All About Resale Licenses and Why You Need One

By Clifford Woods

A reseller's permit is necessary for US-based retailers to prevent paying sales tax on products you are likely to resell. To obtain a reseller's license, you must first sign up with your state tax division by obtaining a State Sales Tax ID number.

About Sales Taxes: A sales tax is billed on every sale of physical merchandise to potential buyers in your state. A number of states might also charge sales tax for a few services. Not every state imposes a sales tax. If your business is located in the states of Hawaii, Oregon, Delaware, Alaska, or New Hampshire, then a sales tax will not be used or can be applied only in some instances.

For every other dealer, a sales tax is an important factor to keep in mind. Sales tax has to be gathered by all. Generally speaking, you don't have to collect sales tax from purchasers who live outside the state you are in. You can get your state's sales tax rate from the state website.

It is vital that you do this since there are major differences between states. For example, a few states have one main rate that is applicable throughout the state while in other locations the sales tax rate differs between county lines.

How to Get Sales Tax Identification: You can get a sales tax identification certificate and reseller license at your state tax office. After you obtain your sales tax ID, the state will begin mailing you regular monthly or quarterly claims. The actual physical location of your company is what makes a difference to the regulators, not the place it was created.

Therefore, should you be running your company from a different state, like Florida, yet have created it in Georgia; you will end up getting the Florida rate for the sales tax from customers and pay these on to the tax office.

Wholesale Permits: If you are a citizen of the United States who is buying wholesale products from a wholesaler inside the country, then you will most likely have to have a resale certification or resellers license from the state where your company is physically located.

This permit will allow you to buy products at wholesale prices without having to pay sales tax. Additionally, it enables you to gather sales tax from your buyers. If you do not have a permit to resell goods, then you will need to pay sales tax on the products you purchase at wholesale prices and then additionally impose a sales tax.

In cases like this, you can include the sales tax you paid for as a deduction on your return; however it is a lot less difficult to simply present your certificate whenever you buy from a supplier.

The majority of wholesalers will request to see your sales tax ID or permit before they are sell you any merchandise at all. The reason being is that they are lawfully required to confirm if you are qualified to collect sales tax from the consumer.

What is a Use Tax? Another factor you might run into is a tax referred to as a 'use tax'. This type of tax is in position to try to discourage individuals from purchasing in states with reduced taxes compared to their very own.

Use tax ensures that if you buy goods in a different state, then you owe tax comparable to the total amount you would normally have paid for in your own state. It will affect you if you purchase products meant for resale and then wind up using them for your own personal benefit.
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Clifford Woods is the owner of Rapid-Liquidations
We buy complete inventories of unwanted or discontinued consumer merchandise for cash and sell complete inventories of consumer merchandise at about 15 to 20% of retails prices!



If you are interested, we also have a complete, easy-to-follow manual on how to get started in the Liquidations business yourself.