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Sales and Use Tax Classications of Capital Improvements and Repairs to
Real Property.
To the Purchaser
Enter all the information requested on the front of this form.
You may mark an X in the Blanket certicate box to cover all purchases of
the same general type of property or service purchased for resale. If you do
not mark an X in the Blanket certicate box, the certicate will be deemed
a Single-use certicate. Temporary vendors may not issue a blanket certicate.
A temporary vendor is a vendor (other than a show or entertainment vendor),
who, in no more than two consecutive quarters in any 12-month period,
makes sales of tangible personal property or services that are subject to tax.
This certicate does not exempt prepaid sales tax on cigarettes. This
certicate may not be used to purchase motor fuel or diesel motor fuel.
Misuse of this certicate
Misuse of this exemption certicate may subject you to serious civil and
criminal sanctions in addition to the payment of any tax and interest due.
These include:
• A penalty equal to 100% of the tax due;
• A $50 penalty for each fraudulent exemption certicate issued;
• Criminal felony prosecution, punishable by a substantial ne and a
possible jail sentence; and
• Revocation of your Certicate of Authority, if you are required to
be registered as a vendor. See TSB-M-09(17)S, Amendments that
Encourage Compliance with the Tax Law and Enhance the Tax
Department’s Enforcement Ability, for more information.
To the Seller
If you are a New York State registered vendor and accept an exemption
document, you will be protected from liability for the tax, if the certicate is valid.
The certicate will be considered valid if it was:
• accepted in good faith;
• in the vendor’s possession within 90 days of the transaction; and
• properly completed (all required entries were made).
A certicate is accepted in good faith when a seller has no knowledge that
the exemption certicate is false or is fraudulently given, and reasonable
ordinary due care is exercised in the acceptance of the certicate.
You must get a properly completed exemption certicate from your customer
no later than 90 days after the delivery of the property or the performance
of the service. When you receive a certicate after the 90 days, both you
and the purchaser are subject to the burden of proving that the sale was
exempt, and additional documentation may be required. An exemption
certicate received on time that is not properly completed will be considered
satisfactory if the deciency is corrected within a reasonable period. You
must also maintain a method of associating an invoice (or other source
document) for an exempt sale made to a customer with the exemption
certicate you have on le from that customer.
Invalid exemption certicates – Sales transactions which are not supported
by valid exemption certicates are deemed to be taxable retail sales. The
burden of proof that the tax was not required to be collected is upon the seller.
Retention of exemption certicates - You must keep this certicate for
at least three years after the due date of the return to which it relates, or
the date the return was led, if later.
New: Effective June 1, 2018, use box C in Part 1 to purchase
restaurant-type food or drink for resale. For more information, see
TSB-M-18(1)S, Summary of Sales and Use Tax Changes Enacted in
the 2018-2019 Budget Bill.
Form ST-120, Resale Certicate, is a sales tax exemption certicate.
This certicate is only for use by a purchaser who:
A – is registered as a New York State sales tax vendor and has a valid
Certicate of Authority issued by the Tax Department and is making
purchases of tangible personal property (other than motor fuel or
diesel motor fuel) or services that will be resold or transferred to the
purchaser’s customers, or
B – is not required to be registered with the New York State Tax
Department;
– is registered with another state, the District of Columbia, a province
of Canada, or other country, or is located in a state, province, or
country which does not require sellers to register for sales tax or VAT
purposes; and
– is purchasing items for resale that will be either:
1) delivered by the seller to the purchaser’s customer or to an
unafliated fulllment service provider located in New York State,
or
2) delivered to the purchaser in New York State, but resold from a
business located outside the state.
Note: For purposes of 1) above, delivery by the seller includes
delivery in the seller’s own vehicle or by common carrier, regardless of
who arranges for the transportation.
Non-New York State purchasers: registration
requirements
If, among other things, a purchaser has any place of business or salespeople
in New York State, or owns or leases tangible personal property in the State,
the purchaser is required to be registered for New York State sales tax.
A business must register (unless the business can rebut the statutory
presumption as described in TSB-M-08(3.1)S, Additional Information on
How Sellers May Rebut the New Presumption Applicable to the Denition
of Sales Tax Vendor as Described in TSB-M-08(3)S) for New York State
sales tax if the business enters into agreements with residents of New
York State under which the residents receive consideration for referring
potential customers to the business by links on a Web site or otherwise,
and the value of the sales in New York State made by the business through
those agreements totals more than $10,000 in the preceding four sales tax
quarters. See TSB-M-08(3)S, New Presumption Applicable to Denition of
Sales Tax Vendor, and TSB-M-08(3.1)S.
Also see TSB-M-09(3)S, Denition of a Sales Tax Vendor is Expanded to
Include Out-of-State Sellers with Related Businesses in New York State,
for information on sales tax registration requirements for out-of-state
businesses with New York afliates.
A purchaser who is not otherwise required to be registered for New York
State sales tax may purchase fulllment services from an unafliated New
York fulllment service provider and have its tangible personal property
located on the premises of the provider without being required to be
registered for sales tax in New York State.
If you need help determining if you are required to register because you
engage in activity in New York State, contact the department (see Need help?).
If you meet the registration requirements and engage in business activities
in New York State without possessing a valid Certicate of Authority, you
will be subject to penalty of up to $500 for the rst day on which you make a
sale or purchase, and up to $200 for each additional day, up to a maximum
of $10,000.
Limitations on use
Contractors cannot use this certicate. They must either:
• issue Form ST-120.1, Contractor Exempt Purchase Certicate, if the
tangible personal property being purchased qualies for exemption as
specied by the certicate, or
• issue Form AU-297, Direct Payment Permit, or
• pay sales tax at the time of purchase.
Contractors are entitled to a refund or credit of sales tax paid on materials
used in repairing, servicing or maintaining real property, if the materials are
transferred to the purchaser of the taxable service in conjunction with the
performance of the service. For additional information, see Publication 862,
Instructions
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