Search Category: Sellers/Vending

Regular Seller’s Permit

You need a regular seller’s permit if all of these are true:

  • You make any Idaho sales of taxable goods or services (see Who needs a permit).
  • You sell anywhere other than registered marketplace facilitators or short-term rental marketplaces that collect and send in Idaho taxes for all your sales.
  • You don’t qualify for the occasional sales exemption or temporary seller’s permits.

You must get a regular seller’s permit if you sell more than allowed under the occasional sales exemption or a temporary seller’s permit. However, you can choose to get a regular seller’s permit even if you qualify for a temporary one.

Aren’t sure if you need a temporary or regular seller’s permit? See Who needs a permit.

Getting a regular seller’s permit

Before you apply for a regular seller’s permit, register your business with the State of Idaho. See Getting Tax Permits for more information about registering your business and getting your tax permits. When you get your permit, display it in a visible location at your business.

If you’re buying an existing business

You can’t use the seller’s permit for a previous owner of your business. Before you buy the business:

  1. Ask us for a Successors’ Liability Clearance Letter to see if the business owes sales tax that you could be responsible for paying.
  2. Withhold any sales or use tax due from the purchase price.
  3. Apply for a new seller’s permit (and any other tax permits you need) when the sale is final.

Remind the seller you’re buying the business from to cancel the tax permits for the business in their name.

Multiple locations

If you have more than one business location, you’ll receive a seller’s permit for each one. We’ll assign the same permit number to all locations that have the same business name. If your business locations have different business names, you must fill out a separate Idaho Business Registration application and get a separate permit for each one.

Filing and paying

With a regular seller’s permit, your schedule to file and send in tax is based on how much you sell. See Sales and Use Taxes: Filing and Paying.

More you should know

Every seller in Idaho who needs a seller’s permit is a retailer. See:

Laws and rules

Retailers: Basics Guide

If you’re a retailer who does business in Idaho, you must do all of these:

Also see what goes into the Sales Price. 

Retailer defined

Any individual, business, nonprofit organization, or government agency can be a retailer. Retailers do any of these:

  • Sell to a consumer who won’t resell or lease the product
  • Make more than two retail sales during any 12-month period
  • Have no more than two sales, but make it known they sell taxable products or services
  • Both sell goods, and improve real property (e.g., a contractor/retailer)

If you’re a retailer, you must get a seller’s permit to:

  • Sell, lease, or rent tangible personal property
  • Rent hotel, motel, lodging, and campground accommodations
  • Sell magazine or newspaper subscriptions
  • Charge fees for admissions or recreation
  • Make sales using vending machines

Doing business in Idaho

You’re doing business in Idaho if you, your company, or your related company:

  • Owns property in Idaho
  • Has an office, warehouse, sales room, or employees in Idaho
  • Has sales representatives or agents in Idaho
  • Keeps goods in Idaho that will be sold

Recordkeeping

You must keep records of all the purchases and sales made by your business. Your records must show that you properly collected, reported, and forwarded taxes to Idaho.

You must keep the following records

  • Normal books of account (books of account can include information stored on computers)
  • Documents that support entries in the books of account. Examples: 
    • Bills
    • Receipts
    • Invoices
    • Cash register tapes
    • Job or work orders
    • Contracts
    • All schedules or working papers used to prepare your tax returns
  • Copies of sales tax resale or exemption certificates

Your records must show

  • Gross receipts from sales and services made in Idaho – even sales that you or your customer may consider exempt from tax. If you deliver the product or service somewhere other than your place of business, you must also keep records that prove where delivery took place.
  • The identity of customers claiming an exemption, the type of exemption, and what was sold exempt
  • All deductions claimed in filing returns
  • The total purchase price of anything bought for sale, rental, lease, or your own use
  • The amount of sales tax collected from your customer or that you paid to a vendor

You must keep all sales and use tax records for at least four years. You may need to keep them for seven years if you don’t file returns.

Keep all records for transactions involving sales or use tax, including these items:

  • Sales (and credit granted for returned items)
  • Purchases
  • Tax returns
  • Tax payments

Keep resale/exemption certificates as long as you do business with buyers, plus four years.

Laws and rules

Learn more about retailers:

Outfitters

This information is based on the sales tax laws and rules in effect on April 1, 2007.

Should I charge tax on the fees customers pay for my outfitting services?

It depends on the service you provide. Idaho law imposes a sales tax on charges for using tangible personal property or other facilities for recreation. Some fees charged by outfitters fall into this category. It doesn’t matter where your office is located, or where the billing and payment takes place. If the charge is for services performed in Idaho, sales tax applies unless a specific exemption exists.

