How to Get and Use a New Mexico Resale Certificate (NTTC)

To buy inventory tax-free for resale in New Mexico, you register with the state Taxation and Revenue Department for a New Mexico Business Tax Identification Number (NMBTIN), then generate a Type 2 Nontaxable Transaction Certificate — the state’s version of a resale certificate — through the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) at tap.state.nm.us and deliver it to your supplier. The New Mexico resale certificate is officially called an NTTC, and registration is free.¹

One thing to understand up front: New Mexico doesn’t have a sales tax. It has a Gross Receipts Tax, and the legal liability sits on the seller, not the buyer. When you give a supplier your NTTC, you aren’t claiming an exemption for yourself; you’re giving the seller conclusive evidence that they can deduct that sale from their own taxable gross receipts.² The practical result for you is the same — no tax on inventory you’ll resell — but the mechanics affect who signs what.

Step 1: Register for a New Mexico Business Tax ID

You cannot generate an NTTC without an active NMBTIN. Anyone engaged in business in New Mexico must register, and there is no fee.³

Two options:

Register online through TAP at tap.state.nm.us. Click “Apply for a New Mexico Business Tax ID” and follow the prompts. Once your application is approved, you can log in immediately using the credentials you set during the application.⁴
Register by mail or email using Form ACD-31015, Business Tax Registration Application. Complete pages 1 through 4 and mail it to NM Taxation and Revenue Department, Attn: Compliance Registration Unit, PO Box 50130, Albuquerque, NM 87181-0130, or email it to Business.Reg@tax.nm.gov. Mailed applications are processed in order received, so turnaround is longer than online.⁴

Out-of-state sellers without a physical presence in New Mexico must still register if their taxable gross receipts sourced to the state reached at least $100,000 in the previous calendar year.³ If you’re an out-of-state buyer below that threshold, you can’t get an NTTC — see the alternatives further down.

Step 2: Generate a Type 2 NTTC in TAP

Once your NMBTIN is active, log into TAP at tap.state.nm.us. On your account summary page, find your Gross Receipts Tax account, select “More Account Options,” then click “View NTTC” to reach the certificate management area.⁵ From there, request a new NTTC and pick the type that matches the transaction.

For inventory you’ll resell — either as-is or combined with other property — the type you want is Type 2. This corresponds to the deduction under NMSA 1978, § 7-9-47, which lets the seller deduct receipts when the buyer resells the goods in the ordinary course of business.⁶

Other NTTC types exist for other situations: Type 6 for contractors, Types 11 and 12 for certain utility and fuel purchases under Section 7-9-46, and Type 15 for U.S. government agreements. Type 2 is the one most resellers of tangible goods need. Choosing the wrong type means your certificate doesn’t support the deduction you’re actually claiming.¹

When you execute the NTTC, you enter your business details, name the seller, and the system generates an electronic record accessible in TAP by both parties. Note that a third-party access user cannot request or execute NTTCs for a client or employer through TAP — the business owner or an authorized account user has to do it directly.⁵

Step 3: Deliver the Certificate to Your Supplier

When you execute the NTTC to a seller in TAP, the certificate lands in that seller’s TAP account automatically, and that electronic record is the official document. You do not have to print anything. If a vendor asks for a paper copy, you can print one from TAP, but it isn’t required.¹

You only need one NTTC per customer. It covers all transactions of the same type with that seller, so you don’t generate a new certificate every time you place an order with the same supplier.¹ Photocopies of an already-executed NTTC are for internal record-keeping only. Trying to reuse a previously executed certificate as if it were a new one can get your right to use NTTCs suspended under Section 7-9-44.⁷

Timing: Give the Certificate Before the Sale

The regulation expects the seller to have the NTTC in hand at the time of the deductible transaction. This is where the widely misunderstood “60-day rule” comes in, and it matters to you as the buyer because your supplier is going to ask for the certificate up front to protect themselves.

