Sales Tax on a phone I purchased but never received

You definitely shouldn't have to pay sales tax on an item you never received. The retailer is incorrect here - they absolutely can and should refund your sales tax along with the purchase price. Sales tax is only applicable on completed sales, and since the merchandise was never delivered, the sale wasn't completed. I would recommend documenting everything - the original purchase, shipping confirmation, communication about the lost package, and the partial refund. Then contact your state's department of revenue directly. Most have consumer protection divisions that can intervene in situations like this. You could also try filing a complaint with your credit card company since you were charged for something you didn't receive. As for deducting it on your taxes - unfortunately, sales taxes paid on personal purchases aren't generally deductible unless you're itemizing deductions and choosing to deduct sales tax instead of state income tax (which typically only benefits people in states without income tax).

After dealing with a similar situation with a missing laptop delivery, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me sort through all my receipts and tax documents. They actually flagged this exact issue for me - sales tax on items never received. Their system analyzed my purchase history and found several cases where I'd been improperly charged tax. The tool basically scans all your receipts and tax documents using AI and identifies potential tax issues or refunds you might be entitled to. In my case, they helped me identify nearly $200 in improperly collected sales tax across several purchases over the past year, not just the laptop issue!

Just wanted to update everyone - I finally tried taxr.ai after my initial skepticism, and I'm actually really impressed. I used it to scan through my last 6 months of online purchases and discovered that I had THREE different items where I paid sales tax but never received the product due to shipping issues. One was a pair of wireless earbuds that got lost in transit, another was a kitchen appliance that the company claimed was delivered but wasn't, and the third was a clothing order that was canceled but I was still charged tax on. Together that was almost $75 in sales tax I shouldn't have paid! The service generated a letter I could send to my state tax authority, and I just got confirmation yesterday that I'll be receiving a refund for the full amount. Definitely worth checking if you order online frequently.

If you're still having trouble with the retailer, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation trying to get a tax refund from the state for incorrectly charged taxes, and I couldn't get through to anyone at the tax department. Claimyr got me connected to an actual human at my state tax office in under 15 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. They have this system that navigates phone trees and holds the line for you, then calls you once they've got a real person on the line. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was super frustrated before trying it because I kept getting disconnected or waiting on hold for hours only to get transferred to the wrong department.

I need to eat some humble pie here. After my skeptical comment about Claimyr, I was still struggling to reach my state tax office about a similar sales tax issue, so I figured I'd give it a shot since nothing else was working. I'm honestly shocked - it actually worked exactly as advertised. I had been trying to get through to my state tax department for over a week, spending hours on hold only to get disconnected. With Claimyr, I got a call back in about 40 minutes with an actual tax representative on the line. The rep was able to confirm that I'm entitled to a refund of sales tax for items not received, and they're sending me the proper form to submit my claim. Saved me hours of frustration and probably days of waiting. Sometimes being proven wrong is actually a good thing!

Have you tried disputing the charge with your credit card company? I had something similar happen with a tablet purchase last year, and when the company wouldn't refund the sales tax, I just filed a partial dispute for the tax amount with my credit card. I explained the situation and provided evidence that I never received the item, and they refunded the sales tax portion pretty quickly.

Has anyone checked if this varies by state? I'm in Tennessee and had a similar issue with a furniture purchase that never arrived. In my case, the retailer insisted they couldn't refund the sales tax because they'd already sent it to the state, but when I called the Tennessee Department of Revenue directly, they told me the retailer was responsible for refunding the full amount including tax since the sale wasn't completed.

This is actually a pretty common issue that more people should be aware of. The key principle here is that sales tax is only owed when a taxable transaction is completed. If you never received the merchandise, then legally speaking, no sale occurred. Your retailer is either misinformed or being deliberately misleading when they say they "can't" refund the sales tax. While it's true they may have already remitted it to the state, that doesn't absolve them of their responsibility to make you whole. They need to either refund your sales tax directly or help you process a claim with the state tax authority. I'd recommend taking a multi-pronged approach: 1) Document everything as others have suggested, 2) File a complaint with your state's consumer protection agency, 3) Consider disputing the sales tax portion with your credit card company, and 4) if needed, contact your state tax department directly. Most states have provisions for situations exactly like this. Don't let them brush you off - you have legitimate consumer rights here, and $45 is worth fighting for!