How much of the fee is taxable?

With the exception of the items discussed next, your entire fee is taxable. Also, if you house your customers in a lodge you own in Idaho, you must get a travel and convention tax permit and charge an additional travel and convention tax on that portion of the bill.

How much of the fee is not taxable?

If you list the following items separately on your customer’s invoice, you don’t have to charge sales tax on:

  • Any fees for services performed outside of Idaho.
  • River or lake activities in Idaho. The charge for these activities is not subject to Idaho sales tax because it is preempted by federal law as of November 25, 2002. However, this exemption doesn’t apply to the selling and leasing of boats. These sales are taxable. Also, the charges for guided trips on land in Idaho for any recreational purpose are still subject to tax.
  • The Government Use Fee charged by the U.S. Forest Service or other government agencies for the right to use public land or water for outfitting.
  • Expenses you pay to airlines, bus companies, motels, etc. for your customer. You pay the tax to the service provider and shouldn’t charge tax when you bill the expense to your customer.
  • Meals you serve, but only if you paid tax when you bought the food.

When do I have to send the tax to the state?

You must send the tax to the state on your sales tax return for the month that the services or sales take place. For example, if you receive a deposit on a float, hunting, or hiking trip in March, but the trip is taken in September, report the taxable portion on the September return rather than the March return.

What can I buy without paying tax?

You can buy the items listed below without paying sales tax to the vendor.

  • Food. When you furnish meals as part of the charge for a trip, you may buy the food without paying tax if you list the meal charges separately and collect tax on them. Another option is to pay tax to the vendor when you buy food; in this case you wouldn’t collect a tax when you charge your customers for meals. If you buy food for your customers without paying tax and then you consume it, or your family or guides consume it, you must pay use tax on the food by reporting it on your sales tax return.
  • Rental gear. When you keep a supply of gear that you rent to customers for an extra charge, these items are considered to be purchased for resale. You can buy these items without paying tax. When you rent the items to your customer, you must collect sales tax. Examples of “rental gear” include ground sheets, sleeping bags, boots, rain gear, and dry bags. Rental gear does not include supplies and equipment used in the business. Nor does it include items you require the customer to rent from you or items you provide to all customers. These items are considered equipment used in the business, and you must pay tax when you buy them.
  • Intrastate charter services. When you hire a charter aircraft to transport your customers within Idaho, no tax is due. List the fee for the air service separately on the customer’s bill, but don’t charge tax on the service. Federal law prohibits states from taxing any air charter transportation of passengers or freight, as well as recreational flights.
  • Taxidermy and meat processing services. When you hire a taxidermist or meat processor on behalf of your customer, you can purchase this service without paying sales tax. You must charge sales tax when you bill your customer for the service.

How do I make tax-exempt purchases?

To buy items tax free, you must give your supplier a completed form pdf ST-101, Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate. Once it is on file with a vendor, this form is valid for all future exempt purchases.

When do I have to pay tax on my purchases?

You must pay tax when buying equipment and supplies for use in your business. These items include boats, rafts, oars, motors, horses, tack, llamas, transportation equipment, camping and cooking gear, animal feed, brochures, and promotional give-away items.

What about travel agency charges?

When your outfitter services are purchased by a customer through a travel agency and you bill your fees to the agency, you must charge tax on the amount billed. Any difference between the amount you charge and the amount paid to the travel agency by the customer is a payment for services and is not taxable.

However, if the travel agency arranges for your services, but you bill the customer and pay the travel agency a fee, you must charge tax on the total amount charged to the customer. You can’t deduct the fee paid to the travel agency for its services when determining the amount of tax to charge the customer

What if I hire another outfitter to serve my customer?

If you hire another outfitter to serve a customer, your use of the other outfitter’s services is considered a purchase for resale. You can purchase the services of the other outfitter without paying tax by giving him a completed form pdf ST-101, and then collecting tax from your customer.

Who can purchase my services without paying sales tax?

For taxable services performed in Idaho, the only customers who can purchase your services without paying sales tax are:

  • Other outfitters, if they resell the services. They must give you a completed form pdf ST-101 to claim the tax exemption.
  • Buyers who are exempt from sales tax on all purchases, such as nonprofit schools and hospitals, and Idaho state and local governments. These buyers must give you a completed form pdf ST-101 for your records to claim the tax exemption.
  • The U.S. Government. You can document an exempt sale by keeping a copy of the government purchase order or a copy of the check stub or remittance advice, or by having the agency complete form pdf ST-101.

For more information on documenting exempt sales, see Retailers & Wholesalers: Making Exempt Sales.

