February 28, 2006 |
2006-R-0192 | |
SALES TAX REGISTRATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS IN CONNECTICUT AND SELECTED STATES | ||
| ||
By: Judith Lohman, Chief Analyst | ||
You asked for a comparison of Connecticut's sales tax registration and reporting requirements with those in other New England states, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. You are especially interested any special requirements for flea market, art and craft show, and other temporary vendors.
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
All nine of the states surveyed require flea market, art and craft show, and other temporary vendors to register with the state's tax department and to collect and remit sales tax on their sales. Only Connecticut and Rhode Island charge a registration fee. Three of the states, Maryland, New York, and Rhode Island have special permits for temporary and flea market vendors. The other states have only a single permit that applies to all registrants. All nine states allow vendors to register online (see Table 1).
Table 1: Sales Tax Registration Requirements
State |
Registration Required |
Types of Registration |
Fee |
Online Registration Available? |
Connecticut |
Yes |
Regular only |
$ 50 |
Yes |
Maine |
Yes |
Regular only |
None |
Yes |
Maryland |
Yes |
• Permanent • 30-day |
None |
Yes |
Massachusetts |
Yes |
Regular only |
None |
Yes |
New Jersey |
Yes |
Regular only |
None |
Yes |
New York |
Yes |
• Regular • Show/entertainment • Temporary (makes taxable sales for no more than two consecutive quarterly tax periods in any 12-month period) |
None |
Yes |
Pennsylvania |
Yes |
Regular |
None |
Yes |
Rhode Island |
Yes |
Regular |
$ 10 |
Yes |
Temporary |
$ 10 | |||
Flea market vendor |
$ 10 for 30 days, $ 40 for a quarter, $ 120 for a year | |||
Vermont |
Yes |
Regular only |
None |
Yes |
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
All but one of the nine states have various sales tax reporting schedules. These require vendors with tax liabilities above specified thresholds to report and remit sales taxes monthly and those with lower liability to report quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. Only Maryland requires all vendors to report quarterly regardless of liability. All nine states allow online reporting (see Table 2).
Table 2: Sales Tax Reporting Schedules
State |
Basis for Reporting |
Annual |
Semi-Annual |
Quarterly |
Monthly |
Connecticut |
Tax liability |
Under $ 1,000 |
None |
$ 1,000-$ 4,000 |
Over $ 4,000 |
Maine |
Tax liability |
Less than $ 50 per year |
$ 0-$ 99. 99 per month |
$ 100–$ 599. 99 per month |
$ 600 per month or more |
Maryland |
Quarterly filing required for all taxpayers | ||||
Massachusetts |
Tax collected |
$ 100 or less |
None |
$ 101-$ 1,200 |
Over $ 1,200 |
New Jersey |
Tax liability |
None |
None |
$ 500 or less |
Exceeds $ 500 for at least two quarters |
New York |
Taxable sales |
$ 3,000 or less |
None |
$ 3,001-$ 300,000 |
Over $ 300,000 |
Pennsylvania |
Tax collected |
None |
$ 75 or less |
$ 75–$ 600 |
Over $ 600 |
Rhode Island |
Tax liability |
Flea market sales liability greater than $ 120. No return required if flea market sales result in tax liability of less than $ 120. |
None |
Less than $ 200 per month for past 6 mos. |
$ 200 per month or more |
Vermont |
Tax liability |
Less than $ 500 |
None |
$ 500 - $ 2,500 |
Over $ 2,500 |
JL: ts