To buy inventory tax-free in Wyoming, you use the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption, which the Excise Tax Division offers as a free PDF download. The Wyoming resale certificate is the same form Wyoming shares with other Streamlined Sales Tax states; you fill it out with your Wyoming sales tax license number, check the “Resale” box for your exemption reason, sign it, and hand it to the vendor before the sale. Without a valid Wyoming sales tax license, you have no legal basis to use the certificate at all.
Get a Wyoming Sales Tax License First
The resale exemption assumes you are a licensed Wyoming vendor buying goods to sell to your own customers.1Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-101 – Definitions If you don’t hold a license yet, apply before you try to use the certificate.
The fastest way to apply is through the Wyoming Internet Filing System for Business at excise-wyifs.wy.gov, linked from the Excise Tax Division site.2Excise Tax Division. WYIFS Paper applications go to the Excise Tax Division in Cheyenne. The one-time license fee is $60. You’ll need your federal EIN or Social Security number, your business and mailing addresses, the date of your first Wyoming sale, and a short description of what you sell. Expect about ten business days for processing.
Where to Download the Form
The Excise Tax Division posts the certificate on its Streamlined Sales Tax Project page under “Streamlined Sales Tax Compliance Documents.”3Excise Tax Division. Streamlined Sales Tax Project The same PDF is available through the Wyoming State Auditor’s office.4Wyoming State Auditor. Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption Because Wyoming is a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, the same template works across member states, though each state controls which exemptions it recognizes.5GSA SmartPay. Wyoming Tax Information
How to Fill Out the Certificate
The form is one page. Every field matters, because a vendor who accepts an incomplete certificate can end up owing the tax. Careful sellers will hand it back if anything is missing.
- Purchaser name and address (Fields A–B). Use your legal business name exactly as it appears on your Wyoming sales tax license, then your business street address, city, state, and ZIP.4Wyoming State Auditor. Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption
- Tax ID number (Field C). Enter your Wyoming sales tax license number and Wyoming as the state of issue. The form technically accepts a federal EIN, driver’s license number, or foreign diplomat number if you have no state tax ID, but for a resale purchase, vendors expect your sales tax license number.
- Type of business (Field D). Check the box that fits your operation: retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, lessor, or another listed category.
- Reason for exemption (Field E). Check “Resale.” This is the field that establishes why the vendor is not collecting tax.
- Signature, printed name, title, and date. An authorized person signs. The declaration certifies the information is correct and complete, and warns that you’ll be liable for the tax, interest, and possible civil or criminal penalties if you are not actually eligible.
The form does not ask you to describe the goods you are buying. Your business type and the “Resale” reason do that work.
Single Purchase or Blanket
The certificate has a checkbox for single-purchase use. Check it and add the invoice or purchase order number, and the certificate covers only that transaction. Leave it unchecked and the certificate acts as a blanket certificate covering all qualifying purchases from that vendor, as long as you make at least one purchase from them within any twelve consecutive months.6Park County Wyoming. Certificate of Exemption Most businesses with regular suppliers file one blanket certificate per vendor and stop worrying about paperwork on each order.
Giving the Certificate to Your Vendor
Send or hand over the completed certificate before or at the time of the sale. Wyoming’s rules require vendors to obtain a completed exemption certificate for every transaction where they don’t collect sales tax.7Legal Information Institute. Wyoming Code 011-2 Wyo. Code R. 2-7 – Non-Taxable and Exempt Sales Transactions A vendor who missed collecting it at the time of sale has 90 days to obtain a fully completed one, followed by a 120-day period to either secure a good-faith certificate or produce other evidence that the sale was not taxable.
A certificate is taken “in good faith” when the exemption claimed was available in Wyoming on the transaction date, the exemption could apply to the item being purchased, and the exemption is reasonable for the buyer’s type of business. Vendors who take a good-faith certificate are relieved of liability for the tax, which is why sellers care about completeness.
Records You Both Have to Keep
Wyoming requires vendors to keep records, books, and invoices, including all merchandise purchased for resale, for three years at their principal place of business, available for inspection during regular business hours.8Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-108 – Enforcement The three-year window matches the standard audit lookback, though the department can go back further where there’s evidence of fraud or gross negligence.
Sellers should keep every exemption certificate they receive, organized by vendor. If an auditor finds a tax-free sale with no certificate on file, the seller owes the tax. Digital copies are fine as long as they’re readily accessible.
When You Pull Inventory for Your Own Use
This is where resale certificate users most often get into trouble. If you buy something tax-free with your certificate and then use it in your business instead of reselling it, you owe use tax on that item. Wyoming’s use tax runs at the same rate that would apply to a sale in the jurisdiction where you use the item.9Excise Tax Division. Excise Tax FAQs The state base rate is 4%, and some counties add their own percentage.
Use tax is self-reported. Calculate it and include it on your regular sales and use tax return for the period when you removed the item from inventory. The return has a line for untaxed removals from inventory for exactly this purpose. Skipping it does not save money; it creates a liability that grows with interest until an auditor finds it.
Penalties for Misusing the Certificate
Wyoming treats misuse of a resale certificate seriously. The consequences stack:
- You owe the tax that should have been collected, plus interest from the original due date.
- If the department finds the deficiency was due to fraud with intent to evade, it adds a 25% penalty on top of the deficiency, plus interest.8Justia. Wyoming Code 39-15-108 – Enforcement
- A vendor who intentionally fails to remit collected taxes faces a misdemeanor (up to a $750 fine and six months in jail) if the amount is $500 or less, or a felony (up to a $5,000 fine and three years in prison) if the amount exceeds $500.
- The department can revoke your sales tax license after two written notices at least one week apart, with the final notice at least 30 days before revocation takes effect. Getting a new license means filing a new application and paying every past-due tax, penalty, and interest amount in full.
Anyone filing a false or fraudulent return is also subject to prosecution under Wyoming’s general criminal fraud statute. Used correctly, the certificate is a routine piece of paperwork; used carelessly, it turns into an audit finding you cannot argue away.