How To Get An Ohio Sales Tax Exemption Certificate [2023 Guide]

If you are a business owner in Ohio, you may want to get a Sales Tax Exemption Certificate in order to purchase goods for resale without paying sales tax. A resale certificate allows businesses to buy items without paying sales tax as long as they intend to resell the items.

Learn more about what the Sales Tax Exemption Certificate (also referred to as a resale certificate) is for, how to get one, and more.

What is a Sales Tax Exemption Certificate?

When retailers purchase products to resell, they often don’t pay state sales tax to the supplier on the purchase. The sales tax will still be paid, but instead of the retailer paying sales tax, the retailer charges sales tax to their customer on the final value of the merchandise. The collected sales tax is then sent by the retailer to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

For example, let’s consider a furniture store in Ohio. With a valid resale certificate, the retail store can purchase furniture from manufacturers without paying sales tax on the transaction. Once the furniture is sold to a retail customer, the furniture store will charge sales tax to the end users, who are the customers purchasing the furniture for personal use. The retailer collects the tax from the retail sale of all transactions and, typically at the end of each month, remits the accumulated sales tax to the state.

The purpose of a Sales Tax Exemption Certificate (called a Resale Certificate in many states) is to provide evidence of why sales tax was not collected on a transaction. Similar names for a resale certificate include reseller number, seller’s permit, exemption certificate, wholesale license, or reseller’s license. In order for the supplier to allow the tax-exempt purchase, the seller needs proof the buyer intends to resell the product by providing a valid resale certificate.

The sales tax exemption is only intended to be used for inventory that will be resold and not intended for the tax-free purchase of items used in normal business operations such as paper, pens, etc.

Getting Started

Before a business starts selling products or providing taxable services, it must first get an Ohio Vendor’s License from the Ohio Department of Taxation. The Vendor’s License is sometimes referred to as a seller’s permit, sales tax number, or sales tax license.

How to fill out the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate

Ohio uses two types of certificates.  One is the Single Unit Exemption Certificate (Form STEC U) or the Blanket Certificate (Form STEC B).  The Single Unit Exemption Certificate is for one-time transactions, while the Blanket Certificate is what most retailers will use if they are purchasing inventory for resale.

Steps for filling out the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate

Filling out the Exemption Certificate is pretty straightforward but is critical for the seller to gather all the information.

Step 1 – Begin by downloading the Ohio Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate STEC U for a single transaction or STEC B for multiple transactions. 
Step 2 – Enter the vendor’s name
Step 3 – Describe the reason for claiming the sales tax exemption.  If purchasing merchandise for resale, some wording regarding the resale of products will likely be included
Step 4 – Include the name, type of business, address, title, Vendor’s License Number, and signature of the purchaser.

Ohio Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate Fillable Form

Ohio Sales Tax Exemption Certificate FAQs