I added sales tax without losing conversion

The problem

Outschool was absorbing sales tax it should have collected. Every US state treats online education differently, so there was no single rule to follow.

Adding a tax line at checkout is a price increase which usually cost you conversion.

What I did

Owned the product implementation and worked through state-level tax law with legal and finance. Designed a checkout that introduced tax to users without scaring them, and shipped the backend to collect and remit across applicable states.

What moved

Conversion held flat despite a real price increase to users. This meant money going back to the company, a decrease in regulatory risk, and proof that careful UX can absorb a price change that normally hurts.