Missouri State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Missouri, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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If a customer's extended-warranty company authorizes and gets billed for a repair, does the auto dealer have to charge Missouri sales tax on the parts used, even though the warranty company claims it's tax-exempt?
Yes. The dealer's sales of repair parts to the warranty company are subject to Missouri state and local sales tax, because the parts aren't being resold and the warranty company's 'Multi-State Certifi…
I'm a Missouri resident who bought an aircraft from a private seller in Missouri, had it repaired and stored here for a few months, and then moved it to Kansas where it's now hangared -- do I owe Missouri use tax on the purchase?
Yes. Because the aircraft was stored and used in Missouri for several months before being moved to Kansas, the purchase is subject to Missouri consumer's use tax -- aircraft don't qualify for the moto…
If a hotel guest's room charges are billed directly to the federal government (including via a GSA SmartPay travel card), does the hotel need to charge Missouri state and local sales and use tax on that stay?
No. Missouri ruled that a hotel's lodging charges are exempt from state and local sales and use tax whenever payment is made directly by the U.S. government, including through a GSA SmartPay travel ca…
Can a Missouri wholesale distributor accept an out-of-state customer's home-state resale certificate instead of a Missouri one when title to the goods passes in Missouri?
Yes. Missouri lets a seller accept a customer's out-of-state resale exemption certificate, as long as the seller takes it in good faith, because Missouri's resale exemption covers any purchase where t…
Does a medical-record retrieval company have to charge Missouri sales tax when it electronically delivers copies of medical records to a law firm?
No. Missouri does not tax the electronic delivery of medical records because electronic documents are not tangible personal property, and Missouri sales tax only applies to sales of tangible personal …
As a Canadian wholesaler of fabrics with no physical Missouri presence but sales over the state's economic nexus threshold, do I have to register, collect, and remit Missouri sales tax?
No, not as a wholesaler. A wholesaler selling for resale is not required to register, collect, or remit Missouri sales tax, even after exceeding the economic nexus threshold, because wholesale sales f…
Does a mobile auto detailing business have to charge Missouri sales tax on its detailing service charges?
No. Missouri only taxes services that are specifically enumerated in Chapter 144, RSMo, and automobile detailing is not one of them, so charges for mobile detailing services are not subject to Missour…
Is a software company that lets customers run online auctions and connect with third-party payment processors a 'Marketplace Facilitator' required to collect Missouri sales tax, even though it never touches the money?
No. Missouri ruled that a software/SaaS provider is not a Marketplace Facilitator because it never collects or transmits payments for the sales made on its platform -- customers pick their own third-p…
Does a Missouri college have to collect sales tax when it sells electronic textbooks that students can only access through its online learning management system?
No. Electronic textbooks are not taxable in Missouri because they are delivered in digital, not tangible, form, and Missouri sales tax only applies to tangible personal property (or software delivered…
If a county-and-city-created economic development entity hires contractors to renovate its facility using public grant money, do the contractors have to pay sales tax on the building materials they buy?
No, as long as the purchases are paid for with county/city (public) funds. Because the entity is an instrumentality of a political subdivision and furnishes the contractor an exemption certificate, pu…
If my Missouri business takes a customer's order at my headquarters but has the product drop-shipped directly from a vendor in Arkansas to that Missouri customer, do I need to collect and remit sales tax based on my headquarters location?
Yes. Because the order was taken at Applicant's Missouri headquarters, Missouri sources the sale (and the applicable local sales tax rate) to that headquarters location, even though the goods never ph…
If I buy a pre-engineered steel building kit just to store and maintain my farm machinery and land-management equipment, do I owe Missouri sales tax on it?
Yes. Missouri's farm machinery and equipment sales tax exemption does not cover building materials used for a nonproduction area, and a building used only to store and maintain equipment is a nonprodu…
If I separately state my delivery charge on the invoice for concrete I sell and deliver in Missouri, do I have to charge sales or use tax on that delivery charge?
No. As long as the delivery charge is usual and customary and is separately stated on the invoice apart from the price of the goods, Missouri law excludes it from taxable gross receipts, so no sales o…
If I sell and install grave monuments that get permanently attached to a concrete foundation and become part of the cemetery property, do I need to charge my customers sales tax?
It depends on how you sell the monument. If you install it as part of the sale and it becomes a permanent part of the real property, you're acting as a contractor and don't charge the customer sales t…
Does an online seller of medical dosing kits need to charge Missouri sales tax when selling those kits to physicians' offices and to pharmacies?
