In general, sales of all tangible personal property in Indiana by a retailer are subject to Indiana sales tax and, generally speaking, the storage, use or consumption in Indiana of goods purchased in a retail transaction are subject to Indiana use tax. For more details on what types of products are specifically exempt from Indiana sales tax, see Indiana sales tax exemptions. If you buy products and the retailer doesn't charge you Indiana sales tax, as with online and out-of-state purchases, you're supposed to pay 7% sales tax (minus any overseas sales tax you pay) on these items yourself, in the form of a tax on the use of Indiana. Many states have special sales tax rates that apply to the purchase of certain types of goods or completely exempt them from sales tax.
In addition to these foods, items sold to both farmers and contractors are not eligible for sales tax in Indiana. The state of Indiana has a relatively simple sales tax system, consisting of a fixed state tax rate in addition to county and local city taxes, which will vary significantly depending on the jurisdiction in which you are located. Other items, such as gasoline, alcohol and cigarettes, are subject to several Indiana excise taxes in addition to sales tax. It's important to note that the Indiana Department of Revenue allows businesses that own locations across the state to consolidate their sales tax into one return; therefore, the total sales taxes, sales taxes due, and use tax for all of these businesses are they would file in one county and sometimes not in any county, but it will appear in state totals.
If you're a business owner and need to learn more about things like obtaining a sales tax permit, filing a sales tax return, or making tax-exempt purchases for resale, see the table of contents in the Indiana Sales Tax Manual found Higher. While Indiana's 7% sales tax applies to most transactions, there are certain items that may be tax-exempt. Sales tax exemption forms (as well as commercial sales tax identification requests, sales tax returns and the full Indiana sales tax code) can be downloaded from the Indiana Department of Revenue here. It derives from the BT-1 sales tax application and the ST-103 sales tax return that must be completed by Indiana companies and out-of-state companies that do business in the state of Indiana.
Pat Barkey, a former professor at Ball State University, wrote a detailed summary of the problems inherent in sales tax data as part of the Indiana State Data Initiative. When making an exempt purchase, exemption certificate holders can submit a completed Indiana sales tax exemption form to the supplier instead of paying sales tax. The IN sales tax applicable to the sale of cars, boats and real estate may also vary by jurisdiction. In some states, items such as alcohol and prepared foods (including restaurant meals and some prefabricated supermarket items) are charged at a higher sales tax rate.
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