Get a Wyoming Sales and Use Tax License: $60 Fee, 4% State Rate, Returns Due the Last Day of the Next Month
If you sell taxable goods or services in Wyoming, you need a sales and use tax license from the Wyoming Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Division. The license costs $60 for each new vendor, covers one place of business, and comes with a 4% state rate and returns due on the last day of the month after each reporting period. Registration itself is an online form. The rules behind it are where new businesses get into trouble.
This guide covers how to register, what the license costs, which sales are taxable, how exemption certificates work, and when returns are due. Wyoming calls this a sales and use tax license, but you will also see it called a Wyoming sales tax registration, permit or license. Those terms all refer to the same Department of Revenue account.
Disclaimer: This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Tax rules, rates and deadlines change, and the details of your situation matter. Confirm current figures with the Wyoming Department of Revenue and consult a qualified attorney or CPA before making decisions about your business.
Who Needs a Wyoming Sales Tax License
A business that makes taxable sales in Wyoming needs a sales and use tax license. Wyoming has no general statewide business license, so this Department of Revenue license is the main state license for businesses that sell goods or taxable services. It is separate from registering your entity with the Secretary of State, which is covered later in this guide.
Not every seller pays the license fee. Remote vendors with no duty to register, and vendors using a Streamlined model, pay no fee. The remote seller section below explains how the sales threshold works.
License Fees and Key Figures
The figures below come from Wyoming Statutes Title 39, Chapter 15 (W.S. 39-15). Check the Excise Tax Division before you rely on any figure for a filing you are preparing.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New vendor license | $60 | One license per place of business (39-15-106) |
| Reinstating a forfeited license | $60 | Same place of business rule |
| Remote vendor with no duty to register, or Streamlined model | No fee | 39-15-106 |
| State sales tax rate | 4% | 3% under 39-15-104(a) plus 1% under 39-15-104(b) |
| Prepayment credit | 1.95% of tax due, capped at $500 a month | Pay by the 15th (39-15-107(b)(xi)) |
| Interest on delinquent tax | 10.75% for 2026 | Department rate notice dated January 6, 2026 (39-15-108(b)) |
| Record retention | 3 years | 39-15-107(a) |
How to Register for the License
- Confirm your business entity first. If you operate as an LLC or corporation, file Articles of Organization or Articles of Incorporation with the Wyoming Secretary of State. Each filing costs $100. Check that your name is available on the WyoBiz business search at https://wyobiz.wyo.gov/Business/FilingSearch.aspx before you file.
- Gather your details. You will need your legal business name, entity type, every Wyoming location where you will sell, and the date you expect to begin taxable sales.
- Register online. Start at the Excise Tax Division registration page at https://excise-tax-div.wyo.gov/salesuselodging-tax/salesuselodging-registration and pay the $60 new vendor fee.
- Ask about processing time. The state's processing time is not settled in this guide, so check with the Excise Tax Division before your planned opening date. Build that wait into your launch schedule.
- Set up your filing calendar. Once your license is active, mark your return due dates and decide with the Department whether you file monthly, quarterly or annually.
Lodging operators register through the same Excise Tax Division system because lodging is taxable under the sales and use tax framework. Review the Department's lodging guidance at https://excise-tax-div.wyo.gov/ before opening.
The 4% State Rate and Local Taxes
The Wyoming state sales tax rate is 4%. That rate combines 3% under 39-15-104(a) and 1% under 39-15-104(b). Counties may add their own option taxes, including county general purpose, specific purpose and economic development taxes. Two resort districts can add more. These local taxes ride on the same state return.
You do not register separately with a city or county for sales tax. Wyoming has no city sales tax, and the Department of Revenue rate chart effective October 1, 2026 shows no city option tax. County rates change quarterly, so the rate you charge in one quarter may differ from the next. Before you bill a customer, check the current rate chart on the Excise Tax Division homepage at https://excise-tax-div.wyo.gov/ and confirm the combined rate for the location where the sale happens.
What Is Taxable and What Is Exempt
Wyoming taxes a defined list of goods and services. It does not tax services in general. Do not assume a service is taxable or exempt because of its category. Check the statute list before you charge tax.
The following are taxable under 39-15-103(a)(i):
- Retail sales and rentals of tangible personal property
- Intrastate telecommunications
- Intrastate passenger transport
- Utilities
- Meals and cover charges (gratuities are excluded)
- Lodging
- Admissions
- Repair, alteration or improvement of tangible personal property
- Oil and gas well-site services
- Motor vehicles, collected by the county treasurer at first registration
- Alcohol
- Specified digital products
Other professional and personal services, and services to real property, are not on the list, so they are not taxable.
