Business Tax Registration FAQs

Retail Sales Tax - Any person or company that has a business location in Missouri from which they sell or lease goods or provide a taxable service to a final consumer is required by law to collect and remit Missouri sales tax. It is the taxpayer's responsibility to ensure that sales tax is collected at the correct rate. Taxpayers are required to have a Missouri retail sales license prior to making sales. Any person making retail sales without a Missouri Retail Sales Tax License is subject to a penalty of $500 for the first day of operation and a $100 fine every day thereafter, with a maximum penalty of $10,000. See the penalties defined by Section 144.118. Operating without a license is a misdemeanor and can result in criminal prosecution.

Vendors Use Tax - If an out-of-state vendor makes sales of goods to a final consumer located in Missouri and the vendor has sufficient nexus with Missouri, the vendor is required to collect and remit Missouri Vendors Use tax.

Consumers Use Tax - Missouri cannot require out-of-state companies that do not have nexus or a "direct connection" with the state to collect and remit use tax. If an out-of-state seller does not collect use tax from the purchaser, the purchaser is responsible for remitting the use tax to Missouri.

A seller not engaged in business is not required to collect Missouri tax but the purchaser in these instances is responsible for remitting use tax to Missouri. A purchaser is required to file a use tax return if the cumulative purchases subject to use tax exceed two thousand dollars in a calendar year.

Employer Withholding Tax - Every employer maintaining an office or transacting any business within the state of Missouri and making payment of wages to a resident or nonresident individual must obtain a Missouri Employer Tax Identification Number. If registering for Transient Employer, please submit a tax liability bond. The calculation, for the bond, is on the application for Transient Employer.

Corporate Income Tax :

• C-Corporation - Every corporation, as defined in Chapter 143, RSMo, is required to register and file if it is required to file a federal income tax return and has gross income from sources within Missouri of $100 or more.
  • Note: Any corporation filing a Federal Form 990, 990EZ, 990N, or 990PF should not send a copy of the federal form or any Missouri income tax form to Revenue.
  • Any corporation reporting taxable income on a federal return other than a Federal Form 1120 or 1120A (such as 1120POL, 1120H, 1120SF, 1120REIT, 990T or 990C) shall attach a copy of the appropriate federal form and make the computations on Form MO-1120.
• S-Corporation - Every S corporation is required to register and file if a Federal Form 1120S is filed and the S corporation has either a shareholder that is a Missouri resident or any income derived from Missouri sources (Section 143.471, RSMo.)

Anyone making sales of tangible personal property and services such as telephone, room rental, fitness club and movie/theatre shows are taxable unless there is a specific statutory exemption.

If you are 100% wholesale, you are not required to register for a retail sales tax license. When you purchase tangible personal property to be resold to a retailer, you will need to provide the seller with your completed Missouri Form 149, Sales/Use Tax Exemption Certificate. If you are the seller, you will need to collect the Form 149 from the purchaser.

You can complete the online registration application that can be found at Online Business Registration to register with the Missouri Department of Revenue, or, you can complete the paper Form 2643, Missouri Tax Registration Application, and submit the form to the Missouri Department of Revenue.

Effective August 28, 2018, bonds are no longer required for businesses that collect and pay sales or vendors use tax. The department may require a bond in instances when the business is delinquent.

To request a refund of your sales/use tax bond, complete and submit a Request for Sales or Use Tax Cash Bond Refund (Form 472).

• If you have an Irrevocable Letter of Credit or Certificate of Deposit, your bank may send a cancellation request to the Missouri Department of Revenue, PO Box 357 Jefferson City, MO 65105.
• If you have a Surety Bond, your insurance company may send a cancellation notice to the same address. If you have questions about a bond, contact the department by phone at 573-751-5860 or by email at businesstaxregister@dor.mo.gov .

The bonding requirement is still in effect for transient employer withholding tax.

You must complete Sections 1 through 32 (general information, instructions, and application) of Form 2643 and all applicable tax sections of the application. When completing the application, please answer all questions in full, failure to do so may delay the processing of your application.

As a successor/purchaser, you shall withhold a sufficient amount of the purchase money to cover taxes, interest, or penalties due and unpaid by all former owners or predecessors, whether immediate or not, until the former owner or predecessor produce a receipt from the director of revenue showing that all taxes have been paid (a Certificate of No Tax Due or Tax Clearance); otherwise, you shall become personally liable for the unpaid tax, penalty, and interest accrued.

All purchasers have a duty to discover whether taxes are due and unpaid by any former owner or predecessor, whether immediate or not. The lack of knowledge about successorship will not relieve a purchaser from successor tax liability. Reliance on any statement or affidavit stating there were no creditors of the business, also will not relieve a purchaser from successor tax liability.

Below is a list of questions you may want to ask yourself when purchasing an existing business:

1. Are you purchasing the building (real estate)?
2. Are you purchasing the inventory?
3. Are you purchasing the equipment?
4. Are you purchasing the fixtures?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions, please obtain from the seller before you purchase the business either a Tax Clearance or a sales tax Certificate of No Tax due. Request the sales tax Certificate of No Tax due if the seller was responsible for collecting and remitting only sales tax. Request a Tax Clearance if the seller was responsible for collecting and remitting more than one tax type, including sales, use, withholding, corporate income and corporate franchise.

A Tax Clearance must be requested by the previous owner. The previous owner may apply for a Tax Clearance by completing and mailing Form 943 to the Department of Revenue, PO Box 3666, Jefferson City, MO 65105-3666. A Certificate of No Tax due for sales tax can be requested by email at taxclearance@dor.mo.gov or by mail at Department of Revenue, PO Box 3300, Jefferson City, MO 65105-3300. If you have additional questions or comments regarding the purchase of an existing business that were unanswered, please email us at salesuse@dor.mo.gov.

The name, title, title effective date, social security number, date of birth, home address, city, state and zip code is required for each owner, officer, partner and/or member. Your registration may be delayed or not completed without all necessary information.

Yes. Your social security number is needed for identification purposes. It is considered confidential information and is not made available to the public.

Your tax number will be issued within 10 business days from the date we receive your properly completed application.

Once the registration application has been received and your account is properly registered, you will receive notification of your tax identification number by postal mail. If additional information is required in order for the department to properly register your business, you will receive notification, by postal mail, of the additional information needed.

Form 2643 must be signed by the owner, if the business is a sole ownership; by a partner, if the business is a partnership; or by a reported officer, if the business is a corporation; or by a member, if the business is an LLC. The signature must be of the owner, partner, officer, member reported on the application.

When registering vending machine locations, you are only required to provide the city and/or county in which the machine is located.

In the "Business Name and Physical Location" section of Form 2643, Missouri tax Registration Application, indicate the business name, city, state, zip code, and county. In the street address field, indicate the word "vending".

You are only required to list the city and/or county once, regardless of how many vending machines are located in that area. For example, an owner places three machines located inside the city limits of St. Charles (St. Charles would only need to be listed once), and placed two more machines in unincorporated St. Louis County (St. Louis County would only be listed once). Attach additional pages to the application if more than one city and/or county needs to be listed.

Complete and sign Form 126, Registration Change Request, to add or close additional location.

If you already remit sales tax for multiple locations on Form 53-1, Sales Tax Return, you may write in any new sales tax locations, immediately following the preprinted locations.

You can also add locations on the My Tax program.

Any corporation that has a gross income from sources within this state of $100 or more shall register for corporate income tax. (Section 143.481.6 RSMo)