Arizona’s Form TPT-EZ is the short version of the state’s transaction privilege tax return, and single-location businesses use it to report gross income, claim deductions, and pay the tax they owe to the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR). To complete it, you need three things in front of you: your eight-digit TPT license number, the business and region codes for what you sell and where you sell it, and your gross receipts for the reporting period.1Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT License Transaction privilege tax is a tax on the seller for the privilege of doing business in Arizona, not a sales tax on the buyer, so the liability on the return is yours.2Arizona Department of Revenue. Transaction Privilege Tax
Who Can File the Paper TPT-EZ
ADOR limits the paper TPT-EZ to businesses that operate from a single physical location. If you have more than one location, you have to file electronically.3Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT-EZ Transaction Privilege, Use and Severance Tax Return A separate rule requires electronic filing for any business with an annual combined TPT liability of $500 or more, regardless of how many locations it has.4Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT Update — January 2026 Put those two rules together and the paper TPT-EZ is effectively available only to single-location businesses whose annual tax runs under $500. Filing on paper when you were required to file electronically triggers a 5% penalty on the tax due, with a $25 minimum, even on a zero return.5Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT Notices and Correspondence Resource Center
What to Have in Front of You
Before you start writing anything on the form, pull together:
- Your eight-digit TPT license number, printed in the upper right of your physical license certificate or visible under Business Details on your AZTaxes account.1Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT License
- The three-digit business code for your activity (retail sales, for example, is 017) and the region code for the city or county where you operate. Both codes live in ADOR’s Tax Rate Table, which is updated monthly.6Arizona Department of Revenue. Tax Rate Table
- Your gross receipts for the reporting period, plus documentation for any income you plan to deduct.
Completing the Form
Header and Reporting Period
Enter your license number at the top and fill in the reporting period dates to match your assigned filing frequency, whether that is monthly, quarterly, or annual.
Business Code, Region Code, and Gross Receipts
Each line of the return represents one type of taxable activity at one location. Enter the business code, the region code, and your total gross receipts for the period on that line. Gross receipts are the starting figure for everything that follows, so use the total before any deductions.
Schedule A Deductions
Use Schedule A to list income that qualifies for a deduction. Each deduction entry needs the same region code you used for gross receipts and a deduction code from ADOR’s official list.7Arizona Department of Revenue. Deduction Codes Some deduction codes apply only to state tax, some only to city tax, and many apply to both, so check the list before you write a code down. Subtract the total allowable deductions from gross receipts to get your net taxable amount.
Calculating Tax Due
Apply the combined tax rate for your business code and region to the net taxable amount. The state TPT rate is 5.6%, but the total rate you owe is higher because it also includes county excise tax and, in most cases, a municipal tax.8Arizona Department of Revenue. Transaction Privilege and Other Tax Rate Tables Look up the exact combined rate in the same Tax Rate Table you used for the region code. The result is the tax due before any credits or prior payments.
Use Tax
The TPT-EZ also handles Arizona use tax. If you bought tangible goods from an out-of-state vendor that did not charge Arizona tax and then used those goods in Arizona, report the purchases on the use tax line so they get taxed at the same 5.6% state rate.9Arizona Department of Revenue. Understanding Use Tax Items that are exempt from TPT, such as prescription medicine and most grocery food, are also exempt from use tax.
Submitting the Return and Paying
If you qualify to file on paper, mail the completed form to the ADOR address printed on it. A mailed return counts as filed on the postmark date, provided the postmark is legible; if it is not, ADOR may treat the arrival date as the filing date.10Arizona Department of Revenue. Arizona General Tax Ruling GTR 16-1 Include a check or money order payable to the Arizona Department of Revenue.
If you file electronically through AZTaxes.gov, you can pay by electronic check or by credit or debit card, though card payments may carry a service charge.11Arizona Department of Revenue. Make a Payment Online You can track an e-filed return under the E-file Status menu in the portal. If you are required to file electronically and instead pay by check or cash, that triggers a separate 5% penalty on the payment amount.12Arizona Department of Revenue. E-Services for TPT
Deadlines and Late Penalties
Returns and payments are due by the 20th day of the month after the reporting period ends. A January monthly return is due February 20; a quarterly return is due by the 20th of the month after the quarter closes; an annual return is due by the 20th of the month after the year closes. When the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.13Arizona Department of Revenue. Due Dates
Miss the deadline and the penalties stack:
- Late filing: 4.5% of the tax due for each month or fraction of a month the return is late, capped at 25% of the tax due or $100, whichever is greater, with a $25 minimum.12Arizona Department of Revenue. E-Services for TPT
- Late payment: 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month, capped at 10%.14AZTaxes.gov. FAQ
- Paper filing when electronic was required: 5% of the tax due, $25 minimum, even on a zero return.5Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT Notices and Correspondence Resource Center
Interest also accrues on unpaid balances. Arizona ties its interest rate to the federal rate, so the exact percentage changes over time.
Filing a Zero Return
A slow period does not excuse you from filing. If you had no sales and owe nothing, you still have to file a $0 TPT return by the same deadline.13Arizona Department of Revenue. Due Dates Skipping a zero-liability filing can trigger the $25 minimum late-filing penalty and create a delinquency on your account.
Fixing an Error After Filing
If you find a mistake after submitting a TPT-EZ, corrections do not go on another TPT-EZ. File a Form TPT-1, check the “Amended Return” box in Section I, and resubmit the entire return with corrected figures rather than only the changed lines.15Arizona Department of Revenue. General Instructions for Form TPT-1 An amended return that claims a refund or credit must be filed within four years of the original return’s due date or four years from the date the original was filed, whichever is later.16Arizona Department of Revenue. TPT Refunds An amended return cannot be used to change an estimated tax payment or redirect how one was applied.