Be aware: Some corporations appear to be collecting more sales tax from customers than the state or local governments require.

One example is 7-Eleven, which has been overcharging for city meals taxes on beverages and food it discounts to customers using its rewards cards.

Take a medium cup of coffee, which 7-Eleven regularly sells for $1.69 in Richmond, but reduces to $1 for those with a rewards card.

The combined state and Richmond sales and meals tax on $1.69 amounts to 22 cents.

7-Eleven kept charging 22 cents in tax even when the price per cup was discounted to $1 so that people were being charged $1.22.

If the state and local taxes were applied to $1, the total price would be $1.13, or 9 cents less tax, which, according to the city Finance Department and state Department of Taxation, is the right amount.

After customers began asking questions, 7-Eleven reviewed its practice. In recent weeks, receipts show the company now is collecting the correct amount of tax from purchasers with rewards cards.

Both the state and city tax department require companies to collect tax on the price the customer is charged, even if it is a discounted price.

The only time a company should charge tax at an un-discounted price is when a customer presents a manufacturer’s coupon that cuts the price, the state Department of Taxation’s policy states.

The reasoning: The customer is reducing the price, not the seller. But if the seller cuts the price before receiving money, then the sales tax is to be applied only to the price the customer pays, the department notes.

According to the department, a rewards card provided by a seller represents an internal decision to discount the price and is not the same as a coupon that an entity unrelated to the seller provides.