Stacked folders and a desk lamp on an executive desk, How to Get a Resale Certificate in Nevada

How to Get a Resale Certificate in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

Nevada does not issue a resale certificate. The Department of Taxation issues a sales tax permit (the Department calls it a Sales/Use Tax Permit), and the resale certificate is a one-page form, TAX-F005, that you fill in and hand to each supplier. So the job has two parts: get the permit, then give suppliers the signed form. This guide is for anyone who will buy goods in Nevada to resell them as goods.

If you will only sell services, or you plan to use what you buy in your own work (tools, supplies, equipment), the certificate does not apply to those purchases. Section "When the Certificate Does Not Cover a Purchase" below explains where the line sits.

What a Nevada Resale Certificate Is

When you buy goods you will resell as goods, the supplier normally charges sales tax. If you give the supplier a resale certificate, the supplier can skip the tax, because the tax is charged later, when you sell to the end customer. The Department's Sales Tax FAQs describe it this way: the certificate is the purchaser's assurance that the property is for eventual resale and the tax will be charged then.

The supplier is the one who needs it. Under NRS 372.225, a seller who takes a resale certificate from a buyer who holds a Nevada seller's permit and intends to resell is not left carrying the burden of proving the sale was for resale. That is why most wholesalers will not skip the tax without one.

What You Need Before You Start

The order matters, and each step depends on the one before it:

  • EIN or Social Security number: the Department's start and run a business page lists getting a federal EIN as step 1. The IRS EIN page says the number is free. See our Nevada EIN guide.
  • State business license: the Department states you must have a business license before you register for a tax permit. The license is issued through the Secretary of State's Nevada Orion portal and costs $200 for most entities or $500 for corporations (NRS chapter 76). If you have not formed your entity yet, start with our Nevada LLC guide.
  • Business details: business name and any DBA, location in Nevada, entity type, owner details and a description of what you sell.

The state business license renews every year; our annual list and license renewal guide covers that. A lapsed license is its own problem, separate from your tax permit.

Cost Summary

ItemCostSource
Sales tax permit$15 per locationDepartment of Taxation, business registration fees
Resale certificate (form TAX-F005)Free to download and fill inDepartment of Taxation, form TAX-F005
State business license (needed first)$200, or $500 for corporationsNRS chapter 76
EINFreeIRS

Step-by-Step: Getting Your Resale Certificate

Step 1: Register for the Sales Tax Permit

Apply online through My Nevada Tax, the Department's taxpayer portal, or by mail with the Nevada Business Registration Form listed on the Department's start and run a business page. Online is the faster route. For the mail route the Department says to allow several weeks for the permit ID, longer if payment does not arrive with the form.

The Department does not publish a processing time for online applications on the pages we checked, so do not promise a supplier a date. Apply before you need the first wholesale order.

If your business has no Nevada location, the Department's instructions say to enter your out-of-state business name on the "Nevada Name (DBA)" line and your business location on the "Location of Nevada Business Operations" line.

Step 2: Pay the Permit Fee

The fee is $15 per location, per the Department's business registration fee table. A second store or warehouse adds a location. The Department's fee table shows no other charge for the permit, but confirm the total at checkout.

Step 3: Fill In Form TAX-F005 for Each Supplier

Download the blank Nevada Resale Certificate, form TAX-F005 from the Department. It is one page. You enter your Location ID number, the type of goods you sell, the supplier name, a description of what you are buying and your purchaser location, then sign and date it. The form itself says you certify that you hold a valid seller's permit and will resell the property as tangible personal property.

Per the Department, a certificate must contain a general description of the kind of property bought and the buyer's and seller's names, and it does not need a signature if delivered electronically. Give each supplier its own completed copy and keep your own record of which suppliers have one.

Step 4: Expect It to Last Until You Close the Account

The Department states that a Nevada resale certificate does not expire and is valid until the retailer closes its business and sales tax account with the Department. There is no annual resale certificate renewal to calendar. What does renew is your state business license, so keep that current.

Suppliers may check you out first. The Department tells vendors it is good practice to verify a customer's certificate, using the Department's tax permit search. Make sure your business shows up there under the right name.

When the Certificate Does Not Cover a Purchase

The certificate is for goods you will resell as goods. Two limits matter in practice:

  • Goods you use yourself: under NRS 372.240, if you take property you bought on a resale certificate and use it for anything other than holding it for sale (retention, demonstration or display), use tax is due on it. The TAX-F005 wording says the same thing. An item pulled from inventory for office use or giveaways is the usual case.
  • Not a personal-purchase card: do not hand the form to a supplier for things you are not reselling. That is a compliance problem with the Department, not a discount.

The Department's tax forms page lists other exemption certificates for other situations, so a resale certificate is not the only form. Check the Department of Taxation tax forms page if what you are buying is not for resale.

Collecting and Filing Sales Tax

Holding a permit means you collect sales tax on taxable retail sales and file returns, even in a month with no sales. The Department states that Nevada's base state sales tax rate is 6.85%, but local jurisdictions add taxes, so the total varies by where the sale is delivered. The Department's rate sheets list Clark County at 8.375%, Washoe County at 8.265% and Carson City at 7.60%. Those sheets carry effective dates from 2020, 2017 and 2014, so look up the rate for your location before you set prices. Food for home consumption and prescription medications are typically exempt, per the Department.

The Department's Sales and Use Tax page sets the filing frequency by volume:

  • Monthly: mandatory if taxable sales are more than $10,000 per month.
  • Quarterly: if taxable sales are less than $10,000 per month.
  • Annual: if taxable sales were less than $1,500 in the previous year.

You file and pay through My Nevada Tax; the Department's returns and payments page lists the payment methods and states that a credit card payment carries a service fee. On timing, NRS 372.360 sets the return deadline at the last day of the month after the reporting period, and NRS 372.355 says the tax is payable by the 20th of the following month. Check the due date shown in My Nevada Tax for each period rather than working from the calendar.

Late filings are charged penalty and interest. For returns filed and paid within 30 days after the due date the Department applies a graduated penalty scale under NAC 360.395, so a flat percentage is not the rule. If you missed a deadline for a reason outside your control, the Department has a waiver request form on its tax forms page.

Adding Locations

The fee is per location, so each additional store or warehouse is another $15 registration. This matters for ecommerce sellers who open a Nevada fulfillment location as well as brick-and-mortar owners. Register the new location with the Department before you sell from it.

Out-of-State Businesses

Two parts of this are settled by the Department. First, it accepts out-of-state resale certificates from your customers, as long as they carry the required information (description of the goods, buyer and seller names). Second, a business without a Nevada location can still register: the Department's instructions give a way to fill in the form for it.

Whether your out-of-state sales create a Nevada collection duty is a separate question that depends on your sales, and this guide does not give a threshold. Call the Department at (866) 962-3707 or ask a Nevada tax professional (a CPA or tax attorney) before you decide.

Disclaimer

This article is general information about the Nevada resale certificate and sales tax permit, based on Department of Taxation pages and Nevada statutes as read on November 5, 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. Confirm your own situation with the Department of Taxation or a licensed Nevada CPA or tax attorney.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides