Tennessee Resale Certificate: How to Get, Use, and Accept One
Tennessee Resale Certificate: How to Get, Use, and Accept One
TL;DR
Tennessee automatically issues a Blanket Certificate of Resale when you register for a sales and use tax account. You can print it from TNTAP or use a completed Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Certificate of Exemption with your Tennessee account ID and resale as the reason.
Since January 2022, out-of-state buyers may use a home-state resale certificate or a completed SST certificate with an eligible tax ID. Buyers without state sales tax registration and foreign buyers have separate SST ID options.
Department-issued certificates have printed expiration dates. Sellers can verify a certificate in TNTAP using its Location ID.
An out-of-state seller whose Tennessee supplier ships directly to a Tennessee consumer must provide a Tennessee resale certificate or a completed SST certificate with a Tennessee sales and use tax ID.
What counts as resale documentation in Tennessee
Tennessee sales tax registration and resale documentation serve different purposes. The Department of Revenue automatically issues a Blanket Certificate of Resale when a buyer registers for a Tennessee sales and use tax account. The buyer can print that certificate from TNTAP or use a fully completed Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Certificate of Exemption with Resale selected and a Tennessee account ID.
Since January 2022, out-of-state purchasers have additional documentation options.
Document | Who uses it | When valid | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Tennessee Certificate of Resale | Tennessee-registered purchasers | For qualifying purchases for resale while the certificate remains valid | The Department issues it at registration, and buyers can print it from TNTAP. |
SST certificate with Tennessee ID | Tennessee-registered purchasers | When fully completed with Resale selected and a Tennessee sales and use tax ID | An alternative to the department-issued certificate. |
Another state’s resale certificate | Out-of-state purchasers not registered in Tennessee | When the purchaser provides a resale certificate issued by another state | For qualifying purchases for resale. |
SST certificate with another state’s ID or FEIN | Out-of-state purchasers not registered in Tennessee | When fully completed with another state’s sales tax ID and issuing state, or, for a purchaser not sales-tax-registered in any state, another state-issued tax ID or FEIN | Select Resale as the exemption reason. |
SST certificate with foreign ID | Foreign purchasers not required to register in the United States | When fully completed with an ID from the purchaser’s home country | Select Resale as the exemption reason. |
A resale certificate documents a purchase of goods for resale. Manufacturing and agricultural exemptions serve different purposes, so buyers should not use those exemption claims as substitutes for resale documentation.
How buyers get and use a Tennessee resale certificate
Register for a Tennessee sales and use tax account. The Tennessee Department of Revenue automatically issues a Blanket Certificate of Resale when you register. Registration gives you the account, while the certificate documents your claim that a purchase is for resale.
Get the document you will give suppliers. Print your certificate from TNTAP. Alternatively, complete the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Certificate of Exemption, select resale as the exemption reason, and enter your Tennessee sales and use tax account ID. The Department of Revenue explains both options.
Give each supplier a copy. Use resale documentation for goods you buy to resell, rather than goods you buy for your own use. Keep track of which suppliers have a copy and replace certificates when their printed expiration dates pass.
Tell suppliers if your certificate becomes invalid. A business closure or sale can make a department-issued blanket certificate invalid. In that case, notify each seller in writing instead of waiting for the printed expiration date.
Pay tax on goods you use instead of reselling. A resale certificate does not exempt inventory you pull for your own business use. Account for the tax when you take those goods out of resale inventory.
Out-of-state and foreign buyers
Since January 2022, an out-of-state buyer who is not registered in Tennessee may give a Tennessee supplier a resale certificate issued by another state. A buyer may instead provide a fully completed SST certificate with another state’s sales tax ID and its state of issue. If you are not registered for sales tax in any state, use a fully completed SST certificate with another state-issued tax ID or a federal employer identification number. A foreign buyer who is not required to register in the United States may use a home-country ID on the SST certificate.
A different rule applies when a Tennessee supplier drop-ships goods to a consumer in Tennessee for an out-of-state seller. The seller must provide a Tennessee resale certificate or a fully completed SST certificate with a Tennessee sales and use tax ID. The Department of Revenue’s out-of-state purchaser guidance sets out these options and the drop-shipment requirement.
