When you rent a booth to participate in a trade show, or if you rent a booth in a business to sell your own products or service, you may have to pay sales tax of the booth rental. Whether or not you do depends on the state sales tax laws in which the booth rental occurs. If you do have to pay tax on the booth rental, it is simple interest calculation that can help you determine how much you owe.

Confirm the sales tax rate. Contact the department of revenue for the state in which the booth rental take place. Confirm the sales tax rate and the county sales tax (if applicable).

Contact the person or company you rent the booth from to confirm the booth-rental fee. Also, confirm to see if the vendor already includes the sales tax in the booth rental fee. Some booth rentals already include the sales tax as part of the payment.

Calculate the taxes. Multiply the booth rental fee by the sales tax rate. The answer is the amount of tax you owe on the booth rental. For example, if you rent the booth for $1,000 and the state sales tax is 7 percent, then you would multiply 1,000 by .07 for a sales tax amount of $70. If you owe a county tax as well, perform the same calculation for the county tax rate and then add the two tax payments together for a total tax figure.

Tip

In some states, the department of revenue or the division that handles sales tax issues may use a different name. For example, in Florida it is the department of revenue that collects and provides information on sales tax. In Texas, however it is the comptroller of the state that deals with any matters pertaining to sales tax.