The following are exempt under 39-15-105:
- Food for home consumption, including most baked goods. Prepared food is taxable.
- Intrastate freight
- Farm implements
- Manufacturing machinery
Contractors (not an exemption). Contractors are the consumers of the materials they install, so they pay tax on those materials. Nonresident prime contractors have bonding and project registration duties under 39-15-303, including registering projects within 15 days. Confirm the current bond amount with the Excise Tax Division before starting work in Wyoming.
Wyoming Sales Tax Exemption Certificate and Resale Sales
Wyoming does not issue a resale certificate. Instead, the buyer gives the seller a signed certificate claiming the exemption under 39-15-105(a)(vi)(F). The document you keep on file is the buyer's signed certificate, not a state-issued form. Ask the Excise Tax Division what the certificate must contain before you rely on it for a large or recurring customer.
Keep the signed certificate with your sales records for at least 3 years. A certificate that is missing, unsigned or does not match the sale will not protect you if the Department audits the transaction.
Filing Frequency and Due Dates
Sales and use tax returns are due on the last day of the month after the reporting period. The rule is simple, but the dates are easy to miss:
| Sales Period | Return Due |
|---|---|
| March | April 30 |
| June | July 31 |
| October | November 30 |
If your monthly tax is under $150, you may file quarterly or annually instead. Ask the Department to confirm your filing frequency in writing before you choose.
Paying by the 15th earns a prepayment credit of 1.95% of the tax due, capped at $500 a month (39-15-107(b)(xi)). Confirm with the Excise Tax Division how the credit is claimed under your filing frequency, because the mechanics can differ.
Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators
A remote seller must register if it has more than $100,000 in Wyoming sales in the current or prior calendar year (39-15-501). Wyoming's older 200-transaction test was repealed in 2024, so transaction count alone no longer triggers registration. Only the dollar threshold matters.
Marketplace facilitators are treated as the vendor under 39-15-502. For sales they facilitate, the platform carries the sales tax obligation, not the individual seller. If you sell through a marketplace, confirm which sales the platform reports and which sales you still must report yourself.
Records, Penalties and Interest
Keep your sales records, exemption certificates and returns for 3 years (39-15-107(a)). Delinquent tax accrues interest at 10.75% for 2026 under 39-15-108(b), based on the Department of Revenue rate notice dated January 6, 2026. The rate can change in later years, so confirm the current year's rate before calculating a late payment.
Other Registrations You May Need
A sales tax license does not cover everything your business needs. Use this checklist to see what else applies:
- Secretary of State annual report. LLCs and corporations pay a $60 annual report license tax, due the first day of the anniversary month of formation each year. Check the WyoBiz system or the Secretary of State site at https://sos.wyo.gov/ for filing details.
- City or town business licenses. Wyoming has no general state business license. The Secretary of State directs applicants to the city clerk where they will operate. Cities and towns issue business licenses; counties do not.
- Contractor licenses. Wyoming has no state contractor, plumber or HVAC license. The state licenses electrical trades, and contractors are licensed city by city.
- Workers' compensation. Wyoming's workers' compensation is a monopolistic state fund run by the Department of Workforce Services. It is compulsory only in listed extrahazardous industries. Sole proprietors, partners, officers and LLC members are excluded unless they elect coverage.
- Liquor and food licenses. Retail liquor licenses are population-quota licenses issued by cities, towns and counties. Home producers may sell homemade food directly to informed end consumers without a state license under Wyoming's Food Freedom Act (W.S. 11-49), up to its annual caps.
Next Steps
- Form your entity with the Secretary of State or confirm it is already active.
- Register for the sales and use tax license at the Excise Tax Division and pay the $60 fee.
- Find the current combined rate for your location on the Department's rate chart before your first sale.
- Collect a signed certificate for any sale you claim as exempt, and keep it for 3 years.
- Calendar each return for the last day of the month after the period, and pay by the 15th if you want the prepayment credit.
- Ask the city clerk where you operate which local licenses apply to your activity.
Sales tax treatment depends on what you sell, where you sell it and how your customers buy it. If you have multiple locations, sell through marketplaces, work as a contractor or sell across state lines, speak with a qualified CPA or attorney before you file. The Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network at https://www.wyomingsbdc.org/ can also help you understand the basics before you hire a professional.