It depends on the buyer. Sales of the Kits to physicians' offices are generally taxable (no resale exemption applies) unless the Kits are dispensable only by a licensed pharmacist on prescription; sal…
If I rent portable cold-storage units to customers and already paid sales tax when I bought the units, do I have to charge my customers sales tax on the rental, storage, delivery, and other fees I bill them?
Mostly no, with one exception. Because the operator already paid sales tax when it bought the storage units, its recurring rental charges, on-site storage fees, mandatory and optional delivery/pickup/…
Does a grocery store have to charge sales tax when it sells small propane cylinders and small bundles of firewood to customers?
Yes. A grocery store must collect sales tax on propane cylinder purchases/exchanges and small firewood bundles unless it can show the sale qualifies for the narrow 'domestic use' exemption, which requ…
If I resell promotional items like pens, banners, and brochures to not-for-profit organizations, can I keep skipping sales tax on those sales, and what do I need to have on file?
Yes, but only if you get and keep an exemption certificate. Missouri lets a reseller skip sales tax on educational, marketing, and promotional items sold to not-for-profit civic, charitable, religious…
Does a public school district owe Missouri sales tax on food, coffee, and drinks sold by students at a student-run restaurant and coffee shop inside its career center?
No. Missouri's Director of Revenue ruled that a public school district's student-run restaurant and coffee shop at its career center are not subject to state and local sales tax, because the sales are…
If I manufacture equipment and hire a subcontractor (who isn't licensed as a Missouri contractor) to install it at a customer's Missouri site, is the subcontractor's installation labor subject to Missouri sales tax, and how do exemption certificates flow between everyone involved?
No, the installation labor itself is not taxable because installation is not one of the services listed as taxable under Section 144.020, RSMo -- only materials the subcontractor sells as part of that…
Does ice sold from vending machines qualify for Missouri's reduced sales tax rate on food?
Yes. Missouri LR 8377 holds that bulk and bagged ice sold from vending machines is food for home consumption under Section 144.014, RSMo, so it is taxed at the state's reduced food sales tax rate rath…
If my out-of-state online retail company uses a Missouri third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse to fulfill orders, do I owe Missouri sales tax or use tax, and does it depend on where the order ships?
It depends on where the goods are located and where title transfers. Orders shipped from outside Missouri to a Missouri address owe Missouri use tax; orders never touching or delivered to Missouri owe…
If a contractor builds a home addition under a lump-sum contract and separately invoices the homeowner for the sales tax it paid on materials, who is legally responsible for that sales tax -- the contractor or the homeowner?
The contractor is. Under Missouri law, a contractor who purchases materials to fulfill a lump-sum construction contract is the final user and consumer of those materials, so the contractor -- not the …
Does a city have to charge sales tax on concessions and other items it sells at its Aquatics Center, Community Center, parks, and Parks and Recreation Department events?
No. Because the city owns and operates the Aquatics Center, Community Center, and parks, and every dollar of proceeds benefits the municipality itself (with no revenue-sharing with any private party),…
Does a Missouri veterans' nonprofit have to charge sales tax on meals it sells to raise money for the post and for charitable donations?
No. The Department ruled that a Missouri non-profit veterans' organization's sales of meals to fund its post and charitable donations are exempt from Missouri sales tax, because the sales are within t…
Does a city have to charge sales tax on concessions, sunscreen, swim diapers, and goggles it sells at its municipal aquatics center and other Parks and Recreation events?
No. Because the aquatics center and its sponsored events are a place of amusement or recreation owned and operated by the municipality, and all proceeds benefit the city's Parks and Recreation Departm…
Does a city have to collect sales tax on concessions it sells at its own city parks through its parks and recreation department, when all the proceeds benefit the city?
No. Missouri exempts fees and charges at municipally-owned places of amusement, entertainment, or recreation when all proceeds benefit the municipality, and the Department ruled this exemption extends…
If my company anodizes, electroplates, etches, and cleans customers' metal parts but never sells any product, do I need to charge sales tax on those services, and do I owe tax on the chemicals and supplies I use to perform them?
No and yes. Missouri does not tax anodizing, electroplating, etching, or cleaning services because they aren't among the specific services listed as taxable in Section 144.020, RSMo -- but the company…
As an out-of-state roofing contractor who buys materials and rents equipment in Missouri and pays sales tax on them, but doesn't charge my customers sales tax, am I following Missouri law, and do I need a Missouri sales tax license?
