Anyone making sales of tangible personal property and services such as telephone and telegraph are taxable unless there is a specific exemption listed in Section 144.030, RSMo. .

You must complete a Form 2643 , Missouri Tax Registration Application, and submit the form to the Missouri Department of Revenue.

All applicants for a sales tax or vendor's use tax license must post a bond equal to three times their average monthly sales or use tax.

If you are purchasing a business from a previous owner, the bond should be computed based on the previous owner's sales.  If this is a brand new business, you must estimate your average taxable sales for a three-month period.

Please note: The Department of Revenue uses established bond guidelines based on business location and type in determining if a submitted bond is sufficient to cover sales tax liability.

You must complete Sections 1 through 26 of Form 2643 and all applicable sections of the application.  If you are required to post a bond, you must also complete the appropriate bond form for the type of bond you are submitting.

As a successor/purchaser, you shall withhold a sufficient amount of the purchase money to cover taxes, interest, or penalties due and unpaid by all former owners or predecessors, whether immediate or not, until the former owner or predecessor produce a receipt from the director of revenue showing that all taxes have been paid (a Certificate of No Tax Due or Tax Clearance); otherwise, you shall become personally liable for the unpaid tax, penalty, and interest accrued. All purchasers have a duty to discover whether taxes are due and unpaid by any former owner or predecessor, whether immediate or not.  The lack of knowledge about a successor will not relieve a purchaser from successor tax liability.  Reliance on an affidavit pursuant to Missouri's Bulk Transfer Act, stating there were no creditors of the business, also will not relieve a purchaser from successor tax liability.

Here is a list of questions you may want to ask yourself when purchasing an existing business:

1. Are you purchasing the building (real estate)?
2. Are you purchasing the inventory?
3. Are you purchasing the equipment?
4. Are you purchasing the fixtures?

If you answer "yes" to any of the above questions, please obtain from the seller before you purchase the business either a Tax Clearance or a sales tax Certificate of No Tax due.  Request the sales tax Certificate of No Tax due if the seller was responsible for collecting and remitting only sales tax.  Request a Tax Clearance if the seller was responsible for collecting and remitting more than one tax type, including sales, use, withholding, corporate income and corporate franchise.

A Tax Clearance can be requested by completing and mailing Form 943 to the Department of Revenue, PO Box 3666, Jefferson City, MO 65105-3666.  A Certificate of No Tax due for sales tax can be requested by email at taxclearance@dor.mo.gov or by mail at Department of Revenue, PO Box 3300, Jefferson City, MO 65105-3300.  If you have additional questions or comments regarding the purchase of an existing business that were unanswered, please email us at salesuse@dor.mo.gov.

The name, title, title effective date, social security number, date of birth, home address, city, state and zip code is required for each owner, officer, partner and/or member.  Your registration may be delayed or not completed without all necessary information.

Yes.  Your social security number is needed for identification purposes.  It is considered confidential information and is not made available to the public.

Your tax number will be issued within 10 business days from the date we receive your properly completed application.

Once the registration application has been received and your account is properly registered, you will receive notification of your tax identification number by mail.  If additional information is required in order for the department to properly register your business, you will receive notification, by mail, of the additional information needed.

Form 2643 must be signed by the owner, if the business is a sole ownership; by a partner, if the business is a partnership; or by a reported officer, if the business is a corporation.  The signature must be of the owner, partner, officer, member or responsible person reported on the application.

When registering vending machine locations, you are only required to provide the city and/or county in which the machine is located.

In the "Business Name and Physical Location" section of Form 2643 , Missouri tax Registration Application, indicate the business name, city, state, zip code, and county.  In the street address field, indicate the word "vending".

You are only required to list the city and/or county once, regardless of how many vending machines are located in that area.  For example, an owner places three machines located inside the city limits of St.  Charles (St.  Charles would only need to be listed once), and placed two more machines in unincorporated St.  Louis County (St.  Louis County would only be listed once).  Attach additional pages to the application if more than one city and/or county needs to be listed.

Complete and sign Form 126 , Registration Change Request, to add or close additional location.

If you already remit sales tax for multiple locations on Form 53-1 , Sales Tax Return, you may write in any new sales tax locations at the bottom of the last page of your return, immediately following the preprinted locations.

Retail Sales Tax - Any person or company that has a business location in Missouri from which they sell or lease goods to a final consumer is required by law to collect and remit Missouri sales tax.  It is the taxpayers responsibility to ensure that sales tax is collected at the correct rate.  Taxpayers are required to have a Missouri retail sales license prior to making sales.  A bond must accompany the application.

Any person making retail sales without a Missouri Retail Sales Tax License is subject to a penalty of $500 for the first day of operation and a $100 fine every day thereafter, with a maximum penalty of $10,000.  See Section 144.118 Penalty.  Operating without a license is a misdemeanor and can result in criminal prosecution.

Vendors Use Tax - If an out-of-state vendor makes sales of goods to a final consumer located in Missouri and the vendor has sufficient nexus with Missouri, the vendor is required to collect and remit Missouri vendors use tax.  The vendor is required to obtain a Missouri use tax license and post a bond.

Consumers Use Tax - if a taxpayer is located in Missouri and is purchasing goods from an out-of-state vendor to be used or consumed by the taxpayer in Missouri, and the vendor did not collect tax at the time of purchase, the in-state taxpayer is required to remit Missouri Consumers use tax.  The in-state purchaser must obtain a Missouri use tax license; however, no bond is required.

Employer Withholding Tax - Every employer maintaining an office or transacting any business within the state of Missouri and making payment of wages to a resident or nonresident individual must obtain a Missouri employer tax identification number.

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