Taxes / Seller's permits by state / Maryland
Do I need a seller's permit to sell on eBay or Poshmark in Maryland?
No: the Comptroller of Maryland says you do not have to register for a Maryland sales and use tax account or file returns if you are a marketplace seller and all your sales are through a marketplace facilitator, because the facilitator collects the 6% tax. Direct sales (your own site, Facebook, a flea market) are taxable like any other sale, so you need a permanent license through the Combined Registration Application or, for one or two flea markets a year, a 30-day permit; the pages we checked don't state a fee.
Maryland calls it a sales and use tax license, issued by the Comptroller of Maryland.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Check with a tax professional about your own situation.
Checked against the official pages listed below on .
Maryland in short
- Sell only on marketplaces that collect the tax:
- No: the state says registration is not required
- Also sell direct (own site, Facebook, flea market):
- Yes: the state says to register; fee not stated as one figure (see below)
- Resale certificate:
- No set state form; the state lists what a certificate must show
- Garage and occasional sales:
- Exempt: a sale price under $1,000, not made through an auctioneer or dealer
If you sell only on eBay, Poshmark and other marketplaces
A marketplace seller doesn't collect tax on a sale the facilitator collects on, and doesn't have to register or file returns when all its sales are through a marketplace facilitator. A marketplace seller that also makes direct sales must register. The Comptroller lists online marketplaces, consignment stores and auction houses as marketplace facilitators.
The rule: House Bill 1301 (2019), effective October 1, 2019; Tax Alert 09-19.
"No. You do not have to register if you are a marketplace seller and all your sales are through a marketplace facilitator."
"Marketplace facilitators include, but are not limited to online marketplaces, consignment stores, and auction houses."
Maryland's general sales and use tax rate is 6% (Tax-General § 11-104 sets other rates for a few items, such as alcoholic beverages), and the Comptroller's flea market tip says there are no local sales taxes. Since October 1, 2019 (House Bill 1301 of 2019), marketplace facilitators collect it on sales they facilitate into Maryland, and the Comptroller counts consignment stores and auction houses as marketplace facilitators.
Sources: Sales and Use Tax Alert 09-19, Marketplace Facilitators; Maryland Code, Tax-General § 11-104; Business Tax Tip #14, Flea Market Sales are Subject to Tax.
If you also sell direct: your own site, Facebook, flea markets, consignment
Sales at flea markets and other direct sales are taxable like any others. You get either a 30-day permit (from the Special Events Section) or a permanent license (Combined Registration Application), and display it wherever you sell; the Comptroller suggests a 30-day permit for one or two flea markets a year. If you sell without one and are later found making taxable sales without collecting, you are liable for the back taxes.
- Fee:
- The Comptroller pages we checked don't state a fee for the license or the 30-day permit.
"If you sell at only one or two flea markets a year, a 30-day permit should be sufficient."
Sources: Business Tax Tip #14, Flea Market Sales are Subject to Tax; Sales and Use Tax Alert 09-19, Marketplace Facilitators; Apply for Maryland Tax Accounts and Insurance.
Resale certificate: buying inventory without paying sales tax
- The form:
- No set state form; the state lists what a certificate must show
- Do you need your own permit to give one?
- Yes: the state ties the certificate to the buyer's own permit or account number
A Maryland resale certificate needs no particular form, but must give the buyer's name, address and 8-digit Maryland sales and use tax registration number and say the goods are bought for resale; the Comptroller publishes a suggested blanket certificate. A buyer making repeated purchases can give a blanket certificate and then put its registration number on each order. Federal ID numbers, Social Security numbers and other states' numbers aren't valid on it.
Also accepted: For antiques (at least 70 years old) and used collectibles, a seller may accept a certificate from an out-of-state vendor not doing business in Maryland that gives another state's sales tax registration number with a copy of that license, or a trader's license from a state without sales tax (COMAR 03.06.01.14D).
Thrift stores, estate sales and yard sales
A seller may not accept a resale certificate for a purchase under $200 paid by cash, check, credit card, debit card or electronic transfer unless it delivers the goods to the buyer's retail place of business; a reseller who pays tax on such a purchase claims it back as a credit on the next return or files a refund claim. Small cash or card buys at a thrift store or estate sale fall under that rule.
Misusing a certificate
A seller may not accept a resale certificate when it knows or should know the sale is not for resale (COMAR 03.06.01.14G).
"A vendor may not accept a resale certificate from a buyer for purchases of less than $200 using cash, check, credit card, debit card, or electronic transfer of funds"
Sources: COMAR 03.06.01.14, Resale Certificates; Business Tax Tip #14, Flea Market Sales are Subject to Tax; Suggested Blanket Resale Certificate.
Garage sales, yard sales and other occasional sales
Exempt: a sale price under $1,000, not made through an auctioneer or dealer. Maryland's sales and use tax doesn't apply to a casual and isolated sale by a person who doesn't regularly sell, if the sale price is under $1,000 and the sale isn't made through an auctioneer or dealer. The Comptroller says this covers selling your own household goods, but not sales by a full- or part-time dealer or of anything bought or made for resale.
The rule: Md. Code, Tax-General § 11-209(a).
"This exemption does not apply to any sales by a full or part-time dealer."
