How to Complete the ST-4 Sales Tax Exemption Form in New Jersey

To fill out the ST-4 form in New Jersey, enter your business name and address, describe your business, write in the specific subsection of the Sales and Use Tax Act that supports your exemption, provide your New Jersey taxpayer ID, describe exactly what you are buying and how it will be used, and sign it under penalty of perjury. You then hand the completed certificate to the seller. Nothing is filed with the state.1State of New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Form ST-4 Exempt Use Certificate

The form itself is a PDF on the Division of Taxation’s site at nj.gov/treasury/taxation. Get it right the first time: the ST-4 is signed under penalties for perjury and false swearing, and an incorrect claim leaves you responsible for the 6.625% sales tax, plus interest and penalties.2NJ Division of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax

When the ST-4 Is the Right Form

The ST-4 documents purchases where an item or service will be put to a specific exempt use listed in the Sales and Use Tax Act. It is not the form for buying inventory to resell — that’s the ST-3. It is also not the form most farmers use for production equipment; farming purchases under N.J.S.A. 54:32B-8.16 generally go on the Farmer’s Exemption Certificate instead. The one farming overlap is containers used in a farming enterprise, which fall under the ST-4’s Section 8.15 category.3Justia. New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 54:32B-8.15

Field by Field

Under New Jersey Administrative Code 18:24-10.4, a “fully completed” certificate must contain every one of the elements below. Missing any of them means the certificate isn’t valid, which puts the transaction at risk during an audit.4Cornell Law Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 18:24-10.4 – Acceptance of Exemption Certificates

  • Purchaser’s name and address. Use your legal business name and mailing address as registered with the state.
  • Type of business. Describe what your business actually does: manufacturing, commercial printing, telecommunications, recycling, and so on. This should line up with the exemption category you claim below.
  • Reason for the exemption. The form does not have checkboxes. You write in the subsection of the Sales and Use Tax Act that authorizes the exemption — for example, “8.13a” for manufacturing equipment. The reverse side of the form lists the principal categories and their statute numbers to help you identify the right one.
  • New Jersey taxpayer identification number. This is your 12-digit number from the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services: the nine-digit base followed by a three-digit suffix, or “000” if you have no suffix. If you are not registered in New Jersey, use your federal employer identification number or an out-of-state registration number. Individual purchasers provide a driver’s license number.5New Jersey Department of Treasury. Division of Revenue, On-Line Filing
  • Description of property or services. Be specific. State what you are buying and how it will be used for the exempt purpose. Vague entries invite audit scrutiny; a description like “CNC milling machine used to cut steel parts sold to customers” is far stronger than “equipment.”
  • Signature. Your signature certifies the information under penalties for perjury and false swearing. It is required on paper and faxed certificates.1State of New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Form ST-4 Exempt Use Certificate

One quirk: the seller’s name and address are not among the required fields. The state does not consider them when deciding whether a certificate is “fully completed.”4Cornell Law Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 18:24-10.4 – Acceptance of Exemption Certificates Filling them in anyway creates a cleaner record for both sides.

Picking the Right Statute Subsection

The most consequential part of the form is the one line where you write the statute reference. If you pick the wrong subsection — or claim an exemption that doesn’t actually cover what you’re buying — the certificate won’t protect you.

The commonly used categories:1State of New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Form ST-4 Exempt Use Certificate

