Pennsylvania Tax Exempt Form REV-1220: Steps, Uses, and Penalties

Pennsylvania’s REV-1220, the Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate, is the form you hand a seller to buy goods or services without paying the state’s 6% sales tax (7% in Allegheny County, 8% in Philadelphia). ¹ You download it from the Department of Revenue, complete it, and give it to your vendor. You do not mail it to the state. ² Filling it out correctly matters, because a certificate that’s incomplete or wrong shifts liability for the unpaid tax back onto someone, and eventually that someone is you.

Who Can Use the REV-1220

The certificate works for buyers whose purchase fits one of the exemption categories in Pennsylvania’s Tax Reform Code. The most common is resale: goods you’re buying to sell to someone else aren’t taxed at your end, because the tax gets collected when the item reaches its final consumer. ³

Beyond resale, the statute exempts purchases of machinery, equipment, parts, and supplies used directly in manufacturing and processing, in farming and agriculture as a business, and in the production or delivery of a public utility service. ³ For manufacturing, equipment that does double duty qualifies only if more than half of its use is in direct production. ⁴

Charitable organizations, religious organizations (for religious purposes), nonprofit educational institutions, volunteer fire companies, and volunteer firefighters’ relief associations can also use the REV-1220, but only after the Department of Revenue has approved their exempt status separately. The charitable and religious exemption does not extend to purchases made under a construction contract, and it doesn’t cover items used in an unrelated trade or business the organization runs on the side. ⁵

One boundary worth flagging: an IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter is not a Pennsylvania sales tax exemption. Federal recognition and state sales tax exemption are separate systems, and your nonprofit needs a Pennsylvania exemption number before it can present a REV-1220. ⁶ Getting that number is what the REV-72 is for, covered further down.

Filling Out the REV-1220 Step by Step

The form is short but unforgiving. Every field carries weight, and blanks are what get certificates rejected during an audit.

Pick Unit or Blanket

The first choice on the form is whether the certificate covers a single purchase or an ongoing relationship. A unit certificate is spent once the transaction is complete. A blanket certificate covers every qualifying purchase you make from that vendor, present and future, and doesn’t expire on a set schedule; it stays valid until your exempt status changes or the relationship ends. ⁷⁸ For any vendor you order from more than once, choose blanket.

Identify Yourself and the Exemption

You’ll provide your full legal name and mailing address, then select a single exemption category and enter the account number that goes with it. For a resale exemption, that’s your eight-digit Pennsylvania sales tax license number. ⁷ For an approved nonprofit, it’s the state-issued exemption number that begins with 75. ² Other categories may call for a Federal Employer Identification Number.

Write a Specific Reason

The form asks you to state why the purchase is exempt. Don’t leave this line blank, and don’t write something generic like “exempt.” A specific reason (“inventory purchased for resale at retail” or “supplies used directly in exempt charitable activities”) is what protects the certificate if an auditor questions it later. Vague reasons age badly.

Sign, Date, and Hand It Over

Sign and date the form and give it to your seller. Keep a copy for your own records. The Department of Revenue is not a party to this transaction; sending them the form does nothing.

What Your Seller Does With It

The certificate is the seller’s protection, not just your paperwork. If a vendor doesn’t collect sales tax and can’t produce a valid exemption certificate for the transaction, the vendor is personally liable for the tax that should have been collected, whether or not the buyer was actually exempt. ⁹

What relieves the seller is accepting a properly completed REV-1220 in good faith. ⁸ Good faith means the certificate is complete on its face and the stated reason fits what’s being bought. A retailer accepting a resale certificate for office chairs the buyer is obviously taking home wouldn’t qualify. Because sellers know this, expect a vendor to reject a certificate with missing fields, no signature, or a mismatched reason and account number. Fill it out right the first time.

Sellers must retain the certificate for at least four years from the date of the exempt sale. ² You should keep your own copies for at least as long.

Nonprofits: Get Your Exemption Number With REV-72 First

If your organization has never received Pennsylvania sales tax exemption, the REV-1220 comes second. First you apply on Form REV-72, and the Department of Revenue expects a full packet with the form. ⁶

An incorporated organization submits its articles of incorporation, which must contain a provision preventing any surplus funds from benefiting a private individual on dissolution or sale. An unincorporated organization submits its bylaws or governing document with the same provision. Every applicant sends the most current financial statement, with income and expenses broken down by source and category; a new organization without financial history can substitute a proposed budget. ¹⁰

You can fax or email the packet to the Department of Revenue, and there’s also an online application system that lets you track the status. Once approved, you receive the 75-series exemption number you’ll enter on every REV-1220 from that point forward. Tell the state if your mission or financial structure changes significantly after approval.

Multistate Resale Certificates

If you already use the Multistate Tax Commission’s Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate for cross-border business, Pennsylvania accepts it, but only for resale transactions and nothing else. ¹¹ Using it in Pennsylvania requires your eight-digit Pennsylvania Sales and Use Tax license number in the appropriate field, or an explanation on the form if you aren’t licensed. For any non-resale exemption, and for the Streamlined Sales Tax Exemption Certificate (which Pennsylvania does not accept), you need the REV-1220 itself.

Penalties for Misuse and Audit Records

Presenting a false or fraudulent exemption certificate is a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania, carrying a fine of up to $1,000, up to one year in prison, or both, on top of civil liability for the tax, interest, and penalties. ¹² In any audit, the burden of proof sits with the party claiming the exemption. If you bought something “for resale” and used it yourself, you owe the tax.

Keep every REV-1220 you issue, and confirm periodically that any blanket certificates on file with regular vendors still show your current address, tax ID, and exempt status. Replacing an outdated certificate takes a few minutes; explaining it to an auditor takes considerably longer.

1
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax
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Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. REV-1220 – Pennsylvania Tax Exemption Certificate
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 7201 – Definitions
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Legal Information Institute. 61 Pa Code 32.32 – Manufacturing and Processing
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 7204 – Exclusions from Tax
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for Non-Profit Sales Tax Exemption
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PA Business One-Stop Hub. Help Guides – Complete the PA Tax Exemption Certificate
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Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. When Should I Use a REV-1220 PA Exemption Certificate?
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Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 7237
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Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. REV-72 – Instructions for Sales Tax Exemption Application
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Multistate Tax Commission. Uniform Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate
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New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Pennsylvania Code 72 PS 7268 – Crimes