Do Walmart Tax Charges Correctly Account for Coupons?

Consumers in Missouri may have paid too much in Walmart tax charges when they used a coupon to make a purchase.

Different states have different ways of calculating sales tax when a store or manufacturer’s coupon is presented. When consumers take the time to clip and present coupons for discounts or they are entitled specific employee-based discounts, they should not have to make sure that monies are gathered from them in other ways to reduce the offered discount.

But according to some consumers, receipts for purchases in which a coupon was used show a Walmart tax calculation based upon purchase price before the coupon discount was applied, which may result in an overcharge for sales tax.

Missouri is one of the states in which the law has required retailers to process the state sales tax calculation based upon the post-discounted balance. But consumer advocates suspect that Missouri Walmart locations may be non-compliant with the demands of the statute involved.

To the extent that Missouri Walmart locations are failing to make this necessary adjustment, they may have overcharged millions of customers. Overcharging for sales tax could put Walmart on the hook for  to the tune of millions of dollars in restitution.

If there was negligence in understanding the necessary calculation by the retailer’s management team, it would be a gross oversight given the number of Missouri Walmart stores that are in place across the state.

Consumers in another state with similar laws have already secured a $45 million Walmart class action settlement providing restitution for the alleged overcharges. The settlement began with a class action lawsuit filed in a Pennsylvania court, alleging that the big box store calculates its Walmart tax on sales based upon a pre-discount figure.

The plaintiff filed the Walmart tax lawsuit back in June 2013 after purchasing two cans shaving cream with a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. He alleged his Walmart tax on the sale was figured to be $.42 on what would have been a total charge of $5.94 if one of the can’s price had not been discounted.

After presenting the coupon to the sales clerk, the plaintiff claimed, he should have been charged tax on the discounted amount, figured by multiplying .07 times $2.97 for a total of $.20 cents. He ended up being charged nearly double that, he claimed.

This Walmart class action lawsuit ended in an agreement by the retail giant to pay out $45 million to qualifying Class Members who could provide necessary documentation of improper Walmart taxation.

Other retailers who have faced similar class action investigations include Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Club.

While this settlement covered customers who made purchases in Pennsylvania, shoppers at Missouri Walmarts could still be overcharged. If you have made purchases with a coupon at a Missouri Walmart, you may qualify to join a free Walmart sales tax class action investigation.

Join a Free Walmart Coupon Sales Tax Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you used a coupon at a Walmart store in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, or Texas, and the retailer charged sales tax based on the purchase price before the coupon was applied, you may qualify to file a Walmart coupon class action lawsuit.

Learn More