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?

Plain-English summary

The Missouri Department of Revenue ruled that a ticket broker based in Kansas does not have to collect or remit Missouri sales or use tax when it resells tickets to Missouri events. The broker buys tickets from individuals who approach the business and from venues, sometimes below face value and sometimes above, and then resells them to customers who pick tickets up in person, receive them by mail, or get them transferred online.

The outcome turns on Missouri's admissions tax and a specific resale carve-out. Section 144.020.1(2), RSMo taxes amounts paid for admission and seating at "a place of amusement, entertainment or recreation," and that tax is collected by the venue on the ticket's initial sale. Section 144.018.2, RSMo then says a subsequent sale of that same admission is not taxable again if the initial sale was an arm's-length transaction for fair market value. Because the broker here is unaffiliated with the venues and purchases tickets in arm's-length deals for fair market value, its resales to the public fall outside the tax a second time.

The Department also addressed use tax separately, since the broker ships tickets and sometimes transfers them online to customers, many of whom live in Missouri. It concluded use tax doesn't apply here either, for the same underlying reason: the tax already attached (or should have attached) at the venue's initial sale, and the broker's resale isn't an independently taxable event.

The ruling does put an obligation on the venues, not the broker: places of amusement and entertainment are the ones required to collect and remit sales tax when they first sell tickets to the broker. The broker itself should simply pay sales tax on its purchases of tickets, and then its downstream resales are tax-free.

What this means for you

Ticket brokers and resellers

If you buy and resell tickets to Missouri events, whether you're based in Missouri or out of state, you generally do not need to collect Missouri sales or use tax on your resale as long as (1) you're unaffiliated with the venue you bought from, and (2) your purchase was an arm's-length transaction for fair market value. You should instead pay sales tax when you buy the tickets from the venue (or confirm the venue already charged it). Selling below or above face value doesn't change this analysis by itself — what matters is whether the original purchase was arm's-length and at fair market value.

Venue operators and event promoters

This ruling confirms that the tax obligation sits with you as the initial seller: you must collect and remit Missouri sales tax under Section 144.020.1(2), RSMo on ticket sales to admission, seating, and similar charges for your events, including sales made to brokers. Once that initial arm's-length sale happens, downstream resales by brokers are not taxed again, so the state is relying on you to capture the tax at the point of first sale.

Out-of-state businesses selling into Missouri

The broker here is a Kansas business selling to a mix of Missouri and Kansas residents, using in-person pickup, shipping, and online transfer. The ruling shows that simply being located outside Missouri, or delivering tickets by mail or online, didn't create a separate Missouri use tax obligation — because the underlying tickets (as opposed to tangible property being shipped in) weren't taxable a second time on resale.

Common questions

Q: Does this mean ticket brokers never owe any Missouri tax on ticket sales?
A: No. The broker in this ruling should pay sales tax when it purchases tickets from venues or individuals. What it does not have to do is charge sales or use tax again when it resells those same tickets to its own customers, because the resale followed an arm's-length, fair-market-value purchase.

Q: What if the broker bought tickets in a deal that wasn't arm's-length or not at fair market value?
A: The ruling's conclusion depends specifically on the initial sale being an arm's-length transaction for fair market value under Section 144.018.2, RSMo. If a broker's purchase were structured differently, for example through an affiliated venue or a non-arm's-length deal, this reasoning would not automatically apply.

Q: Does it matter whether the buyer picks up the ticket in person, has it shipped, or gets it transferred online?
A: In this ruling, no. The Department addressed all three delivery methods the broker used (in-person pickup, shipping, and online transfer) and concluded that use tax does not apply to any of them, for the same reason sales tax didn't apply to the resale itself.

Q: Can any other ticket broker rely on this exact ruling?
A: Not directly. This is a private letter ruling binding on the Department only with respect to the specific Applicant, only for three years from its date, and only as long as the facts and the underlying law don't change. Other brokers can look to it as an illustration of the Department's reasoning, but each business's own facts (how it acquires tickets, its relationship to venues, and its delivery methods) need to be checked against the statutes directly or through their own ruling request.

