How-to: registering for a sales tax permit in every state
Updated: August 27, 2019
As e-commerce business owners, it’s important to ensure we’re properly registered with states in which we do business. Getting the proper sales tax permit is a critical step, especially when it comes time to purchase product.
This is a list of links to registration sites for every state that collects sales tax. Most of these sites are also good for establishing a sales tax account for remitting sales tax collected from customers, too.
The list below will also note any applicable fees.
Before going any further…
A significant portion of sales-tax-collecting states are a part of the Streamlined Sales Tax program. This is a one-stop registration for each of these states and allowed third party tax prep providers like TaxCloud to remit collected sales tax on your behalf for no cost. Consider reading the article on what Streamlined Sales Tax is and how to set it up before going over this list. There’s no need to register manually for states that are SST compliant and that could save you a significant amount of money.
Click here for TaxJar’s Economic Nexus summary for each state that has one. This, combined with phsyical nexus (employees, inventory, offices, warehouses, etc.) will dictate whether you need to register in a particular state.
Information you’ll need to get started
Before starting the application, here’s what’s most commonly required:
- Business address and contact information (EIN, address, start date of doing business in the state, entity type, etc.)
- Personal address and contact information of the registrant (SSN, address, phone number, etc.)
- Knowledge of remote or nexus status (some states combine these applications with a sales tax account and have different tiers depending on nexus status)
- Form 8832 (some states want to know how the business is being taxed at the federal level)
- NAICS code
- Past sales history
Links to each state’s registration form
| State | Required | SST | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | YES | $0 | |
| Arizona | MAYBE *1 | ||
| Arkansas | YES | YES | $50 |
| California | YES | ||
| Colorado | YES | ||
| Connecticut | YES | $100 | |
| Florida | YES | ||
| Georgia | YES | YES | $0 |
| Hawaii | YES | ||
| Idaho | YES | ||
| Illinois | YES | ||
| Indiana | YES | YES | $0 |
| Iowa | YES | YES | $0 |
| Kansas | YES | YES | $0 |
| Kentucky | YES | YES | $0 |
| Louisiana | YES | ||
| Maine | YES | ||
| Maryland | YES | ||
| Massachusetts | YES | ||
| Michigan | YES | YES | $0 |
| Minnesota | YES | YES | $0 |
| Mississippi | YES | ||
| Missouri | YES | *2 | |
| Nebraska | YES | YES | $0 |
| Nevada | YES | YES | $15 |
| New Jersey | YES | YES | $0 |
| New Mexico | YES | ||
| New York | YES | ||
| North Carolina | YES | YES | $0 |
| North Dakota | YES | YES | $0 |
| Ohio | YES | YES | $25 |
| Oklahoma | YES | YES | $20 |
| Pennsylvania | YES | YES | |
| Rhode Island | YES | YES | $10 |
| South Carolina | YES | $50 | |
| South Dakota | YES | YES | $0 |
| Tennessee | YES | YES | $0 |
| Texas | YES | ||
| Utah | YES | YES | $0 |
| Vermont | YES | YES | $0 |
| Virginia | YES | ||
| Washington | YES | YES | $0-19 *3 |
| Washington, D.C | YES | ||
| West Virginia | YES | YES | $0-30 *4 |
| Wisconsin | YES | YES | $20 |
| Wyoming | YES | YES | $60 |
Notes
1: There is some precedent that says Amazon would be responsible, not sellers.
2: Missouri requires a bond equal to three times the average monthly sales and use tax. The bond can be refunded after two years of good payment history.
3: Sales tax registration is free. Nexus that would require a business license makes the cost $19.
4: Like Washington, West Virginia may require a business license if nexus status is physical. The business license is $30.
The Seller Journal may receive a commission from purchases made through links in this post. Click here to learn more about how we treat affiliate links and content that contains them. As an Amazon Associate, The Seller Journal earns from qualifying purchases.
