Tax 0.5 Percent Applies, This Is A Criteria For Online Stores That Are Not Taxable

Illustration of online store tax (Unsplash/Mark K\onig)

YOGYAKARTA - The government has officially imposed a final Income Tax (PPh) of 0.5 percent of the annual gross turnover for online store traders on various marketplace platforms. This new rule aims to expand the tax base and create an equality of tax obligations between offline and online business actors.

This policy is contained in the Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) Number 37 of 2025 concerning the Appointment of Other Parties as Collection of Income Taxes and Procedures for Collection, Deposit, and Reporting of Income Taxes Obtained by Other Parties. This PMK has come into effect since it was promulgated on Monday, July 14, 2025.

In accordance with PMK 37/2025, large e-commerce organizers such as Shopee, Tokopedia, Lazada, Blibli, etc. will act as 0.5 percent PPh collection. This means that these platforms will directly collect taxes from traders' turnover that meet the criteria.

It is important to note that not all online traders are subject to this 0.5 percent final PPh. Online traders with income below 500 are not included in this policy. So who are the online swords that are not taxable?

There are six criteria for online traders to be exempt from the final PPh levy of 0.5 percent, as stated in Article 10 PMK Number 37/2025.

This is the most common and important criterion to understand. Domestic private online traders who have gross income (omzet) from selling goods or services of IDR 0 to IDR 500 million in one tax year will not be subject to a final income tax of 0.5 percent.

This provision is in line with the tax facilities provided to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which are regulated in Government Regulation Number 23 of 2018 (or its successor). The goal is to encourage the growth of MSMEs without burdening them with tax obligations at the beginning.

2. Delivery/Ekspedition Services by Technology-Based Application Partners (Ojol, etc.)

This criterion specifically excludes the sale of shipping or expedition services by domestic individuals who are partners of technology-based application companies. The most obvious example is online motorcycle taxi drivers (ojol) or logistics courier partners who work through digital platforms. This is because the tax mechanism for this sector may be separately regulated or considered to have special characteristics.

3. Have a PPh Free Certificate

Domestic traders have a certificate that is free of deduction and/or income tax collection is also exempt from this levy. This free certificate is usually given to certain taxpayers who, based on tax provisions, are not required to cut or collect their PPh for certain reasons, for example, are in a tax holiday period or have fiscal losses that can be compensated.

4. Sales of Credit and Initial Cards

credit and card sales transactions are excluded from the final PPh levy of 0.5 percent. This sector often has thin profit margin characteristics and tax mechanisms that may have been regulated through other schemes at the producer or distributor level.

5. Gold Sales, Jewelry, Batu Permata, And Similar

Traders who sell gold jewelry, gold bullion, jewelry that is not made of gold, gemstones, and/or other similar stones are also not included in the 0.5 percent Final PPh object. This commodity transaction often has a different special tax mechanism, given the value and nature of its assets.

6. Transfer of Rights to Land and/or Buildings

The last criterion that was excluded was the transfer of rights to land and/or buildings or the sale and purchase agreement on land and/or buildings as well as changes. Property transactions have their own tax regime, namely Final income tax on the transfer of land and/or buildings rights, so they do not overlap with 0.5 percent final income tax for online traders.

With this exception, the government seeks to create a tax system that is fair and not burdensome. Online traders are advised to understand this criterion in order to ensure compliance with their taxes.