If you are a retailer making purchases for resale, or need to make a purchase that is exempt from the Maine sales tax, you need the appropriate Maine sales tax exemption certificate before you can begin making tax-free purchases. This page explains how to make tax-free purchases in Maine, and lists five Maine sales tax exemption forms available for download.
We have five Maine sales tax exemption forms available for you to print or save as a PDF file. If any of these links are broken, or you can't find the form you need, please let us know. You can find resale certificates for other states here.
Maine allows the use of uniform sales tax exemption certificates, which are general exemption certificates that can be used across multiple states. You can find more info about these uniform certificates at the bottom of this page.
A sales tax exemption certificate is a form you can fill out yourself certifying that you meet the qualifications outlined for making sales-tax-free purchases. You will need to present this certificate to the vendor from whom you are making the exempt purchase - it is up to the vendor to verify that you are indeed qualified to make a tax-exempt purchase.
The state of Maine provides many forms to be used when you wish to purchase tax-exempt items such as prescription medicines.
The "Interstate Commerce Exemption Affidavit" should be utilized when purchasing vehicles, any railroad rolling stock, aircraft, or watercraft.
The "Industrial Users Blanket Certificate of Exemption" should be utilized when purchasing items which are pursuant to the Sales and Use Tax law.
The "Resale Certificate for Packaging Materials" is utilized when purchasing items which will be used in the process of packaging, shipping, or transporting any physical, tangible items.
The full list of downloadable exemption certificates is provided on this page.
To apply the certificate, the buyer must first present the seller with their written certificate, which legally documents the exemption. The certificate should include the date it was created, the signature of the buyer or an employee or agent who signed on behalf of the buyer, both the seller's and buyer's addresses and names, the legal basis of the exemption being utilized, the buyer's tax registration or business license number, and a description of the merchandise that the buyer wishes to purchase.
There is no stated expiration date for these exemption certificates. It must be noted that these certificates can not be utilized for subsequent lease.
Maine does permit the use of a blanket resale certificate, which means a single certificate on file with the vendor can be re-used for all exempt purchases made from that vendor. A new certificate does not need to be made for each transaction.
Maine is a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, an interstate consortium with the goal of making compliance with sales taxes as simple as possible in member states.
Because Maine is a member of this agreement, buyers can use the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Uniform Sales Tax Certificate when making qualifying sales-tax-exempt purchases from vendors in Maine.
The following guidelines are provided for the use of the MTC Uniform Sales Tax Certificate in Maine:
Maine does not have an exemption on sales of property for subsequent lease or rental.Simplify Maine sales tax compliance! We provide sales tax rate databases for businesses who manage their own sales taxes, and can also connect you with firms that can completely automate the sales tax calculation and filing process. Click here to get more information.
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