Can you still sell on Houzz? Platforms, entities and taxes for home goods sellers after Shop Houzz closed (2026)

No. Houzz itself stopped running the product business in August 2025 and licensed it to a Cart.com company operating as "Shop Houzz." Shop Houzz told vendors on May 7, 2026 that it was no longer taking orders and closed on May 22. As of November 2026, Houzz has announced no new selling channel.

Houzz launched on-site shopping (the Houzz Marketplace) in the U.S. in October 2014, selling furniture, lighting, bath fixtures, building materials and décor, and many Chinese factories and U.S. importers sold through it. The business then changed hands:

Description: rows are in time order; the last column is what it meant for sellers. Dates come from Houzz's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and from trade-press reports of the vendor notice.

When	What happened	What it meant for sellers
October 1, 2014	Houzz launches on-site shopping (Houzz Marketplace), first in the contiguous U.S.	Third-party sellers sell home products on Houzz
August 5, 2025	Shop Houzz is operated by Cart.com Holdings 2, LLC under license; the terms say Houzz is neither the seller nor the operator	Orders, payments, returns and customer service move to Shop Houzz; sellers have a new counterparty
September 2025	Shop Houzz moves to its own site, shophouzz.com	Seller back-office migration; some vendors commented in the trade press about missing listings and locked pricing
May 7, 2026	Vendor notice: no new orders as of that day	Selling ends
May 15, 2026	Open orders must ship by this date or are canceled and refunded	Unshipped orders become refunds
May 22, 2026	Shop Houzz formally closes; vendor portal data is archived afterwards	Export orders and account records before this date
June 30, 2026	Scheduled final vendor disbursements	Unpaid amounts become receivables to pursue, and possibly bad debts
November 2026	Houzz.com continues with inspiration, the professional directory and Houzz Pro; no shopping	There is no "Houzz onboarding" to do

• Houzz and Shop Houzz are different companies: the Shop Houzz site states it operates independently and has no affiliation with Houzz.com or Houzz Pro. Houzz's Terms of Use effective October 6, 2026 still say Shop Houzz is operated by Cart.com Holdings 2, LLC under license and that Shop Houzz is the merchant of record.
• The old seller terms are gone: third-party sources describe a 15% selling fee on Houzz, GTIN or UPC requirements and a $12-per-order late-shipment fee. That describes the old model only; don't plan around it.
• Will it reopen? Houzz hasn't said. If it does, go by houzz.com and a written contract. If someone charges to "get you onto Houzz" today, ask which channel it is, who you sign with, and who pays you.

Sales on Shop Houzz from January through May 2026 are 2026 income and go on your 2026 return, whether or not a 1099-K arrives. If the platform never paid what it owed, an accrual-basis seller can deduct a bad debt once the amount is worthless; a cash-basis seller never included it in income and has nothing to deduct.

• Keep the records: order, settlement, refund, commission and chargeback detail supports your 2026 return and any later exam. If you didn't export before May 22, request it in writing through Shop Houzz's support channel and keep the correspondence.
• Sales tax is generally not yours to make up: under Houzz's terms, from August 5, 2025 Shop Houzz was the merchant of record, charging the customer and handling returns, so it generally collected and remitted the sales tax on those orders. Book revenue net of the tax the platform collected; don't count that tax as your income. The settlement report's tax column is the guide.
• A 1099-K may or may not come: if you received more than $20,000 in more than 200 transactions through Shop Houzz in 2026, the operator should send a 1099-K by the end of January 2027; with the business closed it may be late or missing. Report from your own settlement records either way (see yclcpa.com/1099k).
• Unpaid remittances and bad debts: if you sold goods, the platform acknowledged the payable and never paid, an accrual-basis business already included it in income and can take a business bad-debt deduction under IRC §166 when it becomes wholly or partly worthless. While you are still collecting and the debtor hasn't refused, it is usually too early. A cash-basis seller never counted the unpaid money as income, so there is no bad debt.
• Returned goods and leftover stock: orders canceled or returned at closure reduce revenue; goods back in your warehouse stay in inventory at cost and are expensed when sold. A loss is recognized only when you actually sell below cost, scrap or donate them.

Houzz now does three things: inspiration and a directory of professionals for homeowners, Houzz Pro software for designers and remodelers, and custom advertising for brands. It no longer sells products, but designers and contractors are major buyers of home products, and Houzz is still one way to reach them.

Description: each row is one Houzz business, with who uses it, how it is priced, and what it means for selling home products. Prices are Houzz's list prices at the time; the website and contract decide.

Business	Who uses it	Pricing	What it means for sellers
Houzz.com inspiration and directory	Homeowners looking for ideas and pros	Free for homeowners	Your products may appear in designers' project photos, but no one can check out
Houzz Pro software	Designers, remodelers, architects	Subscription: Pro $199/month, Teams from $399/month, plus a free Basic plan; online payments carry processing fees	Designers build selection boards, estimates, invoices and purchase orders, buy from suppliers and resell to clients
Brand advertising	Home brands and manufacturers	Custom programs, not self-serve; Houzz's team produces the content	Sponsored articles, native display, co-marketing with local dealers, driving traffic to your dealer network

• Houzz Pro online payments: designers and contractors invoice clients and collect through Houzz Pro, with Stripe as the payment processor. Houzz Pro's help page says Stripe helps prepare the 1099-K and sends it by January 31; the page still shows the old $600 threshold, while the federal threshold is now $20,000 and 200 transactions. The IRS rule governs.
• What it means for a Chinese factory: to reach U.S. designers and contractors (the "trade channel"), you work through U.S. distributors, showrooms or your own U.S. company. You are then a wholesaler; sales to designers are for resale, and you collect their resale certificates.

It depends on whether you are selling goods or a construction job. A designer who sells furniture, lighting or drapery to a client is making a retail sale and collects sales tax, buying from suppliers tax-free with a resale certificate. A contractor who installs materials as a capital improvement is, in North Carolina, the consumer of those materials: tax is paid on purchase and no sales tax is added to the client's bill.

Using North Carolina as the example (NCDOR Sales and Use Tax Bulletins, January 2026):

• Designers selling goods: retail sales by interior designers and decorators are taxable (SUTB 49-1). Design services provided with a sale are exempt if separately stated on the invoice (SUTB 49-2); folded into the price of goods, they are taxed with it.
• Buying for resale: give suppliers Form E-595E (the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption) for goods bought to resell; you collect tax when you sell to the client.
• Construction jobs: new construction, reconstruction, remodeling, or work requiring a building permit is a capital improvement. North Carolina does not tax the gross receipts from a real property contract (SUTB 72-3); the contractor is the consumer of the materials, pays tax when buying them, and may not separately state tax on the invoice (tax separately stated is an erroneous collection that must be remitted). A designer who receives Form E-589CI (Affidavit of Capital Improvement) from the homeowner or contractor treats the job as a real property contract (SUTB 49-3).
• Repair, maintenance and installation: work that isn't a capital improvement is generally taxable as a service in North Carolina; check each job (see yclcpa.com/salestax).
• Other states differ: some tax design fees, some let contractors buy materials for resale. The client's state and the job's location decide.

Example (hypothetical numbers, to show the method): a designer in Wake County, North Carolina buys a sofa for a client at $3,800, sells it with markup for $5,000, and separately bills a $1,200 design fee. The designer gives the supplier an E-595E and pays no tax on the purchase; on the sale, $5,000 × 7.25% (Wake County's combined 2026 rate) = $362.50 in sales tax, and the separately stated $1,200 fee is not taxed. Folding the fee into a single $6,200 invoice would make all $6,200 taxable, adding $87.00.

With Houzz gone, the main U.S. online channels for home goods are Amazon, Walmart, Wayfair and TikTok Shop, plus Etsy for handmade and original designs. The difference isn't just fees: with Wayfair you sell to Wayfair, while on the others you sell to the customer and the platform takes a commission. That decides who collects sales tax, whether you give a W-9 or W-8, and where your inventory sits.

Description: each row is a platform, with its model, who can sell, main fees, who collects sales tax, and what to watch. Fees are standard rates for common home categories, before promotions or new-seller incentives.

Platform	Model	Who can sell	Main home-category fees	Who collects sales tax	Watch for
Houzz	No selling channel	n/a	n/a	n/a	Shop Houzz closed 2026-05-22; Houzz Pro and brand ads remain
Wayfair	Supplier model: you sell to Wayfair, Wayfair sells to the customer	By application; a North American warehouse or 3PL, or CastleGate	Settled at the wholesale cost agreed with Wayfair	Wayfair, from the customer; your sale is for resale	Wayfair sets retail price; see yclcpa.com/wayfair
Walmart	Marketplace	U.S. companies, and some foreign companies on Walmart's list at the time	No monthly fee; furniture 15% up to $200, 10% above; home décor 15%	The platform	Entity, W-9 and Form 8832 in full at yclcpa.com/walmart
Amazon	Marketplace	U.S. and foreign individuals and companies, including sellers in China	Professional plan $39.99/month; furniture 15% up to $200, 10% above; home & kitchen 15%	The platform	FBA inventory spread across states; see yclcpa.com/fba
Etsy	Marketplace	Items the seller makes or designs, vintage, craft supplies	$0.20 listing fee + 6.5% transaction fee + U.S. payment processing 3% + $0.25	The platform	Reselling factory stock is not allowed; factory-made designs must disclose the production partner
TikTok Shop	Marketplace (content commerce)	U.S. local, cross-border and managed stores	About 6% in most categories, plus creator commissions	The platform	Store types and onboarding at yclcpa.com/tiktok

• Overstock and Target Plus also carry home goods; see yclcpa.com/overstock and yclcpa.com/target.
• Big items are a logistics business: sofas, cabinets and building materials are bulky and costly to return, so most sellers ship from U.S. warehouses or 3PLs. Wherever the goods sit, you have physical presence in that state (next section).
• One company can sell on several platforms: the same U.S. company can run Amazon, Walmart and its own website with the books split by channel; keep Wayfair wholesale revenue separate from retail, because sales tax treatment differs.

On Amazon, Walmart, Etsy and TikTok Shop, the platform collects and remits sales tax on its orders as a marketplace facilitator. Supplying Wayfair is a wholesale sale to Wayfair, and Wayfair collects from the customer. On your own website, and on sales to designers and retail clients, you decide and collect.

• Thresholds count all channels: most states require registration above $100,000 a year of sales into the state; California, Texas and New York use $500,000. Some states count marketplace sales toward the threshold and expect a registration and zero returns. North Carolina's rules are at yclcpa.com/salestax.
• Inventory in the state ignores thresholds: your own warehouse, a 3PL or a platform warehouse holding your goods gives you physical presence there, and registration is generally required; the platform collects on its orders, but off-platform orders are yours.
• Wholesale needs resale certificates: when you sell to Wayfair, distributors or designers for resale, you don't charge tax but must keep their resale certificates (formats vary; the multistate one is the SST certificate). Without one, the state can assess you.
• Your own website: you collect on Shopify and similar stores. Tools like Stripe Tax calculate the tax, but registration and filing are still on you (see yclcpa.com/stripetax).

A state where your goods sit may expect income or franchise tax. Federal P.L. 86-272 protects only sellers whose in-state activity is soliciting orders filled from outside the state; inventory in the state generally takes you outside it, and it never covers gross-receipts taxes such as the Texas franchise tax or Washington B&O.

• Read the inventory reports: 3PL, FBA, WFS and CastleGate receiving and inventory reports show which states hold your goods; list them by state each year.
• Texas and Washington: the Texas franchise tax no-tax-due threshold for 2026 and 2027 reports is $2,650,000; below it no tax is due but an information report is still filed. Washington B&O is on gross receipts.
• California: an LLC or corporation with inventory in California or over its "doing business" thresholds owes the $800 minimum franchise tax.
• Details: which states to file in, how income is apportioned, and how to catch up on past years are covered at yclcpa.com/fba.

A U.S. citizen, green card holder or resident selling home goods as an individual or single-member LLC reports net profit on Schedule C and pays income tax plus 15.3% self-employment tax; eligible owners can deduct 20% of qualified business income. The 1099-K is gross and must be reconciled to the platform's settlement reports, with the differences itemized.

• Reconciling the 1099-K: it includes commissions, shipping and pre-refund amounts; commissions, ads and storage fees the platform withholds are expenses, and refunds reduce revenue (see yclcpa.com/1099k).
• Higher profits: look at an S corporation: with steady, higher net profit, an S election lets you pay yourself a reasonable salary and take the rest free of self-employment tax; foreign persons can't be S corporation shareholders (see yclcpa.com/scorp).
• Quarterly estimates: without wage withholding, pay federal estimated tax quarterly to avoid underpayment penalties.
• Designers and contractors: client payments through Houzz Pro may also be reported on a 1099-K; keep resale revenue, design fees and construction receipts separate, and remember sales tax collected is not income.

A single-member LLC owned by one foreign person that hasn't elected corporate status is a disregarded entity. Under the Form W-9 instructions, the foreign owner gives a W-8; the LLC does not give a W-9 under its own EIN. The LLC files pro forma 1120 + Form 5472 every year, with a $25,000 penalty per missed form. With inventory in a U.S. warehouse and sales to U.S. customers, the owner may have effectively connected income (ECI) and need to file Form 1040-NR.

• When the platform only takes a W-9: many U.S. platforms accept only a W-9. A foreign-owned single-member LLC that signs one is treated as a U.S. person, and its reporting won't match your filings. A common route is a Form 8832 election to treat the LLC as a C corporation; it then gives a W-9 and files Form 1120 at the 21% federal rate, with Form 5472 for 25% foreign ownership.
• The election sticks: under Treas. Reg. §301.7701-3(c)(1)(iv), after a change in classification you generally can't change again for 60 months (an initial election by a newly formed entity doesn't count). Run the numbers first: 21% on profits kept in the company, and 30% withholding on dividends to a foreign shareholder, generally 10% for a Chinese tax resident with a valid W-8BEN under the U.S.–China treaty.
• ECI risk: inventory in the U.S. and sales to U.S. customers generally mean a U.S. trade or business. While the LLC is disregarded, that income is the owner's, who files a 1040-NR (applying for an ITIN with the return if there's no SSN; see yclcpa.com/itin); after a C election, the tax is at the company level.
• The full analysis: choosing W-9 or W-8, the 8832 effective date and trade-offs, and platform-specific requirements are at yclcpa.com/walmart and yclcpa.com/w8ben; Form 5472 is at yclcpa.com/5472.

Sales from the factory to its own U.S. company are related-party transactions: prices must be arm's length, the IRS can adjust them under IRC §482, and large adjustments can carry 20% or 40% penalties. For goods imported from a related party, the U.S. company's inventory cost generally can't exceed the customs value (IRC §1059A). The price drives U.S. income tax, customs duty and the Chinese side's tax all at once.

• Support the price: sign a purchase agreement covering price, payment terms and who bears freight and duty; benchmark against the factory's prices to unrelated customers, or give the U.S. company a reasonable distributor margin. Keep the calculations (see yclcpa.com/subsidiary).
• Match customs value and inventory cost: the purchase-price component of book inventory cost can't exceed the value declared to customs. Declaring low at the border and booking high in the ledger creates problems on both sides.
• Who is importer of record: if the U.S. company is the IOR, it registers with CBP and needs a customs bond for formal entries (generally over $2,500); under DDP the forwarder is the importer, and duties and refunds sit in its name.
• Tariffs: as of November 2026, Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods remain; IEEPA tariffs ended with the Supreme Court's February 20, 2026 decision and importers of record can seek refunds; the $800 de minimis exemption has been suspended since August 29, 2025. Duties go into inventory cost and are expensed through cost of goods sold (see yclcpa.com/fba).
• Foreign-ownership reporting: a 25%-foreign-owned U.S. corporation reports purchases, loans and service fees with the factory on Form 5472; a foreign investor forming a new U.S. company files BEA Form BE-13 within 45 days.

It depends on who owns it, whether profits stay in the company, and which platforms you use. A U.S. owner starting out is simplest with a single-member LLC; a Chinese owner can start with an LLC, but a W-9-only platform or U.S. inventory often points to a C corporation; a factory's U.S. subsidiary is usually a C corporation from day one.

Description: each row is a common situation, with the usual entity, how it files federally, and what to watch. It's a starting point; profit, owners and state taxes decide.

Your situation	Common choice	Federal filing	Watch for
U.S. owner, starting out	Individual or single-member LLC	Schedule C + 15.3% SE tax	Separate accounts; consider an S corp as volume grows
U.S. owner, steady higher profit	LLC electing S corporation	1120-S, reasonable salary	No foreign shareholders; see yclcpa.com/scorp
Chinese individual owner, platform accepts W-8	Single-member LLC	Pro forma 1120 + 5472; owner files 1040-NR if ECI	Give the owner's W-8; see yclcpa.com/w8ben
Chinese individual owner, W-9-only platform or larger volume	LLC electing C status via 8832, or a corporation	1120 + 5472, 21% federal	Generally locked for 60 months; see yclcpa.com/walmart
Chinese factory forming a U.S. subsidiary	C corporation (often Delaware)	1120 + 5472; related-party pricing	BE-13 within 45 days; see yclcpa.com/subsidiary
Partners selling together	Multi-member LLC	1065 + K-1	Section 1446 withholding for foreign partners

• Where to form: Wyoming and Delaware are common; an office, employees or warehouse in North Carolina or another state also requires foreign qualification there. State comparisons are at yclcpa.com/llc, the full entity comparison at yclcpa.com/entity, and C corporations at yclcpa.com/ccorp.

Keep books monthly from each platform's settlement reports, separating gross sales, commissions, advertising, storage and shipping fees, and refunds, with inventory costed by unit. Each year, file the federal return for your entity, Form 5472 for foreign-owned companies, state income or franchise tax, state annual reports, and sales tax in states where you have inventory or sales.

• State fees and franchise taxes: Wyoming's annual report starts at $60; a Delaware LLC pays $300 a year; California LLCs and corporations pay at least $800; North Carolina's corporate franchise tax is at least $200. A missed annual report leads to administrative dissolution, which platforms and banks check (see yclcpa.com/annual).
• One set of books, many platforms: classify Amazon, Walmart, Wayfair and website revenue by channel, with retail and wholesale separate, so profit is visible.
• Samples, trade shows, returns: samples for designers, trade-show costs, and freight and damage on large returns are recorded separately; they are deductible expenses.

Example (hypothetical numbers, to show the method): Mr. Chen is a Chinese tax resident. In 2024 he formed Wyoming A LLC, 100% owned, with no entity election. A LLC imports chandeliers from China into a New Jersey 3PL and sold on Shop Houzz from January to May 7, 2026; from June it sells on Walmart and applies to supply Wayfair. A LLC uses the accrual method.

The point: if A LLC just signs a W-9 under its own EIN, the platform treats it as a U.S. person and issues a 1099-K, the IRS finds no matching 1120, and the letters and penalties that follow are harder to unwind; one missed Form 5472 starts at $25,000. Whether to file an 8832, and with what effective date, depends on the facts.

Start with whether you are a former Shop Houzz seller, a factory changing platforms, or a designer or contractor using Houzz Pro. Common situations:

• Situation A: you sold on Shop Houzz and are still owed money. Gather settlement and collection records, report full-year 2026 income, decide bad-debt treatment by accounting method, and keep inventory at cost.
• Situation B: a Chinese factory moving home goods to Walmart, Amazon or Wayfair. Decide the entity and W-9 or W-8 first, then warehouses and the importer of record; document factory-to-U.S. pricing.
• Situation C: a Chinese owner's single-member LLC and a W-9-only platform. Weigh a Form 8832 C election and its effective date; catch up any missing pro forma 1120 + 5472 first.
• Situation D: a U.S. designer or remodeler collecting through Houzz Pro and reselling furniture or materials. Separate retail sales, design fees and real property work; register for sales tax, buy with resale certificates, and reconcile the 1099-K.
• Situation E: an IRS or state letter about Form 5472, sales tax or a 1099-K. Upload it at yclcpa.com/notice; we check the deadline and amount and request relief where available.