How sellers should verify and accept a resale certificate
Collect the document that fits the purchaser. A Tennessee-registered buyer can provide a department-issued Blanket Certificate of Resale or a completed Streamlined Sales and Use Tax (SST) Certificate of Exemption with Resale as the reason and its Tennessee sales and use tax account ID. Check that the document identifies your customer and, for an SST certificate, includes the required exemption reason and ID. Tennessee’s resale certificate guidance explains both Tennessee options.
Verify a Tennessee-issued certificate through TNTAP. Select Look Up Information, then Verify a Sales & Use Tax Certificate, then Blanket Sales & Use Tax Certificate of Resale. Enter the Location ID printed on the certificate. The Department of Revenue’s lookup instructions show the verification path.
Check the printed expiration date. A certificate with the older design remains usable until its printed expiration date, so its appearance alone is not a reason to reject it. The department’s certificate verification guidance addresses the redesign.
Apply the Tennessee ID rule to in-state drop shipments. An out-of-state purchaser without Tennessee registration may otherwise use another state’s resale certificate or a completed SST certificate with an eligible ID. But when a Tennessee supplier drop-ships goods to a Tennessee consumer for that purchaser, require a Tennessee resale certificate or a completed SST certificate with a Tennessee sales and use tax ID. The department’s out-of-state purchaser guidance states the exception.
Keep a copy of the document you accepted and request a refreshed certificate when the printed one expires. If documentation is missing, expired, or incomplete, charge sales tax or hold the sale until you have a valid document.
Buyer vs. seller checklist
Buyer | Seller |
|---|---|
Register for a Tennessee sales and use tax account if you are a Tennessee-based buyer. Print the automatically issued resale certificate from TNTAP, or complete an SST certificate with your Tennessee account ID and “Resale” as the reason. | Obtain the applicable resale document before treating a sale as exempt. Keep a copy, and charge tax or hold the sale if documentation is missing or incomplete. |
If you are an out-of-state buyer, use an accepted out-of-state document. | For a Tennessee-issued certificate, check its printed expiration date and verify it in TNTAP using the Location ID. |
Give each supplier your document, track its expiration, and notify sellers in writing if it becomes invalid. Pay tax on goods you use rather than resell. | Request an updated certificate when the one on file expires. |
Common mistakes
An expired Tennessee resale certificate cannot support a new exempt purchase. Check the printed expiration date, including on an older-design certificate. Tennessee’s redesign did not shorten the validity of certificates that had not expired. For a Tennessee-issued certificate, verify it in TNTAP using the Location ID printed on the certificate. Skipping the lookup leaves you without that validity check. Tennessee’s certificate guidance explains the redesign, and its verification instructions identify the correct lookup field.
An incomplete Streamlined Sales and Use Tax certificate does not document a resale exemption. A Tennessee-registered buyer must select Resale as the exemption reason and provide a Tennessee sales and use tax account ID, as the Department of Revenue explains.
Buyers must notify sellers in writing when a department-issued blanket certificate is no longer valid, including after closing or selling the business.
FAQs
Do I fill out a form? Tennessee automatically issues a Blanket Certificate of Resale when you register for a Tennessee sales and use tax account. You can print it from TNTAP rather than fill out a blank Tennessee resale form. Tennessee DOR explains the process.
Does it expire? Department-issued certificates show an expiration date. Check the date printed on the certificate. A newer certificate design does not invalidate an older certificate before its printed expiration date, according to Tennessee DOR.
Can out-of-state buyers use a home-state certificate? Yes. An out-of-state buyer who is not registered in Tennessee may use another state’s issued resale certificate, except for drop shipments to Tennessee consumers, which require a Tennessee ID. Tennessee DOR lists the accepted documents.
Is the SST certificate accepted? Yes. A Tennessee-registered buyer can submit a fully completed Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption that selects Resale and includes the buyer’s Tennessee sales and use tax account ID.
How do I verify a certificate? On TNTAP, select Look Up Information, then Verify a Sales & Use Tax Certificate, then Blanket Sales & Use Tax Certificate of Resale. Enter the Location ID printed on the certificate. Tennessee DOR’s instructions show the lookup.
What if the buyer isn’t registered anywhere? An out-of-state buyer without sales tax registration in any state may submit a fully completed SST certificate using another state-issued tax ID or a federal employer identification number.
Sources and disclaimer
General information, not tax advice. Rules change. Confirm current guidance with the Tennessee Department of Revenue.