  • 8.13a — Manufacturing equipment. Machinery or equipment used directly and primarily in producing tangible personal property by manufacturing, processing, assembling, or refining. “Directly” means the equipment has a direct effect on the product; “primarily” means more than 50% of its use is in actual production. Equipment that only stores raw materials before production or finished goods after, or whose role is merely incidental, does not qualify.6New Jersey Division of Taxation. Manufacturing Exemption – Bakery Racks
  • 8.13c — Telecommunications equipment. Equipment for a telecom service provider under BPU or FCC jurisdiction, used directly and primarily to deliver interactive telecommunications services for sale.
  • 8.14 — Research and development. Tangible personal property used directly and exclusively in experimental or laboratory research. The standard is stricter than manufacturing: exclusive, not just primary. Quality-control testing, management studies, consumer surveys, advertising research, efficiency studies, and historical projects are all excluded, even if you call them “research.”7Justia. New Jersey Code 54:32B-8.14 – Sales of Tangible Personal Property, Specified Digital Products for Use in R&D Exempt; Exceptions
  • 8.15 — Wrapping supplies and containers. Wrapping paper, bags, cartons, tape, labels, and nonreturnable containers used to deliver tangible personal property, plus containers used in a farming enterprise.
  • 8.29 — Newspaper and commercial printing equipment. Equipment used directly and primarily in a newspaper plant’s production department or by a commercial printer.
  • 8.36 — Recycling equipment. Equipment used exclusively to sort, prepare, or recycle solid waste. Motor vehicles are excluded.
  • 8.43 — Commercial trucks. Trucks, truck tractors, and semi-trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating above 26,000 pounds; vehicles operating exclusively for interstate freight; or farm vehicles above 18,000 pounds.

Other categories on the form include buses for public passenger transportation, aircraft sold to air carriers, printed advertising materials distributed out of state, and film production equipment. Pages two and three of the form itself carry the full list.

Single-Purchase or Blanket

You can complete an ST-4 for one transaction, or as a blanket certificate covering every qualifying purchase from the same seller going forward. A blanket certificate is the practical choice when you buy exempt items from the same supplier on a recurring basis — you fill out one form instead of one per invoice.8Cornell Law Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 18:24-10.5 – Exemption Certificates; Conditions, Retention, and Inspection Either way, the fields you fill in are the same.

Paper, Fax, or Electronic

New Jersey does not require a paper original. A paper or faxed certificate must carry your signature. If the seller enters the data elements from your paper certificate into an electronic system, the seller is not required to keep the paper copy afterward.1State of New Jersey Division of Taxation. Sales Tax Form ST-4 Exempt Use Certificate

Give It to the Seller, Not the State

The completed ST-4 goes to the seller. Neither party sends it to the Division of Taxation. The seller keeps it as proof that tax was properly not collected.

Timing matters. A seller who accepts a fully completed certificate at the time of sale, or within 90 days after, is relieved of liability for the uncollected tax on that transaction.9New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Sales Tax Exemption Administration Past 90 days, that safe harbor disappears, so if you plan to claim exemption on a purchase, hand the seller the ST-4 promptly. Waiting creates friction for the seller, and some will simply bill you the tax after the window closes.

What Happens if You Claim an Exemption You Shouldn’t

When the certificate is accepted properly, the seller is off the hook even if the exemption later turns out to be improper. At that point the responsibility falls on you as the purchaser: you owe the tax that should have been collected, plus interest and penalties.9New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Sales Tax Exemption Administration

The same rule applies if the property’s use changes later. If equipment you bought tax-free under the manufacturing exemption shifts to a non-exempt use — say, it ends up handling mostly administrative work instead of production — you owe use tax on the purchase price as of the date the use changed.

Because the form is signed under penalties for perjury and false swearing, intentional misuse can also expose you to criminal prosecution, though that outcome is typically reserved for systematic fraud rather than an honest mistake about which subsection applies.

The Multi-State Alternative

If your business buys exempt goods in several states, the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption is an accepted alternative to the ST-4 for exempt-use purchases sourced to New Jersey. New Jersey is one of 24 member states, and the streamlined certificate is accepted by all of them.10Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. Home You do not need to register through the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System to use it, and the completed form still goes to the seller rather than to any state agency or to the Governing Board.11Streamlined Sales Tax. Exemptions

Not every exemption listed on the streamlined form is recognized in every member state. Before using it for a New Jersey transaction, confirm that New Jersey actually recognizes the specific exemption you are claiming.