: remove the app from Apps → My Apps. Your saved API key is cleared and the app's access to your store is revoked. Re-select a tax service under Settings → Setup → Tax so your store continues collecting tax.

Troubleshooting

Support

We're happy to help with installation, API keys, or rate questions: