Target Plus Is Invite-Only: What It Takes, and the 5 Company and Tax Items to Have Ready First

Target Plus is the third-party marketplace Target launched in 2019. It takes sellers by invitation only; Target says every partner is selected and vetted, but it has not published full requirements or referral fees. What Target's own materials confirm: sellers ship their own orders, a sample of items is reviewed before the full assortment goes live, payouts arrive every Tuesday through Stripe, and Target collects sales tax in marketplace facilitator states. Invitations can move fast while entities and tax forms can't, so prepare before you are asked.

What is Target Plus, and why is it invite-only?

Target Plus is the third-party marketplace inside Target.com and the Target app. Partners sell and ship the items, which appear in search results alongside Target's own products. Target's June 2024 press release counted more than 1,200 partners and over 2 million products, each partner selected and vetted. On July 1, 2026, Target added brands such as Clarks, Forever 21, JanSport, Serta and Hisense, and again described Target Plus as invite-only and curated.

Unlike Amazon or Walmart, there is no open sign-up. The only application path Target has announced publicly: since June 2024, U.S. Shopify merchants can apply through Marketplace Connect. Target hasn't described how other sellers are invited.

What has Target said, and what is only industry talk?

Confirmed by Target: Target's partner training materials (tgt-files.target.com) cover three things. Item setup: submit about 100 representative items for review by Target's item team, revise per feedback, then list the full assortment; categories with consistently complete data move to auto-approval. Performance: measured by Order Defect Rate (ODR), with delivery time and inventory management feeding in. Payouts and tax: set up a Stripe account first, and payouts reach your bank every Tuesday; referral fees, shipping and returns affect the amount; partners configure their tax settings in the portal. These materials date from around 2020, so details may have changed.

Industry talk, not confirmed by Target: agency and software-vendor articles say you need a U.S. business and U.S. bank account, price parity with other online channels, a referral fee of about 5% to 15% with no monthly fee, and shipping within 24 hours. Useful as a guide, but the invitation and partner agreement decide.

International sellers: Target hasn't said whether Chinese companies can join directly. The 2024 release mentions only U.S. Shopify merchants, and the Target Accelerators FAQ says international brand owners aren't currently supported. In practice, overseas brands first set up a U.S. company, a U.S. bank account and U.S. inventory and fulfillment.

Five company and tax items to have ready before the invitation

1. Which company sells: settle the entity

A U.S. resident can start with a single-member LLC and look at S corporation status once profit is steady. A single-member LLC owned by one Chinese individual is disregarded for U.S. tax and files pro forma 1120 plus Form 5472 every year, at $25,000 per missed form; with inventory in U.S. warehouses and sales to U.S. shoppers, the owner generally also files Form 1040-NR. Higher-volume sellers who want to keep profit in the business usually use a C corporation. Once the entity is set up with Target and Stripe, changing it means resubmitting everything, so decide first.

2. The EIN letter, and names that match

Your formation documents, the IRS EIN letter (CP 575 or 147C), the bank account and the tax information in Stripe should show the same company name, address and EIN. If the letter is lost, call the IRS business line for a 147C; if the address changed, file Form 8822-B first.

3. W-9 or W-8

U.S. individuals, U.S. corporations and multi-member LLCs give a W-9. A single-member LLC owned by a foreign person, with no election, gives the owner's W-8 under the W-9 instructions (generally W-8ECI when there is U.S. business income), not a W-9 under the LLC's EIN. A name/TIN mismatch can mean 24% backup withholding on payouts. If the system offers only a W-9, ask before you fill it in.

4. Sales tax settings and nexus

On Target Plus orders, Target calculates, collects and remits sales tax as the marketplace facilitator in states with marketplace laws, which now covers all 45 sales-tax states and D.C. Your job is to keep item tax codes right and update nexus changes in the portal. Sales tax on your own site and other wholesale customers, and income or franchise tax in states where your inventory sits, are not covered by the platform.

5. Bookkeeping basis and 1099-K reconciliation

Weekly payouts are net of referral fees, shipping and refunds. Book sales at the gross amount shoppers paid and record each fee separately. Over $20,000 and 200 transactions a year you will receive a 1099-K (go by what you actually receive) showing gross amounts, and it should reconcile to the settlement reports.

Foreign owners: should the LLC elect C corporation status on Form 8832?

If you want to give a W-9 and keep the owner off Form 1040-NR, the LLC can elect corporate treatment on Form 8832 and become a U.S. C corporation: Form 1120, 21% federal tax, and still Form 5472 when 25% or more foreign-owned. The effective date can reach back up to 75 days before filing; after a classification change, another change is generally barred for 60 months (Treas. Reg. §301.7701-3(c)(1)(iv)), though an initial election by a newly formed entity isn't limited. Dividends from the C corporation to a foreign shareholder are withheld at 30%, generally 10% for a Chinese tax resident with a valid W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E under the U.S.-China treaty. When the election pays off is covered in full in our Walmart seller guide.

Common mistakes

Treating online checklists as Target's rules. Most come from agencies; Target hasn't published full requirements, so the invitation and agreement govern.

Getting the invitation first and fixing the company later. A new entity means redoing Target, Stripe and bank records, and Form 8832 brings a 60-month limit.

Giving a W-9 because the foreign-owned LLC has an EIN. Without an election, the owner's W-8 is the right form.

Assuming state taxes are handled because Target collects sales tax. The marketplace collects only on its own orders; inventory-state income and franchise taxes and sales tax on your own site remain yours.

How YCL can help

We have prepared returns for e-commerce sellers for many years. Before you are invited or onboard, we help settle the entity, decide between a W-9 and a W-8, and assess whether a Form 8832 election pays off; afterwards we keep the books from Target settlement reports and file Forms 1120, 5472 and 1040-NR, with ITINs handled through our CAA. We are not a Target partner, can't obtain invitations, and don't guarantee review outcomes.

For the full comparison of Target Plus and the Target vendor route, a platform comparison table and an entity-choice table, see our guide: Selling at Target. Start with a free 15-minute consultation or WeChat YCLUSA.

Sources

Target: Target and Shopify Partner to Help Consumers Discover and Shop an Expanded Assortment on Target.com (2024-06-24)

Target: Target Plus Fuels Discovery with More Brands and Newness (2026-07-01)

Target Plus partner training materials

Target Accelerators: FAQs

IRS: Instructions for Form W-9

IRS: About Form 8832

IRS: Instructions for Form 5472

Last checked: November 9, 2026

This article is general tax information, not tax, legal or investment advice for any individual situation. Target's requirements and fees are set by its invitation and agreement.