Social Retargeting by Chango

Pam C. September 23, 2011 at 4:48 PM

Hi Charlene. i love your website and facebook page. I am pretty new to couponing and just came upon something when i was coupon shopping today at CVS. Maybe you can tell me if this is something that has always happened and i just never noticed or if this is something new because so many people are doing it now. O.K. this is what went down. I had gotten a raincheck for some dawn liquid dishsoap at the sale price of .99 ea. Along with that i stacked a manufacturers coupon for .75 cents off with a limit of 4 which is what i bought. Each one came to .24 cents x 4 is .96 cents but the tax came to .32 cents. What happened here??? What they do is tax on the sale price before coupons not on what i actually paid for it. Has that always been so?? Or some new tax law? i’m still stunned. I went to another CVS and they did the same thing too. Am i just behind the times?? Please respond when u can.

Thanks,
PC

Brandy September 24, 2011 at 12:31 PM

Hey Pam C.-

I am not Charlene, but maybe I can help. When you use a manufacturer’s coupon, you are responsible for the full sales price before coupon. So, if you buy the soap at $.99, you are responsible for the sales tax for the $.99 purchase, not the price after coupon. Now, generally, if you are using a store coupon (the ones that actually say “store coupon” at the top, these generally (at least in my experiences) will essentially make the item minus the store coupon a sales price, so you would only be responsible for the tax on the item after the coupon. So, basically, had your coupon been a store coupon, you only would have paid tax on $.24. It is a little confusing, but hopefully it makes sense!

Charlene September 24, 2011 at 12:46 PM

That is right. A coupon is a form of payment just like cash or a check or a credit card. So the tax rate is not reduced if you pay with cash vs if you pay with a credit card and the same principle applies to coupons. The full pre-coupon price is what your tax is based off and you are responsible for that- I talked about that specifically in my post about realistic couponing. When you see people buy 400 toothbrushes just to have them in the basement, it makes no sense to me because you are paying tax on each and every one so to buy excessive quantities seems like it would be a lot of money even if the item was
“free” with coupons.

lacie l October 20, 2011 at 11:35 AM

good to know.. fantastic i seen this had a simliar issue but at wally world

lacie l October 20, 2011 at 11:38 AM

says they are all gone

Gidget December 29, 2011 at 2:51 AM

Hello, Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. I have a question about stacking.
If i Have a BOGOF for widgets and a 1/1 widget can I use them togeather, they are both manufacturer’s coupons. thanks for your help.

Charlene December 29, 2011 at 7:38 AM

Gidget,

This should help you:

http://myfrugaladventures.com/2011/04/understanding-buy-one-get-one-free-coupons/

TJ April 15, 2012 at 3:47 AM

When price matching at Walmart, how does Walmart validate competiters pricing if you don’t bring in the ad?

Charlene April 15, 2012 at 9:17 AM

TJ,

They are supposed to keep copies of every ad themselves that can be referenced. Personally I find the process much easier if you just take the ads in yourself. I have had cashiers just take my word for it on certain price matches in the past and others that had to dig the flyers out and it was a nightmare.