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Starting Aug. 1, 2016, digital streaming services are subject to a six percent sales tax in Pa., including Netflix. (Image from Netflix.com)

The digital industry of buying and selling has evaded the traditional definition of a taxable product in Pennsylvania — until now.

A new budget passed by state lawmakers in July includes for the first time a sales tax on digital products.

Monday was the first day digital products purchased by Pennsylvania residents are subject to the state's 6-percent sales and use tax.

So how does this new tax work? The Department of Revenue published a fact sheet to explain the details.

Here are five things to know:

1. It's time to tax songs, apps — and Netflix, too.

The tax applies to any product transferred electronically by downloading or streaming.

So, any product downloaded online qualifies, including:

  • E-books (Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble's Nook Press, Scribd)
  • Subscriptions to streamed video services (Netflix, Hulu)
  • Audio (iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Audible, ringtones, satellite radio)
  • Apps and games (and add-ons)
  • Photographs
  • E-greeting cards

2. Look for the familiar 6 percent.

The digital tax is the same as the standard sales and use tax: 6 percent of the purchase price.

For example, a premium monthly subscription to Netflix costs $11.99 per month. With the digital tax, the price tag increases by $0.72 to $12.71.

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3. Good news for students: There still isn't a textbook tax.

There are a few exemptions to the tax.

Under current state tax laws, textbooks sales are tax-exempt. That same exemption applies for digital textbooks purchased from or through accredited schools.

Purchases made by charitable organizations, volunteer fire companies, religious organizations and nonprofit education institutions won't need to pay the sales tax, either.

And newspaper and magazine subscriptions sales are tax-free, too.

4. Your billing address gives you away.

Traditional sales tax works off the location of the seller. The digital download tax works off the the location of the buyer.

The billing address connected with your payment triggers the tax.

So even if you're on vacation in Delaware — a state without any sales tax — the song you download from iTunes will still be taxed 6 percent.

5. If the business doesn't collect the tax, it's up to you to report it.

Businesses are responsible for collecting the tax and giving it to the Department of Revenue.

If they don't, the tax collection is up to you.

The state Department of Revenue asks consumers to report the 6 percent tax as use tax on their Pennsylvania personal income tax return the next year.