Businesses that make retail sales in Mississippi need a free Sales Tax Permit from the Mississippi Department of Revenue, and they can apply online through the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP). Out-of-state sellers with no presence in Mississippi register for a Use Tax account once their sales into the state pass $250,000 in any 12 months. Home-based businesses and businesses without a permanent Mississippi location must post a bond before they get a permit.
You need a Mississippi Sales Tax Permit before you start a business in Mississippi that makes sales subject to sales tax. The Department of Revenue (DOR) issues a separate permit for each business location.
That includes hobby sellers. Anyone selling retail to the public has to collect Mississippi sales tax.
Out-of-state sellers without a place of business in Mississippi don't get a Sales Tax Permit. They register for a Mississippi Use Tax account instead, covered in the remote sellers section below.
SaaS in Mississippi isn't taxable when the software is hosted on servers outside the state. Mississippi exempted remotely accessed software hosted out of state starting July 1, 2023.
Businesses that only make wholesale sales don't have to register. They can still register if they want to buy inventory for resale without paying tax.
If you have no physical presence in Mississippi, you need to register and begin collecting sales tax once you cross the Mississippi economic nexus threshold: more than $250,000 in sales into the state in any consecutive 12-month period. Mississippi has no transaction-count threshold.
Remote sellers register for a Mississippi Use Tax account, not a Sales Tax Permit.
Count all your sales into Mississippi:
However, sales made through a marketplace facilitator count as the marketplace's sales, not yours.
Once your sales pass $250,000, you're treated as doing business in Mississippi on all your sales to Mississippi customers. That means you need to register and collect sales tax.
For example, if your Mississippi sales pass $250,000 in May, register right away so you can collect sales tax on your next Mississippi sale.
If you crossed the threshold in the past and never registered, a voluntary disclosure agreement may help. Mississippi has a voluntary disclosure program, but if you collected sales tax and didn't remit it, DOR goes back to when you started collecting.
Your business has physical nexus in Mississippi, with no sales minimum, if you have a presence there, including any of these:
Which registration you need depends on whether you have a place of business in the state:
You need the sales tax permit before you start selling. That includes selling at a one-time event.
Mississippi's marketplace facilitator law requires marketplaces that facilitate more than $250,000 in Mississippi sales in any consecutive 12-month period to register for a Use Tax account and collect tax on those sales.
Whether you still need your own registration depends on where you're based:
Owning business property in Mississippi creates nexus, and DOR hasn't published an exception for inventory stored in a marketplace's fulfillment center.
So, Amazon FBA sellers with stock in a Mississippi warehouse need to register for any direct Mississippi sales, no matter the amount, under Mississippi sales tax nexus rules.
If your business isn't a sole proprietorship, get a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) from the IRS before you start. The online application asks for it first.
If you or any other owner, partner, officer, member, or trustee has a history of filing or paying Mississippi sales tax late, you must pay what's owed or post a bond before DOR issues a new permit.
Corporate officers must provide their Social Security numbers. Sales tax is a trust fund tax, and officers can be held personally liable if the business collects it and doesn't remit it.
Most businesses apply online through the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP).
On the TAP home page, find Apply Online and select Apply for Tax Accounts, Liquor Permits, Amusement Decals.
You can also apply in person at any DOR district office.
Under Add New Account or Access, select Register a New Taxpayer. This option is for businesses that have never had a Mississippi tax account.
If you've paid Mississippi taxes before but never set up TAP, select Sign Up For Online Access instead. Once your profile is set up, you can register for new accounts from your login.
On the Taxpayer Information screen, pick your Entity Type, then enter your Taxpayer ID. For an LLC or corporation, that's your FEIN.
Sole owners choose Social Security Number, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) if they don't have one.
Follow the prompts to finish the registration. TAP registration covers three levels:
There's no fee. When you submit, you get a confirmation number, which you can find again in TAP's Submissions tab.
Tip: TAP times out if your computer sits idle for several minutes, and you'll have to start over. Gather everything in the checklist above before you begin.
DOR mails you a packet with your permit and information about filing your taxes.
If it hasn't arrived after two weeks, call DOR at (601) 923-7700 with the date you registered and your confirmation number.
A Mississippi Sales Tax Permit is free. There's no renewal fee.
Depending on your business or filing history, DOR may require a bond before issuing a permit. DOR can require a bond in other cases too, but a cash or surety bond is required in these:
Use the Sales Tax Surety Bond form or the Sales Tax Cash Bond form, and send it to your county's DOR district office. DOR only accepts the original surety bond, not a copy.
Allow two weeks to receive your permit packet after you register online.
It can take longer if your application is incomplete or you owe existing tax. Once DOR approves the application, the permit arrives by mail within two weeks. DOR doesn't publish a separate time for applications made at a district office.
Mississippi splits registration by where you do business. Sellers with a Mississippi location get a Sales Tax Permit, while remote sellers and marketplace facilitators get a Use Tax account.
Use tax works like sales tax for the seller. The rates are the same, returns are due on the same dates, and you file a return for every period, even with no sales.
Out-of-state sellers below the threshold can register voluntarily. Many out-of-state businesses register and collect use tax for their customers' convenience.
Out-of-state wholesalers that want to buy inventory tax-free register for a seller's use tax permit.
A permit is tied to one owner at one location, so some changes mean a new registration:
Warning: If you buy a Mississippi business, withhold enough of the purchase price to cover the seller's sales tax until the seller shows you a tax clearance letter from DOR. If you don't, you can become liable for the tax along with the seller.
Charge Mississippi sales tax on your taxable sales: the 7% general rate, unless an item is exempt or has a reduced rate, plus any local or special taxes that apply to your location.
DOR assigns your filing frequency based on how much tax you remit each year, and it reviews accounts annually:
You can file Mississippi sales tax online through TAP. Returns are due by the 20th day after the end of each reporting period.
You have to file a return for every period, even if you had no sales.
If you file and pay on time, most sellers can keep a 2% discount, up to $50 per period and $600 per year. A late or underpaid return loses the discount for all your locations.
You must file online if you have more than one location or sales tax account, report more than four tax rates, or owe certain other taxes and fees, such as the Waste Tire Fee.
The permit doesn't expire. It stays in force as long as you run the same business at the same location.
DOR can revoke it if you don't file returns or pay tax when due.
Registration rules differ by state, and several require renewal.
No. An EIN, or FEIN, is a federal tax ID from the IRS. A Sales Tax Permit is DOR's permission to make sales subject to Mississippi sales tax, and it comes with its own Mississippi sales tax account number.
No. Mississippi law requires a Sales Tax Permit before you start a business that collects sales tax. Register early enough to allow two weeks for the permit.
If you start without a permit, you may have to post a surety bond covering six months of estimated tax.
Yes. A business gets one sales tax account number, but each Mississippi location must be registered for its own permit.
It depends on the event. You need a sales tax account number to sell at a one-time or miscellaneous retail event.
Flea markets, antique malls, and similar events work differently. The operator or promoter is treated as the seller and reports the tax, so vendors report their sales to the promoter, not under their own number.
It depends on where you're based. Sales through Amazon count as Amazon's sales, not yours, when you count sales toward the $250,000 threshold, so an out-of-state seller with no Mississippi presence and only Amazon sales doesn't cross it.
Sales through your own website do count. Mississippi-based sellers must register for a Sales Tax Permit, and so do sellers whose inventory is stored in a Mississippi warehouse if they make direct sales.
Yes. You can buy merchandise for resale without paying sales tax by giving your supplier your sales tax permit information.
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