Sources: Maryland Code, Tax-General § 11-209; Business Tax Tip #14, Flea Market Sales are Subject to Tax.
Worked examples
Marketplace-only seller in Baltimore
Every sale goes through marketplace facilitators that collect Maryland tax. The Comptroller says you don't register or file.
Two flea markets a year
$500 of sales across two flea market weekends: the Comptroller says a 30-day permit should be sufficient for one or two flea markets a year. At 6%, that is $30.00 of sales tax, and the permit must be displayed where you sell.
A $150 cash buy at an estate sale, with a resale certificate
Under $200 and paid in cash, so the seller may not accept your resale certificate unless it delivers to your retail place of business. You pay the 6% ($9.00) and, as a registered vendor, claim it as a credit on your next return.
Selling your own couch for $800
A one-time sale of your own household goods for less than $1,000, not through an auctioneer or dealer, is an exempt casual and isolated sale.
Edge cases and details
- A consignment store that takes your goods is itself a marketplace facilitator under the Comptroller's alert, so items you sell through it are facilitated sales.
- Nonprofits must collect tax on sales even of donated goods, and individuals must collect even when they give the proceeds to a nonprofit; sales by religious organizations are exempt.
- If a vendor without proper resale certificates gets the Comptroller's notice of intent to assess, it has 60 days to obtain them.
- A vendor may absorb the tax for a customer but must still state it separately at the time of sale.
- Out-of-state sellers count marketplace and direct sales together toward Maryland's $100,000 or 200-transaction threshold, then collect only on their direct sales.
- Maryland Business Express lists a Transient Vendor License, required if you sell at roadside or temporary spots in Maryland, among the accounts the Combined Registration Application covers; ask the Comptroller whether it applies to the events where you sell.
What to do
- Marketplace-only: keep your marketplace sales reports; no Maryland registration is needed per the Comptroller.
- Selling at a flea market once or twice a year: call the Special Events Section about a 30-day permit; selling often or online yourself: file the Combined Registration Application for a permanent license.
- Buying inventory for resale: give suppliers a resale certificate with your 8-digit Maryland registration number, and expect to pay tax on small cash or card purchases under $200, then claim the credit.
- Unsure whether a sale is casual or part of a business? Check with a tax professional or the Comptroller.
Common questions
Can I use a Maryland resale certificate at a thrift store?
Not for purchases under $200 paid by cash, check, credit or debit card or electronic transfer, unless the seller delivers to your retail place of business. You can claim the tax paid as a credit on your next return.
Do I need a Maryland license to sell at a flea market?
Yes. Flea market sales are taxable; the Comptroller offers a 30-day permit for occasional flea markets or a permanent license for frequent sellers.
Is there a Maryland resale certificate form?
No required form: a certificate needs the buyer's name, address and Maryland registration number and a statement that the goods are for resale. The Comptroller publishes a suggested blanket certificate.
Is a garage sale taxable in Maryland?
A casual and isolated sale under $1,000 by someone who doesn't regularly sell, and not through an auctioneer or dealer, is exempt under Tax-General § 11-209.
Related
- Seller's permits by state: marketplace-only sellers, resale certificates and garage sales on one table
- Maryland: marketplace sales tax and 1099-K rules
- Maine: do you need a seller's permit?
- Minnesota: do you need a seller's permit?
- Form 1099-K for resellers: the federal test
- Do eBay's fees apply to the sales tax a buyer pays?
- Where each selling app keeps its sales report
General information, not tax or legal advice
This page summarizes Maryland's own published pages, rules and statutes as read on . It doesn't say whether you must register, what you should file or whether you owe tax: that turns on your own sales, where you sell and what you buy. Rules change. Check with a tax professional, or ask the Comptroller of Maryland directly.
Sources
Official pages this page is built from, with the day each was read.
- Comptroller of Maryland: Sales and Use Tax Alert 09-19, Marketplace Facilitators; read . Marketplace sellers needn't register; facilitators incl. consignment stores; thresholds.
- Comptroller of Maryland: Business Tax Tip #14, Flea Market Sales are Subject to Tax; read . Flea market licensing, 30-day permit, 6% rate, casual sales, resale certificates under $200.
- Maryland Division of State Documents (Code of Maryland Regulations): COMAR 03.06.01.14, Resale Certificates; read . Certificate contents, under-$200 rule, antiques and used collectibles, 60 days.
- Comptroller of Maryland: Suggested Blanket Resale Certificate; read . Suggested certificate wording.
- Maryland General Assembly: Maryland Code, Tax-General § 11-209; read . Casual and isolated sales under $1,000.
- Maryland Business Express (Maryland.gov): Apply for Maryland Tax Accounts and Insurance; read . Combined Registration Application online through Business Express or Maryland Tax Connect; transient vendor license.
- Maryland General Assembly: Maryland Code, Tax-General § 11-104; read . Sales and use tax rate: 6 cents for each exact dollar.
Free 1-page Reseller Cheat Sheet: fees on 8 platforms, Media Mail and stamp prices
What each platform takes from a $10, $25 and $50 sale, Media Mail 1-10 lb, Ground Advantage to Zones 1, 5 and 8, and the Forever stamp, on one printable page. The link appears as soon as you sign up.