How to Get a Wholesale License in Minnesota
If you intend to sell items as part of your business, you must get a wholesale license from your state of residence. Your wholesale license allows you to purchase goods without paying sales tax and then resell them, collecting the tax from your customers. Minnesota has no specific license called a wholesale license; however, business owners must register for a tax ID, which allows them to purchase goods at the wholesale price and resell them. All business owners in Minnesota must register for a tax ID.
Apply online at the Minnesota Department of Revenue for a Minnesota tax number. The tax number is the same as your wholesale license, also known as a resale certificate.
Tell the Department of Revenue what type of business you are by choosing the correct business type from the drop-down menu. Most small businesses are sole proprietorships -- businesses owned and run by one person.
Check off any business categories that apply to you on the next page. If you plan on buying products to resell in your business, you need a sales and use number. If you do not plan on buying the products you sell -- you make the products yourself) -- you just need a use number. You must also tell the Department of Revenue if you intend to withhold tax from employees or are opening a business in the health care or dry cleaning industry. Next to each appropriate category, choose the month you went into business.
Indicate whether you do business from more than one physical location. Only answer "yes" to this question if you sell items from more than one physical store in Minnesota. Do not put "yes" if you do services at more than one location or sell items online or from your vehicle.
Provide information about your filing frequency on the next page. You will have to file sales tax reports at various times during the year, depending upon how much money you expect to make from the business. If you expect to make more than $100, you must file quarterly taxes; if you expect to make more than $500, you must file taxes every month.
Choose your accounting method. If you use the accrual method, you report all sales in the same year that you make them. If you use the cash method, you report sales when you get the money for them. Thus, if you make a sale on December 29 of a given year but don't get paid until January 3, you report the sale on that year's taxes using the accrual method and the next year's taxes using the cash method.
Indicate which counties you do business in by clicking the check box next to each applicable county on the next page. In some counties, you only need a wholesale license if you sell certain products such as food.
Provide personal information such as your name, address and Social Security number on the final page of the application. Submit the application online.
Receive your confirmation of registration in your mail within two to three weeks. This confirmation serves as your wholesale license if you need to purchase goods for your business. Pay taxes when required to keep your tax ID current.