Q: Who is actually responsible for collecting sales tax on the ticket in the first place?
A: The places of amusement, entertainment, or recreation, meaning the venues, are required to collect and remit Missouri sales tax on their initial sales of tickets, including sales made to brokers like the Applicant.

Citations and references

Statutes and regulations:

• Section 144.020.1(2), RSMo (sales tax on admission and seating amounts at places of amusement, entertainment, or recreation)
• Section 144.018.2, RSMo (subsequent sale of admissions not taxable if the initial sale was arm's-length for fair market value)
• Section 144.610.1, RSMo (use tax on tangible personal property stored, used, or consumed in Missouri)
• Section 536.021.10, RSMo (Director of Revenue's letter ruling authority)
• 12 CSR 10-1.020 (letter ruling procedure)

Subject

Taxability of Tickets Sold for Missouri Events

Source

• Landing page: Missouri DOR Rulings Search
• Ruling: LR 8356

Original ruling text

Dear Applicant:

This is a letter ruling issued by the Director of Revenue under Section 536.021.10, RSMo, and Missouri Code of State Regulations 12 CSR 10-1.020, in response to your letter dated February 10, 2025.

The facts as presented in your letter ruling request are summarized as follows:

Applicant is a ticket broker located in Kansas. In connection therewith, Applicant sells tickets to events within the State of Missouri. With respect to the acquisition of tickets for Missouri events, Applicant typically purchases from individuals who approach the business. Applicant will also buy and sell tickets from venues that contact Applicant. The purchase price of said tickets ranges from below face value to above face value. Additionally, Applicant, as the ticket broker, typically does not collect any other end user charges except for shipping/delivery costs.

For Missouri events, tickets are typically sold to individuals. Most of these individuals reside in Missouri and some reside in Kansas. Tickets are commonly picked up in person at the Kansas office, are shipped to the individual purchaser, or are transferred online from Applicant to the individual purchaser.

ISSUE 1 :

Is Applicant required to collect and remit Missouri sales tax on its sales of event tickets?

RESPONSE 1 :

No. Applicant is not required to collect and remit Missouri sales taxes on its sales of event tickets.

Section 144.020.1(2), RSMo, imposes a tax upon:

[…] [T]he amount paid for admission and seating accommodations, or fees paid to, or in a place of amusement, entertainment or recreation[.]

Section 144.018.2 provides:

Any subsequent sale of such admissions or seating accommodations shall not be subject to tax if the initial sale was an arms’ length transaction for fair market value.

The places of amusement and entertainment are required to collect and remit sales tax on their sales of tickets to Applicant. Applicant is unaffiliated with the places of amusement and entertainment from which it buys tickets. Applicant purchases all tickets in arms’ length transactions for fair market value. Therefore, Applicant’s subsequent sales of tickets to its customers are not subject to sales tax because the initial sales to the Applicant were at arms’ length for fair market value with an unaffiliated entity. Applicant should pay sales tax on its purchases of the tickets.

ISSUE 2:

Is Applicant required to collect and remit Missouri use taxes on its sales of event tickets?

RESPONSE 2:

No. Applicant is not required to collect and remit Missouri use taxes on its sales of event tickets.

The use tax under Section 144.610.1, RSMo, is imposed upon the sale price of the tangible personal property, stored, used, or consumed in Missouri. See Response 1.

This letter ruling is binding upon the Department of Revenue with respect to the Applicant for three (3) years from the date of this letter and is subject only to statutory changes by the General Assembly and to changes in the interpretation of law by the courts or administrative tribunals.   If a change occurs, the taxpayer who relies upon an outdated interpretation may be subject to additional taxes, interest and penalties, which may be imposed prospectively from the date of the change.   For this reason, the interpretation set forth above should be reviewed on a regular basis.   Please note that any change in or deviation from the facts as presented will render this ruling inapplicable.

Should additional information be needed, please contact Associate Counsel J. Ross Shelton, General Counsel’s Office, Post Office Box 475, Jefferson City, Missouri 65105-0475 (phone 573-751-0961), or me.

Sincerely,

Trish Vincent