Understanding and complying with the sales tax requirements in the states in which you do business is absolutely essential. More states are taxing services, as well as retail sales, so no business owner can afford to be in the dark. In addition, you may find that you are liable for use taxes for products purchased out of state. This article answers some of the basic questions regarding sales tax in Nevada.
Nevada imposes a 6.85 percent tax on all retailers for the privilege of selling tangible personal property at retail and on the storage, use or other consumption in Nevada of tangible personal property. In addition, make sure you contact your local governments in Nevada because they are allowed to assess a local sales and use tax.
Because the tax is related to sales or use of tangible personal property, receipts from services are generally not subject to tax. Taxable items and transactions includes the following:
Leases. In Nevada, a sale includes lease or rental. A lease or rental of tangible personal property is considered a taxable sale if the Tax Commission finds that the transaction is in place of a transfer of title, exchange, or barter.
In Nevada the sales tax is imposed on the privilege of selling tangible personal property at retail. The sales tax must be collected by the retailer from the consumer "insofar as it can be done."
Absorbing the tax is not permitted. It is against the law in Nevada to refund or offer to refund all or any part of the amount collected, or to absorb the amount of sales tax required to be added to the sales price and collected from the purchaser. As a seller, it is also against the law for you to advertise directly or indirectly that you will absorb the sales tax that is required to be added to the sales price.
In Nevada every seller must obtain a permit, valid indefinitely, for each in-state place of business at a fee of $15. The same fee applies to location changes, additional locations, and ownership changes.
The permit must be displayed at all times at the place of business for which it is issued. If a business does not have a physical location in Nevada, it must still pay a minimum $15 fee.
Nevada does exempt specific items from sales tax — for example, certain prescription medications are exempt from Nevada sales tax. You'll want to check and see if you are exempt from the sales tax.
An exemption certificate may be issued by a purchaser of a nontaxable item. The exemption certificate may be based on the type of transaction (such as a resale exemption) or on the item itself.
In Nevada all gross receipts are presumed to be subject to tax until the contrary is established. The burden of proving that a sale of tangible personal property is not a retail sale is upon the seller, unless the seller takes from you a resale certificate.
Resale exemption certificate. In general, a resale certificate must be substantially in the form prescribed by the Department and include the following information:
Sellers may accept blanket certificates from the purchaser if you repeatedly purchase the same type of property or service for processing or resale. However, blanket certificates may not be used to purchase property or services not covered by a blanket certificate. A blanket certificate must be given to the seller in advance to cover all orders except those orders that specify otherwise. The blanket certificate must describe the general kind of property to be purchased for resale. A blanket certificate is valid until it is revoked in writing. A seller must accept a blanket certificate in good faith in order for it to be valid.
Mail order and telemarketing are not expressly covered by Nevada statute. Like most states, Nevada exempts sales of goods that are shipped to purchasers out of state, whether by seller's trucks, common carrier, or customs broker. Nevada taxes out-of-state mail order and catalogue sellers only if you have physical presence within Nevada. To determine if you have physical presence, ask yourself the following:
The bracket system may be followed by sellers in computing the sales tax. The 6.85 percent tax is computed on each dollar and/or fraction of a dollar according to the following table:
| Amount of Sale | Tax |
| $0.01 to $0.07 | no tax |
| 0.08 to 0.21 | $0.01 |
| 0.22 to 0.36 | 0.02 |
| 0.37 to 0.51 | 0.03 |
| 0.52 to 0.65 | 0.04 |
| 0.66 to 0.80 | 0.05 |
| 0.81 to 0.94 | 0.06 |
| .95 to 1.09 | 0.07 |
| and so forth | |
The sales tax on returned goods is credited by excluding from taxable sales the sales price of the returned goods. The excluded amount only includes the sales tax previously collected. You may also file a refund claim with the Department of Taxation within three years from which the overpayment was made.
A use tax is imposed on all property that was acquired out of state in a transaction that would have been a taxable sale if it had occurred within the state. The use tax does not apply to property on which the Nevada sales tax has been paid. Property brought into Nevada on which a sales or use tax has been paid in another state is not allowed a credit. Your purchase will be subject to the Nevada use tax. A user becomes and remains liable for the use tax in Nevada unless the user has paid the tax to the retailer and obtained a receipt.