How do I get a refund of sales tax I collected in error?

If you collected tax unnecessarily, you can apply for a refund of the tax you paid. First, you must reimburse the tax to your customers, then apply for a refund on pdf Form TCR, Sales Tax Refund Claim, and send it to the Tax Commission with your sales tax return. You must apply for the refund within three years of the date you paid the tax to the state, and provide documents showing that you reimbursed your customers.

More Information

Repair Shops

Tangible personal property

The repair of tangible personal property includes repairs to:

  • Appliances
  • Automobiles
  • Bicycles
  • Computers and other office electronics
  • Electric motors
  • Farm equipment
  • Furniture
  • Recreational equipment
  • Saws (including sharpening)
  • Shoes
  • Televisions and other home electronics
  • Watches
  • Any other tangible personal property

(See Idaho code section 63-3616.)

If you sell tangible personal property as part of a repair, you must apply for a seller’s permit and file regular sales tax returns.

However, repairs made to real property – by plumbers, carpet layers, electricians, roofers, etc. – don’t fall into this category (see Idaho Code section 63-201(23)). Businesses that repair real property are considered contractors. See Contractors Working in Idaho for more information.

Labor, fabrication, and repairs

Repair labor isn’t taxable if you list the repair labor and parts separately on your customer’s invoice. In that case, only the parts are taxable. But if parts and labor are combined on the invoice, you must calculate sales tax on the entire amount.

  • Repaired – When an item is “repaired,” it’s restored to working condition so it can be used as originally intended.
  • Fabricated – When an item is “fabricated,” it’s manufactured and designed to be used for a different purpose than that of the original components and raw materials used in the fabrication process. (When a coating is applied to new tangible personal property or used tangible personal property that wasn’t previously coated, that’s fabrication labor, and tax applies to the total charge, including materials and labor.)

Fabrication labor is taxable, even if it’s listed separately from the parts.

Example #1

Tom’s Repair Shop fixes a customer’s broken trailer hitch. Tom bills the customer $25 for materials plus $40 for repair labor. Tax applies to the $25 for materials. The trailer hitch has been repaired – restored to working condition.

Materials$25.00
Repair labor$40.00
Sales tax
on materials		$1.50(if the tax rate is 6%)
Total$66.50

Example #2

Tom’s Repair Shop makes a trailer hitch for a customer because the customer’s trailer hitch is broken beyond repair. Tom bills the customer $120 for materials plus $125 for fabrication labor. Tax applies to the full $245. The trailer hitch has been fabricated – manufactured from components and raw materials.

Materials$120.00
Fabrication labor$125.00
Sales tax
on full price		$14.70(if the tax rate is 6%)
Total$259.70

Example #3

Jim’s Lawn Mower Repair replaces two wheels, does a tune-up, and replaces an axle in the drive mechanism of a customer’s self-propelled mower. The wheels, mounting bolts, and spark plug are taken from Jim’s inventory. Jim has no axles, so he has a machine shop fabricate one. The machine shop bills Jim $58 ($18 for materials and $40 for labor). When Jim bills his customer, he itemizes the bill to include the parts from his inventory ($35), a new axle ($58), and his repair labor to tune up and install parts ($70). The separately listed repair labor charge is the only item on the bill that’s not taxable.

Parts$35.00
Fabricated axle$58.00
Repair labor$70.00Tune-up & install
Sales tax
on parts and fabricated axle		$5.58(if the tax rate is 6%)
Total$168.58

When covered by insurance

Repair bills paid by an insurance company, in whole or in part, are treated like any other repair bill.

Example #4

Universal Insurance Company pays the bill to repair the broken windshield of a customer’s car. Sales tax is charged on the parts billed for the repair. However, if the repair labor is listed separately on the bill, it isn’t taxed.

Supplies used during repairs

Don’t charge sales tax on shop supplies used during a repair, even if you list the supplies separately on the customer’s invoice. Shop supplies include: spray bottles, buffer pads, towels, masking tape, solvents, sandpaper, and other materials that don’t become part of the item being repaired. These supplies are taxable when you buy them and shouldn’t be included in the taxable portion of your customer’s bill.

Some repairs use very small amounts of materials. The value of the material is insignificant when compared with the entire repair cost, such as when repairing a flat tire, mending clothing, repairing a watch, or stitching a shoe. The shop owner should pay tax when buying these materials. There is no need to bill your customer and collect sales tax on these insignificant material amounts.

Coatings

When used in the repair of tangible personal property, parts, materials, and coatings that have a significant value to the repair (e.g., paint coating, powder coating, spray-on bedliners applied to surfaces on which a coating has already been applied) are subject to tax. The coating material must be separately stated on the billing invoice and tax charged. If the exact amount of material can’t be determined, a reasonable estimation is acceptable.

