Some buyers are exempt from sales tax on everything they buy. The sale must be directly to the exempt buyer, and the buyer must pay the seller directly. If employees, volunteers, or representatives of the exempt buyer use their own money to purchase something for the buyer, the purchase sale is taxable even if the exempt buyer reimburses the person who bought the item.
Notice:
These buyers, specifically identified by statute (see Idaho Code section 63-3622O), never pay tax on what they buy, but they must collect sales tax on what they sell unless the sale is exempt.
- Access for Idaho (Pocatello) ⊛
- Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Inc.
- American Cancer Society
- American Diabetes Association
- American Heart Association
- American Indian Tribes
- American Lung Association of Idaho
- American Red Cross
- AMTRAK
- Arc Inc., The
- Arthritis Foundation
- Blind Services Foundation Inc.
- Camp Rainbow Gold
- Canal companies – If they’re nonprofit, incorporated for that purpose, and operate and maintain only dams, reservoirs, canals, lateral and draining ditches, pumps or pumping plants
- Children’s free dental services clinics – If they’re nonprofit
- Children’s Home Society of Idaho
- Credit unions (federal or state) – (Not: banks or savings and loan companies)
- Disability Action Center Northwest (Moscow & Coeur d’Alene) ⊛
- Easter Seals
- Eastern Idaho Center for Independence (Blackfoot & Idaho Falls) ⊛
- Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies – If they’re a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) entity that provides emergency medical services to Idaho residents. They must be licensed by the EMS bureau of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
- Family Services Alliance of Southeast Idaho
- Forest Protective Associations – If they furnish, operate, and maintain a protective system for detecting, preventing, and suppressing forest or range fires. Only includes associations that have a contract with Idaho or that have Idaho as one of its members.
- Government – Idaho state, county, and city. If Idaho government agencies buy with cash, they must give the seller a
Form ST-104G, Sales Tax Exemption Claim for Cash Purchases by Government Agencies. - Government – United States. If U.S. government agencies buy with cash, they should must give the seller a Form ST-104G, Sales Tax Exemption Claim for Cash Purchases by Government Agencies. While federal law states Idaho can’t require the federal government to provide the ST-104G, many federal agencies will provide them. If used, the form must be provided at the time of sale.
- Hospitals – If they’re a nonprofit hospital licensed by the state for the care of sick persons. (Not: nursing homes, most clinics, or similar institutions)
- Housing Authority (Created by a city, but not an agency of the city)
- Idaho Association of Free and Charitable Clinics. This includes its member clinics.
- Idaho Community Action agencies
- Community Action Partnership (CAP)
- El-Ada Community Action Partnership (EL ADA)
- Metro Community Services (MCS)
- South Central Community Action Partnership (SCCAP)
- Community Council of Idaho (CCI)
- Southeastern Idaho Community Action Agency (SEICAA)
- Eastern Idaho Community Action Partnership (EICAP)
- Western Idaho Community Action Partnership (WICAP)
- Idaho Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Idaho Diabetes Youth
- Idaho Epilepsy League
- Idaho Foodbank Warehouse, Inc.
- Idaho Primary Care Association – and its community health centers
- Idaho Ronald McDonald House
- Idaho Women’s and Children’s Alliance
- Living Independence Network Corp. (Boise & Twin Falls) ⊛
- March of Dimes
- Mental Health Association
- Muscular Dystrophy Foundation
- Museums – If they’re a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) entity; a museum that collects, preserves, and displays objects and information to help the public interpret the past and present and to explore the future; on a permanent basis; in a building or outdoor location; and provides museum services on a regular basis. Examples include institutions that display science, history, art, and culture.
- National Multiple Sclerosis Society
- Rocky Mountain Kidney Association
- Schools – If they’re nonprofit, with their income devoted solely to education, and offer a full curriculum of the usual branches of learning. Nonprofit schools can include: colleges and universities; primary, secondary, and charter schools; and the Idaho Digital Learning Academy.
Note: Certain schools, and school-related organizations don’t qualify for the exemption:- Schools that primarily teach subjects like business, dancing, drama, music, cosmetology, writing, and gymnastics
- Supporting organizations such as parent-teacher associations and alumni groups
- Senior Citizen Centers – If they’re a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) entity. The center must provide a wide variety of services, activities, and facilities for older individuals, including health, social opportunities, nutrition, education, and recreation. Long-term care facilities don’t qualify.
- Special Olympics Idaho
- United Cerebral Palsy
- Volunteer Fire Departments – If they’re a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) entity providing fire protection and prevention to surrounding residents.
⊛ These Centers for Independent Living are private, nonprofit organizations that don't provide housing. To qualify as exempt, Centers must:
- Have 51% or more of the governing board, management, and staff be individuals with disabilities;
- Be designed and operated within a local community by individuals with disabilities;
- Provide a variety of independent living services and programs; and
- Provide service for more than just one type of disability.