Lookup · 2026
Sales tax permit: where to register in every state
If you sell taxable goods or services, your state wants you registered before your first taxable sale. The permit has many names: seller’s permit, sales tax license, vendor’s license, certificate of authority. Here is where each state registers you and what it costs.
In short
- You register with the state’s tax agency, usually online, before you make taxable sales.
- Many states register you for free. Others charge a one-time fee, and a few ask some new sellers for a deposit.
- Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no state sales tax. Local governments in Alaska can charge their own.
- An S election doesn’t change your sales tax account. It follows the business and what it sells.
Who needs a sales tax permit
In general, you need one if you sell taxable goods or services in a state that has a sales tax. What counts as taxable differs from state to state. Each state’s registration page explains what it covers and asks the questions that settle it.
What registering involves
You apply through the state’s tax agency, usually online, with the business’s legal name, address and tax ID. The state sets up a sales tax account and tells you how often to file returns. Some states issue one permit per location.
Does the S election change it?
No. Sales tax follows the business and what it sells, not how the IRS taxes the owner. An LLC that elects S-corporation tax treatment is still the same business, with the same sales tax account. LLC taxed as an S corp covers what does change.
Sales tax permits by state
The permit each state issues, its fee, and the official page where you register. “Not published” means the state’s own pages state no fee.
| State | Permit | Fee | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Sales tax license | Free | Register |
| Alaska | None (no state sales tax; some local taxes) | Not applicable | Official page |
| Arizona | Transaction privilege tax license | $12 per location (cities add fees) | Register |
| Arkansas | Sales tax permit | $50 | Register |
| California | Seller’s permit | Free (a deposit may be required) | Register |
| Colorado | Sales tax license | $16 to $4 by date, plus $50 deposit | Register |
| Connecticut | Sales and use tax permit | $100 | Register |
| Delaware | None (no state sales tax) | Not applicable | Official page |
| District of Columbia | Certificate of registration | Free | Register |
| Florida | Certificate of registration | Not published | Register |
| Georgia | Sales and use tax certificate | Not published | Register |
| Hawaii | General excise tax (GET) license | $20 (one time) | Register |
| Idaho | Seller’s permit | Free | Register |
| Illinois | Certificate of registration | Free | Register |
| Indiana | Registered retail merchant certificate | $25 (one time) | Register |
| Iowa | Sales and use tax permit | Free | Register |
| Kansas | Sales tax registration certificate | Free | Register |
| Kentucky | Sales and use tax permit | Free | Register |
| Louisiana | Sales tax account | Not published | Register |
| Maine | Retailer certificate | Free | Register |
| Maryland | Sales and use tax license | Not published | Register |
| Massachusetts | Sales tax registration certificate | Not published | Register |
| Michigan | Sales tax license | Free | Register |
| Minnesota | Sales and use tax account (Minnesota tax ID) | Free | Register |
| Mississippi | Sales tax permit | Free | Register |
| Missouri | Retail sales tax license | Not published | Register |
| Montana | None (no state sales tax) | Not applicable | Official page |
| Nebraska | Sales tax permit | Free | Register |
| Nevada | Sales tax permit | $15 per location | Register |
| New Hampshire | None (no state sales tax) | Not applicable | Official page |
| New Jersey | Certificate of authority | Free | Register |
| New Mexico | Gross receipts tax registration | Free | Register |
| New York | Certificate of authority | Not published | Register |
| North Carolina | Certificate of registration | Free | Register |
| North Dakota | Sales, use and gross receipts tax permit | Not published | Register |
| Ohio | Vendor’s license | $50 | Register |
| Oklahoma | Sales tax permit | $20 plus a handling fee | Register |
| Oregon | None (no state sales tax) | Not applicable | Official page |
| Pennsylvania | Sales tax license | Free | Register |
| Rhode Island | Retail sales permit | Free | Register |
| South Carolina | Retail license | $50 | Register |
| South Dakota | Sales tax license | Free | Register |
| Tennessee | Sales and use tax registration | Free | Register |
| Texas | Sales and use tax permit | Free (a bond may be required) | Register |
| Utah | Sales tax license | Not published | Register |
| Vermont | Sales and use tax license | Not published | Register |
| Virginia | Sales tax certificate of registration | Not published | Register |
| Washington | Business license with tax registration | $50 | Register |
| West Virginia | Business registration certificate | $30 (one time) | Register |
| Wisconsin | Seller’s permit | $20 for two years | Register |
| Wyoming | Sales tax license | $60 | Register |
See what an S election would add or save for your business.Profit, state and salary. Two minutes, nothing sent anywhere.
Open the check Sources
Sources: 60 official pages
- Alaska: Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Office of the State Assessor (no state revenue-department sales tax program)
- Alaska: Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Office of the State Assessor (no state revenue-department sales tax program)
- Alabama: Alabama Department of Revenue
- Alabama: Alabama Department of Revenue
- Arkansas: Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration
- Arizona: Arizona Department of Revenue
- California: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA)
- California: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA)
- Colorado: Colorado Department of Revenue
- Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Revenue Services
- District of Columbia: DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR)
- Delaware: Delaware Division of Revenue
- Florida: Florida Department of Revenue
- Georgia: Georgia Department of Revenue
- Hawaii: Hawaii Department of Taxation
- Iowa: Iowa Department of Revenue
- Idaho: Idaho State Tax Commission
- Illinois: Illinois Department of Revenue
- Illinois: Illinois Department of Revenue
- Indiana: Indiana Department of Revenue
- Kansas: Kansas Department of Revenue
- Kentucky: Kentucky Department of Revenue
- Louisiana: Louisiana Department of Revenue
- Massachusetts: Massachusetts Department of Revenue
- Massachusetts: Massachusetts Department of Revenue
- Maryland: Comptroller of Maryland
- Maine: Maine Revenue Services
- Maine: Maine Revenue Services
- Michigan: Michigan Department of Treasury
- Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Revenue
- Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Revenue
- Missouri: Missouri Department of Revenue
- Mississippi: Mississippi Department of Revenue
- Montana: Montana Department of Revenue
- North Carolina: North Carolina Department of Revenue
- North Dakota: North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner
- Nebraska: Nebraska Department of Revenue
- New Hampshire: New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration
- New Jersey: New Jersey Division of Taxation (registration through the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services)
- New Mexico: New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department
- Nevada: Nevada Department of Taxation
- New York: New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
- Ohio: Ohio Department of Taxation
- Oklahoma: Oklahoma Tax Commission
- Oregon: Oregon Department of Revenue
- Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
- Rhode Island: Rhode Island Division of Taxation
- Rhode Island: Rhode Island Division of Taxation
- South Carolina: South Carolina Department of Revenue
- South Dakota: South Dakota Department of Revenue
- Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Revenue
- Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Revenue
- Texas: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
- Utah: Utah State Tax Commission
- Virginia: Virginia Department of Taxation (Virginia Tax)
- Vermont: Vermont Department of Taxes
- Washington: Washington Department of Revenue (Business Licensing Service)
- Wisconsin: Wisconsin Department of Revenue
- West Virginia: West Virginia State Tax Department
- Wyoming: Wyoming Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Division
Every figure was read on an official page and checked a second time. Checked October 24, 2026. How we check facts.
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