Wait, Tariffs? For My Restaurant?
You probably didn’t open your restaurant to become a tax expert. But if you’ve started selling branded sauces online or moved into meal kits through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, or Shopify, you’re not just a restaurant anymore. You’re a marketplace seller. And that small shift? It comes with a tax twist few restaurateurs see coming: tariff implications.
Sounds dramatic, but it’s real. And honestly, it’s often ignored—until it bites.
From Fryers to Fulfillment Centers: How Restaurants Become Marketplace Sellers
Let’s say you’ve got a secret house-made hot sauce. Customers rave about it. Naturally, you start bottling it. Then come the e-commerce orders—maybe on your own site, maybe through a marketplace platform.
Here’s the thing: once your goods cross state or international borders, they could be subject to customs tariffs and import taxes. Not always, but more often than most restaurant owners expect.
Platforms like Amazon or Faire might handle the logistics, but they don’t absorb the tax risks for you. That falls on your business. And if you’re not clear on the difference between a direct seller and a marketplace seller, things can get messy fast.
“But I Just Sell a Few Boxes a Month…”
That’s the trap. Volume doesn’t matter as much as classification. The minute your physical product enters the flow of cross-border commerce, your small-batch shipments can trigger tax flags.
Here are a few scenarios where things get tricky:
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You source packaging from overseas and import it under your restaurant’s name
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You ship chili paste to customers in Canada
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You list a sauce bundle on Etsy, and an order comes from the UK
Each case could trigger tariffs, depending on the Harmonized System (HS) code your product falls under. If you’re unfamiliar with HS codes—imagine trying to assign your aioli the same classification as a commercial adhesive. It’s that confusing, and that easy to get wrong.
The Hidden Costs Behind a Jar of Jam
Say your artisan jam hits it big on a marketplace. Now you’re sending 10, 20, maybe 50 shipments a month. Here’s what could hit your books:
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Tariffs (based on country of origin and classification)
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Brokerage fees (yes, even for small packages)
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VAT or GST obligations in destination countries
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Increased scrutiny from your local tax authority, especially if your federal returns don’t match your sales reports from marketplaces
And get this—many restaurant owners assume the marketplace collects and remits all the taxes. Not always. Sales tax? Maybe. Import taxes or duties? Usually not.
Why This Isn’t Just an “Online Store” Problem
Even if you don’t ship internationally, multi-state sales can still raise issues. Some states treat certain food items as taxable, others don’t. And platforms aren’t always accurate in applying those rules.
You could be over-collecting and annoying customers, or under-collecting and opening yourself up to audit risk.
Plus, many restaurant POS systems don’t sync well with e-commerce platforms. You end up with fragmented records—great for chaos, bad for tax season.
What You Can Do Without Losing Your Mind
All this might sound like a lot, but there’s good news: you can handle it without becoming a customs expert or international tax wizard.
Here’s a short checklist to keep things under control:
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Identify where your products are going – Are you crossing borders? Even state lines? That’s the first sign of possible tariff or tax implications.
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Classify your products properly – Work with a CPA or customs broker who knows the codes. Guesswork here gets expensive.
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Check your platform’s tax handling policies – Are they collecting all necessary taxes? Probably not.
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Keep clean, accrual-based records – This helps reconcile taxes, avoid errors, and make your CPA’s life (and yours) easier.
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Ask about a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) if you suspect past errors – These programs let you fix mistakes without the full penalty wrath.
Restaurant Roots, Marketplace Rules
Running a restaurant is hard enough—now you’re also dealing with e-commerce logistics, tax jurisdictions, and tariff classifications? It sounds unfair. But this is the reality of scaling up, even in small ways.
You might be operating out of a kitchen, but the minute your goods start moving online, you’re part of a much bigger system. That doesn’t mean you need to change everything—it just means you need the right support behind you.
And honestly? That’s where firms like ours come in. We’ve helped plenty of restaurant owners transition into the online space without getting tripped up by hidden tax rules or tariff penalties.
Because your hot sauce deserves to go global—but your stress levels don’t.
