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View All General - Sales and Use FAQs

What type of sales are made where no sales tax is due?

  • Sales of Exempt Items: Some of the more common items which are exempt are: prescription drugs, gasoline and motor oil (kerosene and fuel oil are taxable), fertilizer/insecticides/fungicides when used for agricultural purposes, seeds for planting purposes, feed for livestock and poultry (not including prepared food for dogs and cats), baby chicks and poults, livestock, sales to the U.S., State of Alabama and other governmental agencies of the State of Alabama, labor to repair or install property is exempt as long as it is billed as a separate item on the customer’s invoice (labor to fabricate an item is not exempt). Note: cigarettes and beer are not exempt from sales or use tax.
  • Sales to Exempt Organizations: Sales made directly to the federal government, the State of Alabama and counties and cities within the State; sales made directly to Schools (not daycares) within the State; sales made to City and County owned and operated hospitals and nursing homes; sales made to some non-profit agencies that have been specifically exempted by the Alabama Legislature – examples include but are not limited to Alabama Sheriffs Boys Ranch, Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America. Note: Not all non-profit organizations are exempt.
  • Sales Paid For With Food Stamps: The exemption applies only to items which are actually purchased with food stamps. All other purchases by food stamp program participants remain subject to sales tax.
  • Wholesale Sales (Sales for Resale): Sales made to licensed retail merchants, jobbers, dealers, or other wholesalers for resale.
Related FAQs in General - Sales and Use

In Alabama, a resale certificate is officially called a “Sales Tax License”. To get a copy of your Alabama resale certificate or Sales Tax License, you should:

Login to MAT, locate the appropriate tax account, locate and click “Print tax account license” link. If you need help or cannot access your certificate online contact the Alabama Department of Revenue Sales and Use Tax Division for assistance.

Step by Step Instructions for License Renewal

Yes. In accordance with Rule 810-6-1-.144.03: All buyers of property for resale purposes are entitled to purchase at wholesale, tax-free, the property they resell as regular course of business when they have secured the sales tax license required by law. This rule also applies to retailers located outside Alabama when they have secured the sales tax license required by law in the state in which they are located.

A credit card transaction fee is a charge added to the regular price of an item by a retailer when the purchaser pays for the item using a credit card. Other names for this fee include swipe fee, credit card surcharge, processing fee, service charge, or convenience fee.

These fees are subject to sales and use tax and should be included in the seller’s gross sales on retail transactions when calculating tax due. Example: A sale of tangible personal property totals $100. The customer pays with a credit card and is charged a $3 credit card transaction fee. The total price of $103, including the credit card transaction fee, is subject to sales and use taxes.

A credit card fee, even if separately stated, is part of the retailer’s cost of doing business, and the entire consideration for the sale of tangible personal property is subject to sales and use taxes.

If a transaction consists of only non-taxable goods or services, the credit card transaction fee is not subject to sales and use taxes. Example: A customer is charged $50 for a haircut. The customer pays with a credit card and is charged a $3 credit card transaction fee. Since the haircut is not subject to sales and use taxes, the corresponding credit card transaction fee is not subject to sales and use taxes.

When trying to complete title applications for vessels that have inches listed on the MSO, please use this Vessel Length Chart for conversion purposes.

Vessel Length Chart

Yes, Alabama allows resident individuals to claim a tax credit for income taxes imposed by other states. This credit is claimed on Form 40, Schedule CR. A copy of the other state’s return and a copy of the state Schedule K-1 should be included as documentation of this credit.

If the individual does not file an individual income tax return in the other state or the state provides an exclusion of income, include a proforma return calculating the tax at the other state’s rate and a copy of the state Schedule K-1 as documentation of this credit.

Note: Any Pass-Through Entity tax deducted on the Pass-Through Entity’s federal return, which reduces the taxable income reported on the owner’s K-1, should be added back to compute Alabama taxable income.

No, if the current title is an Alabama ELT there is no cost to print a physical title.

However, once an ELT is printed on physical title paper it can not be printed again. A replacement title application must be applied for if a replacement is needed.