At the time of sale, the seller should already have your NTTC.
If the Taxation and Revenue Department audits that seller, the seller has 60 days from the audit notice to produce all NTTCs covering the audit period.
Any NTTC obtained after that 60-day window closes will not be honored by the Department for the period under audit.⁷

Practically, this means suppliers won’t wait around. Execute the NTTC to a new supplier before the first order ships, and the whole relationship stays clean from that point on.

If You’re an Out-of-State Buyer

If you’re not required to register in New Mexico — typically because you have no physical presence and fall below the $100,000 economic nexus threshold — you cannot generate an NTTC through TAP. New Mexico accepts two alternative certificates from out-of-state buyers purchasing tangible personal property for resale.

MTC Uniform Resale Certificate

New Mexico accepts the Multistate Tax Commission’s Multijurisdictional Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate in place of a Type 2 NTTC when three conditions are all met: the certificate was not issued by New Mexico, the buyer isn’t required to be registered in New Mexico, and the purchase is of tangible personal property for resale or as an ingredient or component of a manufactured product.⁸ The form asks for the buyer’s name, address, type of business, and the tax registration numbers for the states where the buyer is registered.

One limitation: New Mexico does not allow this certificate to claim a resale deduction for taxable services. Tangible personal property only.

Border States Uniform Sale for Resale Certificate

Under 3.2.201.19 NMAC, the Department treats a Border States resale certificate as equivalent to a Type 2 NTTC only when all of the following apply:

The buyer is purchasing tangible personal property for resale or as an ingredient or component of a manufactured product, or is purchasing a manufacturing service.
The property or product will be transported across state or national boundaries.
The buyer is located in a border state — Arizona, California, or Texas — or in the northern border region of Mexico as defined by the border states caucus.⁷

No other out-of-state or foreign certificate is accepted under this provision.⁹ A resale certificate from any state that isn’t Arizona, California, or Texas — and isn’t the MTC form — won’t work in New Mexico.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The form itself is mostly automated in TAP, so the trouble usually comes from process:

Executing an NTTC without an active NMBTIN. Only buyers holding a valid NMBTIN — or who have applied and not been refused — can execute NTTCs issued by the Department. A certificate issued without proper registration can be invalidated later.²
Picking the wrong NTTC type. Type 2 covers resale of tangible personal property. Contractors generally need Type 6. Using the wrong type means the certificate doesn’t back the deduction being claimed.
Waiting until after the sale to hand over the certificate. The regulation contemplates the NTTC being in place at the time of the transaction, and the seller’s 60-day audit clock will punish a habit of chasing paperwork after the fact.
Assuming an out-of-state resale certificate is good enough. Only the MTC Multijurisdictional certificate and the Border States certificate are accepted, and each has its own conditions.

1
Taxation and Revenue New Mexico. Non-Taxable Transaction Certificates (NTTC) – Businesses
2
Justia. New Mexico Code 7-9-43 – Nontaxable Transaction Certificates and Other Evidence Required to Entitle Persons to Deductions
3
Taxation and Revenue New Mexico. Who Must Register a Business?
4
Taxation and Revenue New Mexico. ACD-31015 Business Tax Registration
5
Taxation and Revenue New Mexico. Can I Obtain a Non-Taxable Transaction Certificate (NTTC) on TAP?
6
Justia. New Mexico Code 7-9-47 – Deduction – Gross Receipts Tax – Governmental Gross Receipts Tax – Sale of Tangible Personal Property or Licenses for Resale
7
New Mexico State Records Center and Archives. 3.2.201 NMAC – Nontaxable Transaction Certificates, Farmers and Ranchers Statements and Other Evidence Required to Entitle Persons to Deductions
8
Multistate Tax Commission. Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate – Multijurisdiction
9
Legal Information Institute. New Mexico Code 3.2.201.19 – Border States Uniform Sale for Resale Certificate