South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.

Decided June 21, 2018. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 17-494 · 585 U.S. 162 (2018) · Cited 178 times

Holding

Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, 504 U. S. 298, and National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Ill., 386 U. S. 753—which held that a State cannot require an out-of-state seller with no physical presence in the State to collect and remit sales taxes on goods the seller ships to consumers in the State—are overruled.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Quill Corp. v. North Dakota Ex Rel. Heitkamp · 504 U.S. 298 (1992)
• National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue · 386 U.S. 753 (1967)
• Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady · 430 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Southern Pacific Co. v. Arizona Ex Rel. Sullivan · 325 U.S. 761 (1945)
• United States v. Ross · 456 U.S. 798 (1982)
• Pike v. Bruce Church, Inc. · 397 U.S. 137 (1970)
• WILLSON AND OTHERS v. the Black Bird Creek Marsh Company · 27 U.S. 245 (1829)
• West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy · 512 U.S. 186 (1994)
• National Geographic Society v. California Board of Equalization · 430 U.S. 551 (1977)
• Nelson v. Sears, Roebuck & Co. · 312 U.S. 359 (1941)
• Pearson v. Callahan · 555 U.S. 223 (2009)
• Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz · 471 U.S. 462 (1985)
• Gibbons v. Ogden · 22 U.S. 1 (1824)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey · 437 U.S. 617 (1978)
• Hughes v. Oklahoma · 441 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Burnet v. Coronado Oil & Gas Co. · 285 U.S. 393 (1932)
• Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. New York State Liquor Authority · 476 U.S. 573 (1986)
• Arizona v. Rumsey · 467 U.S. 203 (1984)
• Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp. · 426 U.S. 794 (1976)
• General Motors Corp. v. Tracy · 519 U.S. 278 (1997)
• Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Jefferson Lines, Inc. · 514 U.S. 175 (1995)
• Prudential Insurance v. Benjamin · 328 U.S. 408 (1946)
• Camps Newfound/Owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison · 520 U.S. 564 (1997)
• Department of Revenue of Kentucky v. Davis · 553 U.S. 328 (2008)
• Square D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau, Inc. · 476 U.S. 409 (1986)
• Miller Brothers Co. v. Maryland · 347 U.S. 340 (1954)
• Granholm v. Heald · 544 U.S. 460 (2005)
• McGoldrick v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. · 309 U.S. 33 (1940)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• North Carolina Dept. of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust · 588 U.S. 262 (2019)
• Kisor v. Wilkie · 588 U.S. 558 (2019)
• Knick v. Township of Scott · 588 U.S. 180 (2019)
• Gamble v. United States · 587 U.S. 678 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).