Yes, this roofing contractor's practices comply with Missouri law. As a construction contractor, it is the final user/consumer of the materials and equipment it uses on a job, so it correctly pays sal…
If an online shoe retailer with no Missouri stores charges customers one combined 'shipping and handling' fee for orders shipped by common carrier, does Missouri sales tax apply to that fee?
Yes. Because Applicant bundled a non-taxable shipping charge together with a taxable handling charge into one combined fee that could not be separated, Missouri treats the entire shipping-and-handling…
Does Missouri's sales and use tax exemption for research and development apply to a business whose R&D activities (experimentation, prototyping, and testing) are not connected to manufacturing, processing, or producing a product?
No. Missouri's R&D sales/use tax exemption under Section 144.054.2, RSMo only covers equipment, machinery, and materials used in research and development that is related to manufacturing, processing, …
If our PAC buys branded t-shirts or tote bags to give supporters in exchange for their donations, do we owe sales or use tax on those items?
Yes. The PAC itself owes Missouri sales tax on promotional gift items bought in-state, or use tax on the same items bought out-of-state, because giving them to donors counts as the PAC using and consu…
As an out-of-state ticket broker who buys and resells tickets to Missouri events, do I have to collect and remit Missouri sales or use tax on those resales?
No. Because the broker buys tickets in arm's-length transactions for fair market value from venues that already collect and remit sales tax on the initial sale, the broker's later resale of those same…
If my company processes donor biological samples through leukapheresis to create a new cell-therapy product for research and therapeutic customers, are the materials I purchase for that process exempt from Missouri sales and use tax?
Yes. Missouri ruled that materials purchased for use in a cell therapy and leukapheresis process -- which separates white blood cells from donor biological samples to create a new, marketable product …
If our app lets customers order food for pick-up or delivery from local restaurants and we use a third-party company's drivers, are we a marketplace facilitator, and do we have to collect and remit tax on those orders?
It depends on where the restaurant is located. The platform is a marketplace facilitator, but for orders from Missouri restaurants delivered to Missouri customers, the restaurant (not the platform) re…
Is a mandatory freight charge a retailer passes on to customers subject to Missouri sales tax?
Yes. Because the retailer requires its customers to pay the freight fee as part of the purchase, the charge is bundled into the taxable sale price of the tangible personal property and is fully subjec…
Does a campground owe sales tax on cabin, tent, and RV site rentals to guests who stay 30 days or more?
Cabin rentals to individual non-business guests who contract for and actually stay 30 consecutive days or more are exempt as permanent-resident lodging, but tent camping sites and RV sites are never e…
Can a global architecture firm buy computers tax-free in Missouri if its headquarters -- but not all its offices -- is located there?
Yes. Because the firm's Missouri office administratively manages all of its more than twenty integrated, centrally-directed offices worldwide, it qualifies as "headquartered in this state" and can cla…
Is a conveyor system that moves raw fertilizer into storage bins before blending exempt as manufacturing equipment?
No. Because the conveyor system only transports raw fertilizer material into storage bins before the actual blending process begins at the mixers, it doesn't change the material's use, identity, or va…
Does a golf course have to collect sales tax when it rents out golf simulators it already paid sales tax on?
No. Because the golf course already paid sales tax when it purchased the golf simulators, Section 144.020.1(8), RSMo's previously-taxed-property exemption means it doesn't have to collect sales tax ag…
Does an agricultural retailer owe sales tax on a wheel loader it uses to move fertilizer around its own warehouse?
Yes. The farm machinery exemption only covers equipment used directly in raising crops or farm animals, and this retailer's wheel loader moves and blends fertilizer at its own facility -- a step remov…
Can a 501(c)(3) nonprofit sell a donated book tax-free, and does that change if the publisher later wants a cut of the profits?
The first 250 gifted books are exempt because all proceeds benefit the nonprofit's own charitable and educational activities, but if the publisher later negotiates a profit-sharing cut of additional b…
When a Missouri facility straddles two cities, which city's local sales and use tax rate applies?
Both local sales and use tax are sourced to Berkeley, because that's where the wholesaler's orders are taken and where its purchased items are first delivered in Missouri -- not to Ferguson, even thou…
Does a city owe sales tax on concessions at its aquatics center and merchandise sales at its municipal golf course?
No. Because the city owns and operates the aquatics center, Parks and Recreation events, and municipal golf course, and every dollar of proceeds benefits the city itself with no revenue-sharing agreem…
Can an electrical contractor buy its tools and materials tax-free under the new public-utility electricity exemption?
