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Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax

Guidelines to help business owners determine whether their purchases qualify for resale exemption.

Registration

If your business will involve taxable transactions, you must register as a sales and use tax dealer before you conduct business in Florida. You can register through our Internet site or complete a paper Application to Collect and/or Report Tax in Florida (Form DR-1). See "For Information and Forms" for details.

After we approve your application, you will receive a Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) and a Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13).

Note: The information in this brochure applies only to the Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax. It does not apply to the annual resale certificate for communications services tax.

An Annual Resale Certificate will allow you to make tax-exempt purchases or rentals of property or services for resale. Examples are:

Resale as tangible personal property.
Re-rental as tangible personal property.
Re-rental as real property.
Re-rental as transient rental property.
Resale of services.
Incorporation into and sale as part of the repair of tangible personal property by a repair dealer.
Incorporation as a material, ingredient, or component part of tangible personal property that is being produced for sale by manufacturing, compounding, or processing.

When You May Not Use an Annual Resale Certificate

An Annual Resale Certificate may not be used to make tax-exempt purchases or rentals of property or services that:

Will be used rather than resold or rented.
Will be used before selling or renting the goods.
Will be used by your business or for personal purposes.

See the chart listing types of businesses and examples of items that may qualify for exemption. If your business activity or product use is not listed, contact Taxpayer Services for more information.

Annual Resale Certificates are Issued Yearly

Annual Resale Certificates for sales tax expire on December 31 of each year. Sales tax dealers, who are registered and have active accounts, will receive their new certificate inside their sales tax coupon book or in a separate mailing. Newly registered dealers with active accounts will receive their Annual Resale Certificate with their Certificate of Registration.

Note: New dealers who register after mid-October are issued Annual Resale Certificates that expire on December 31 of the next calendar year. These certificates are valid immediately.

Purchaser's Responsibility

As the purchaser, it is your responsibility to ensure that goods purchased using your Annual Resale Certificate are purchased for resale. If the goods purchased for resale are later used (not resold), you are responsible for reporting and paying use tax and the appropriate discretionary sales surtax on the items, plus any applicable penalty and interest.

There are additional liabilities for intentional misuse of a resale certificate. Resale fraud is a third-degree felony subject to a 200 percent penalty. Any person who, for the purpose of evading tax, uses an Annual Resale Certificate or signs a written statement claiming an exemption knowing that tax is due on the property or services at the time of purchase is subject to civil and criminal penalties.

As part of the audit process, we routinely examine resale transactions and Annual Resale Certificates to ensure that they are legitimate purchases for resale.

Inactive Registered Dealers

Annual Resale Certificates are issued only to dealers who have a valid sales tax account and whose registration status is active. A registered dealer who is on inactive status or has a use tax account only is not issued an Annual Resale Certificate.

Consolidated Registrations

Purchasers who file returns on a consolidated basis (80-code account numbers) may use a copy of the current Annual Resale Certificate for either the consolidated registration number (80-code number) or the active location reported under the consolidated sales number. Selling dealers may accept either copy from the purchaser.

Seller's Responsibility

As a seller, you must not accept an Annual Resale Certificate if you know or have reason to believe that the goods are being purchased for reasons other than those stated on the certificate. If the purchaser's business is such that the goods purchased would not normally be resold, you must question the use of the certificate. For example, a resale certificate from a car dealership must not be accepted for the purchase of office supplies or similar items not normally sold by car dealerships. Sellers must retain copies of Annual Resale Certificates accepted from purchasers, as proof that the purchase was tax-exempt and because the purchaser claimed the goods would be used for the purposes indicated on the certificate.

Selling Dealer Liability

A selling dealer who accepts a current signed copy of an Annual Resale Certificate will not be held liable for tax on the transaction if it is later determined the purchaser was not an active registered dealer at the time of the transaction.

For Information and Forms

To speak with a Department of Revenue representative, call Taxpayer Services, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., ET, at 800-352-3671, or call the service center nearest you.

Persons with hearing or speech impairments may call our TDD at 800-367-8331 or 850-922-1115.

To receive forms by mail:

Order multiple copies of forms from our Internet site, or
Mail form requests to:
Distribution Center
Florida Department of Revenue
168A Blountstown Hwy
Tallahassee FL 32304-3761

Department of Revenue service centers host educational seminars about Florida’s taxes. Visit our Taxpayer Education internet page to get a schedule of upcoming seminars and to register.