2026 tax year · Tennessee
Marketplace seller taxes in Tennessee
Etsy, eBay, Shopify and the rest report your gross and withhold nothing. The gap between that and what you are taxed on is your costs, in Tennessee that gap is worth $5,937 in tax.
Take a driver who grossed $45,000 over 18,000 business miles. After mileage at 74.3 cents and the rest of the stack, worked through on the marketplace seller page $26,775 comes off and $18,225 is left as taxable profit. That profit is what Tennessee and the IRS charge against.
What that leaves you owing in Tennessee
| Self-employment tax | $2,575 |
| Federal income tax | $67 |
| Tennessee income tax | $0, no state income tax |
| Total tax | $2,642 |
| Effective rate on gross | 5.9% |
Earning more in Tennessee
A single filer taking the standard deduction, this work as the only income, the calculator above handles the other filing statuses. Miles rise with earnings, so the deduction rises too, and the effective rate on gross climbs more slowly than it would for someone whose income grew without expenses attached:
| Volume | Gross | Mileage off | Taxable profit | Tennessee tax | Total tax | Rate on gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time | $15,000 | $0 | $15,000 | $0 | $2,119 | 14.1% |
| Steady side income | $45,000 | $0 | $45,000 | $0 | $8,579 | 19.1% |
| Full-time | $72,000 | $0 | $72,000 | $0 | $14,803 | 20.6% |
Tennessee specifics that change the number
Tennessee draws a sharp line by entity type. A sole proprietor faces only the gross-receipts business tax, and only after $100,000 of gross receipts in a county or city (a minimal activity license covers the $3,000 to $100,000 range; the business tax itself has a $22 minimum). Form an LLC, though, even a single-member LLC, and the franchise and excise taxes apply: 0.25% of net worth with a $100 minimum, plus 6.5% of Tennessee taxable income. In Tennessee, staying unincorporated is itself a tax decision.
Selling into and out of Tennessee
Income tax follows you: Tennessee taxes your profit wherever the buyer was. Sales tax does not. Marketplace facilitator laws make the platform collect and remit sales tax on your behalf in most states, which is why a seller can have customers in all fifty and still file only one income tax return. Selling off-platform is where that stops being true.
On $18,225 of profit, what the states around Tennessee would charge:
| State | Its tax | vs Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | $633 | +$633 |
| Kentucky | $638 | +$638 |
| Missouri | $705 | +$705 |
| North Carolina | $727 | +$727 |
| Mississippi | $729 | +$729 |
| Virginia | $790 | +$790 |
| Alabama | $871 | +$871 |
| Georgia | $946 | +$946 |
- Arkansas would take $633 more, $633 against Tennessee's $0.
- Kentucky would take $638 more, $638 against Tennessee's $0.
- Missouri would take $705 more, $705 against Tennessee's $0.
- North Carolina would take $727 more, $727 against Tennessee's $0.
- Mississippi would take $729 more, $729 against Tennessee's $0.
- Virginia would take $790 more, $790 against Tennessee's $0.
- Alabama would take $871 more, $871 against Tennessee's $0.
- Georgia would take $946 more, $946 against Tennessee's $0.
Marketplace seller tax questions in Tennessee
How much should a Tennessee seller set aside?
About 5.9% of gross on the $45,000 example, $2,642 across self-employment tax, federal income tax and nothing to Tennessee. In practice that means moving about $59 of every $1,000 payout into a separate account the day it lands, and sending roughly $661 to the IRS each quarter, no platform withholds any of this for you. Set aside from each payout rather than finding it in April.
Does the $45,000 on my 1099-NEC match what Tennessee taxes?
No. Tennessee taxes profit, not gross. After $26,775 of deductions the taxable figure is $18,225, so there is no Tennessee tax either way. But the federal side drops by $5,937. The form reports what the platform paid out, it knows nothing about your costs, and no one subtracts them for you. On this example 60% of the gross never becomes taxable income, but only for the seller who kept the records to prove it.