Motor oil and tire disposal fees

Charges to recoup the overhead associated with the transfer of tangible personal property (e.g., motor oil, tires) are part of the sale of that property and should be taxed even if they’re separately stated on the billing invoice.

Discounts

In general, rebates and discounts provided by the retailer can be used to reduce the taxable sales price (except cash discounts for early or prompt payments). However, rebates and discounts provided by the manufacturer can’t be used to adjust the taxable sales price (except rebates on sales of motor vehicles). If the retailer is reimbursed by the manufacturer, the taxable sales price can’t be reduced by the value of the discount or rebate.

Example #5

Sally takes her laptop into Computer Repair Store. She purchases a new Acme hard drive from the store and has them install it. The invoice shows a $300 charge for the hard drive and a $50 charge for the installation. Sally gives the cashier a $100 manufacturer’s coupon from Acme Hard Drives. Computer Repair Store charges Sally tax on the $300 charge for the hard drive. The total invoice is then reduced by $100.

Hard drive$300.00
Install$50.00
Sales tax
on hard drive		$18.00(if the tax rate is 6%)
Manufacturer’s coupon-$100.00
Total$268.00

A coupon can be used for a mixed transaction that includes both taxable and nontaxable components (parts and labor). If the coupon terms don’t specify the amount of discount that applies for each component, and each component is separately stated on the invoice, the amount of discount can be proportionately allocated between the taxable and nontaxable portion.

Example #6

Bill takes his bike in for repairs at Ace Bike Shop. The total invoice is $160. The $115 charge for parts and the $45 charge for labor are separately stated. Bill has a coupon for 10% off the total $160 purchase price ($16). In this case, an $11.50 discount is allocated to parts ($115/$160 x $16) and a $4.50 discount is allocated to labor ($45/$160 x $16). Tax is due on the reduced parts price of $103.50 ($115 – $11.50).

Parts$115.00
Labor$45.00
10% off parts-$11.50
10% off labor-$4.50
Sales tax
on reduced parts price		$6.21(if the tax rate is 6%)
Total$150.21

Sales tax exemptions

Sales tax exemptions also apply to repairs and fabrication of tangible personal property (e.g., production exemption, resale exemption, purchases by federal or Idaho state government agencies). Customers who claim an exemption from tax on goods you fabricate or repair for them must complete a pdf Form ST-101 – Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate. Keep this completed form in your files; it also applies to future exempt sales to these customers.

Buying parts and materials

When you buy parts and materials to resell, you can buy them without paying tax if you give the vendor a completed pdf Form ST-101 – Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate.

However, when you buy goods that you won’t resell, such as shop supplies, insignificant amounts of material used in repairs, and tools, you must pay sales tax. (See the “Supplies used during repairs” section above.) You must also pay tax on your office supplies, things you give away to your customers (calendars, etc.), and any other goods you buy that you don’t resell.

If you do more fabrication work than repair work, you may qualify for the production exemption.

Laws and rules

Renting and Leasing Tangible Personal Property

Basics Guide

Basics Guide

Renting

Renting tangible personal property is a taxable sale

Renting

Leasing

Leasing tangible personal property is a taxable sale

Leasing

Buying

Buying property that you’ll rent out or lease out

Buying

Trading In

Trading in property to rent or lease other property

Trading In

Recordkeeping

Recordkeeping

Laws and Rules

Laws and rules for renting personal property

Laws and Rules

Wholesalers

If you’re a wholesaler and only sell to resellers, you can buy goods you’ll sell without paying sales tax.

Basics Guide

Basics Guide

Buying Goods

Need an exemption to buy goods for resale?

Buying

Selling Goods

Are you selling to resellers or as a retailer?

Selling

Recordkeeping

Recordkeeping

Laws and Rules

Laws and Rules

Online Sellers

Should you be collecting sales tax on your Idaho sales? Are you a remote seller or do you operate an online marketplace?

Basics Guide

Basics Guide

Business Types

Information for each

Business Types

Explanation of Terms

Explanation of Terms

Click-Through Nexus

Referral (“click-through”) agreements with Idaho retailers

Click-Through Nexus

Laws and Rules

Laws and Rules

VDA

Voluntary Disclosure Agreement

VDA Program

Food – Retailers

Grocers

Sales and use tax information for primarily involved in selling food for home preparation and consumption

Grocers

Food, Meals, and Drinks

Sales and use tax information for furnishing, preparing, or serving food, meals or drinks

Food and Drinks