No. Because the new Section 144.058, RSMo electricity-generation exemption is limited to purchases by registered public utilities, and this electrical contractor is neither a utility provider nor regi…
Does an online food-ordering app have to collect Missouri sales tax on restaurant orders, or does the restaurant handle it?
The Missouri restaurant itself, not the online ordering platform, is responsible for sales tax on orders from Missouri restaurants to Missouri diners -- but the platform, as a Marketplace Facilitator,…
Can a nonprofit fraternal order buy hotel rooms, meals, and printed programs tax-free for its annual meeting?
Yes. Because the organization is a recognized 501(c)(10) civic/fraternal organization and the hotel rooms, meals, and printing costs are paid directly by it for its annual and special meetings on char…
Does a sports complex owe sales tax on rental fees it charges teams to use the fields, on top of spectator admission?
Yes. Fees a baseball field complex charges to teams and organizations for practices, games, and events are taxable in the same way as spectator admission fees, because both are fees paid to a place of…
Can a contractor buy consumable supplies and rent equipment tax-free on a tax-exempt university construction project?
Split ruling: rented machinery and equipment like lifts and construction fencing stay fully taxable even on a tax-exempt university project, but true consumables that get used up on the job, like plyw…
When a leased vehicle's driver moves, does the local motor vehicle sales tax rate follow them to their new address?
Yes. On a Missouri motor vehicle lease of more than 60 days where tax wasn't prepaid at signing, the local sales tax rate always follows the lessee's current address -- updating when they move within …
Does a car rental company have to charge sales tax on an optional Collision Damage Waiver?
No. Because the Collision Damage Waiver is optional -- renters can decline it and many do -- it isn't part of the taxable vehicle rental transaction and isn't subject to Missouri sales tax.
Does a Missouri company doing custom, one-off machining and laser work to each customer's own specifications qualify for the manufacturing exemption under Sections 144.030 or 144.054, RSMo?
No, under either statute. Because the company's machining and laser work is custom-made to each individual customer's own specifications, its output is not a "product" that could be marketed to variou…
Does sales tax or use tax apply to Rent-to-Own payments on a portable building, and does it depend on whether the dealer is inside or outside Missouri and where the building is delivered?
It depends on where the dealer and the building are located: an in-state dealer renting to an in-state customer for delivery inside Missouri owes sales tax on the rental payments; delivery outside Mis…
Is money collected from coin-operated laundry machines subject to Missouri sales tax, and are wash/dry/fold service sales taxable?
It depends for the coin machines: if the business bought the machines tax-free using a resale exemption certificate, the money customers pay to use them IS subject to Missouri sales tax, but if the bu…
If an HVAC distributor takes and processes orders in Illinois but delivers by its own trucks to Missouri customers, and its invoice says title doesn't pass until payment is made in full, does it owe Missouri sales tax on those sales?
Yes. Because the distributor's own invoice terms keep title from passing to the customer until payment is made in full, and that sale is completed in Missouri, title transfers to the customer in Misso…
If an out-of-state seller ships materials into Missouri for a Missouri fabricator to modify before shipping them back out of state to an out-of-state customer, does Missouri sales tax or use tax apply?
No Missouri sales tax applies, because title to the material passed to the buyer outside Missouri (upon pickup by the common carrier in Illinois). However, Missouri vendor's use tax does apply, becaus…
Does a contractor operating a federal DOE/NNSA facility, and managing a related Missouri construction project, owe Missouri sales/use tax on the tangible personal property and utilities it purchases on the government's behalf?
No. All three categories -- tangible personal property, utilities, and construction-project purchases -- are exempt from Missouri sales/use tax because title and ownership pass directly from the vendo…
If a food-service company operates a school's cafeteria, vending, and catering as the school's agent, are its food purchases and meal sales exempt from Missouri sales tax?
Yes. Both the company's purchases of food and supplies and its meal sales made on behalf of the organizations are exempt from Missouri sales tax, so long as each organization holds a valid Missouri ex…
Does an online auction platform have to collect Missouri sales tax on its 10% buyer's premium, for both regular goods and titled property like vehicles and boats?
It depends on what's being sold. The 10% buyer's premium is taxable as part of the sales price for regular (non-titled) tangible personal property, but it is not subject to Missouri sales tax on title…
I rent out my farm's outdoor and indoor space as a wedding venue, with no food, drinks, or overnight stays -- is that rental subject to Missouri sales tax?
Yes -- Missouri's sales tax on 'rooms, meals and drinks' under Section 144.020.1(6), RSMo, applies to a farm's wedding-venue rentals even though no food, drinks, or overnight lodging are provided. The…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Missouri's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.