Saint Paul, MN
Bright shelves full of products, the beep of a scanner and shoppers drifting happily down the aisles.
Short answer: In Saint Paul, Minnesota, businesses are required to obtain licensing before they start operating. For a retail store, that means the Sales and Use Tax Permit, a federal tax ID number (EIN) and a local business license, plus a structure and name registration.
The Minnesota version of the seller's permit is the Sales and Use Tax Permit. To buy for resale without paying sales tax, you give the supplier a Form ST3 Certificate of Exemption. Suppliers generally accept a resale certificate only from a buyer registered for sales tax, so even a business that mostly buys and sells wholesale usually registers. Minnesota is a Streamlined Sales Tax member state; its ST3 form covers resale purchases. Inventory bought from wholesalers for resale is purchased tax-free by giving them a resale certificate, then sales tax is collected from customers at checkout.
Tip: Count your inventory regularly. Shrinkage is a polite word for stuff that vanished, and a monthly count catches it while the trail is warm.
Industry code: NAICS 453998 (All Other Miscellaneous Store Retailers (except Tobacco Stores)), 459999 under the 2022 update
Get your Sales and Use Tax Permit filed · Start your LLC, DBA and EIN · Business licenses
Macungie, PA
The owner asked: “Do I need a seller's permit to sell tobacco products on mobile vehicles? What do I need to sell eyelashes? It's a small retail business.”
Yes, any taxable goods, eyelashes included, call for Pennsylvania's Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License. Tobacco is a different story: it is regulated separately and generally needs its own retailer license, and selling from a mobile vehicle adds local vending rules in each city. Suppliers will want the license number and the Form REV-1220 Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate before selling stock tax-free. Sort out the tobacco part before you buy inventory.
Short answer: For a small retail business in Macungie, Pennsylvania, the essentials are the Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License, a federal tax ID number (EIN) and a local business license, plus an LLC or other structure.
In Pennsylvania, the seller's permit goes by the name Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License. To buy for resale without paying sales tax, you give the supplier a Form REV-1220 Pennsylvania Exemption Certificate. Not a sales tax license. A business selling only to resellers applies for a wholesaler certificate instead; it cannot hold both. Pennsylvania issues a separate wholesaler certificate to businesses that sell only for resale; any retail selling requires the sales tax license instead.
Industry code: NAICS 446120 (Cosmetics, Beauty Supplies, and Perfume Stores), 456120 under the 2022 update
Get your Sales, Use and Hotel Occupancy Tax License filed · Start your LLC, DBA and EIN · Business licenses
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All Businesses Need a Saint Paul Business License & a Trade Business Name ( Dakota County Trade Business Name required if using a trade name).
Retailers / Wholesalers, Need a Reseller Tax ID, & a Business License.
Employers Need a Federal Tax Id Number (EIN), a MN State Tax Id ( State EIN), & a Business License.
Corporations, & LLC Need a Federal Tax Id Number (EIN)& a Business License.
Partnerships Need a Federal Tax Id Number (EIN) & a Trade Business Name, but also need a Business License.
Sole Proprietors May Use a Federal Tax Id Number as a MN Business Tax ID but also need a Business License.
Instead of filing a Trade Business Name, You Can Incorporate in MN or form a(n) MN LLC & You Will Not Need To File A DBA
Requirements below include websites as well as home-based or eBay Businesses.
1. Retail Sale 99% of new businesses are required to get a(n), Saint Paul business Id registration ( business tax registration or business permit).
2. Retail Sale Starting businesses using a company name other than the legal owner's name need a (n) Dakota County DBA Doing Business As Trade Firm Name Registration.
3. In MN a business tax ID registration (occupationall business license ) and a DBA Doing Business As Fictious Business Name are ncessary for most businesses but if your business sells any taxable items, you will need a sales tax ID number. ( A.K.A MNseller's permit, state id, wholesale, resale, reseller certificate).
4. If you are thinking of hiring help, you will need a tax ID called a state EIN and an IRS tax ID number called an EIN Employer ID Number. I.e., a MN Federal Tax ID Number and a(n) MN State Employer Tax Number.
5. Instead of filing a fictitious business name DBA Filing in Saint Paul, Incorporate in MN or form a(n) LLC.