Taxes / State tax rules / Montana
Selling on eBay, Poshmark or Etsy from Montana: sales tax and 1099-K rules
Montana has no general sales tax, so a marketplace has no Montana sales tax to collect on a sale shipped there, and the Department of Revenue says a Montana business buying from out-of-state vendors can offer them the Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate, which they may accept but don't have to. For Form 1099-K, Montana sets its own figure: the department's Employer and Information Agent Guide (November 2025) lists $600 for Forms 1099-K filed with Montana for a Montana resident or business, far below the federal test of over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions.
General information, not tax advice. Check with a tax professional about your own situation.
Checked against the official pages listed below on .
Montana in short
- General sales tax:
- No general sales tax
- Marketplace facilitator law:
- No (no sales tax to collect)
- Form 1099-K:
- State threshold: $600, the amount the department's guide lists for Forms 1099-K filed with Montana for a distribution to a Montana resident or Montana business
Who collects the tax on a marketplace sale
No one: with no general sales tax, Montana has no sales tax for a marketplace to collect on sales delivered there, and the department's sales tax guidance describes no marketplace rule.
If you sell only through marketplaces
Montana has no general sales tax registration for marketplace sellers. The department says Montana businesses selling online to buyers in a state that requires online retailers to collect sales tax will need to collect and pay those taxes; where the buyer's state has a marketplace facilitator law, that state's page here says who collects on a marketplace sale.
Registration, resale certificates and what changes when you also sell direct have their own page: Montana: seller's permit and resale certificate rules.
"Montana businesses selling online products to buyers in a state, such as South Dakota, that requires online retailers to collect sales tax will need to collect and pay those sales taxes."
Sources: Sales Tax Guidance for Montana Business and Residents.
Does Montana have a sales tax?
The Montana Department of Revenue says Montana does not have a general-use sales tax. Some designated resort communities levy a local resort tax of up to 3% on lodging, food and drink, destination recreation and luxuries sold in the resort area; the department doesn't administer it.
"Montana does not have a general-use sales tax."
"The vendor may accept this certificate as a substitute “resale certificate” and exempt the transaction from the state's sales, use, or transaction tax, but they are not required to accept it."
Sources: Sales Tax Guidance for Montana Business and Residents; Local Resort Tax.
Form 1099-K: Montana and the federal test
The department's Employer and Information Agent Guide says information agents must file the applicable Form 1099 with Montana if they make a distribution to a Montana resident or Montana business in the amounts it lists, and it lists $600 for Form 1099-K (Merchant Card and Third Party Network Payments). The department's Forms 1099 Without Withholding page gives Form 1099-K due dates of February 28 on paper and April 1 electronically, and says no Montana withholding account is needed for Forms 1099 with no withholding.
| Test | Dollar amount | Transactions | Wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | $600 | No count | $600, the amount the department's guide lists for Forms 1099-K filed with Montana for a distribution to a Montana resident or Montana business |
| Federal (IRS) | Over $20,000 | More than 200 | Over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, through one app or marketplace in a calendar year |
"Information agents must file the applicable Form 1099 with Montana if they make a distribution to a Montana resident or Montana business in the amounts below."
"You do not need a Montana withholding account if the Forms 1099 you are submitting have no withholding."
The federal test, for comparison: the IRS says a payment app or online marketplace must send a Form 1099-K when payments for goods or services total over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, and adds: "However, they may send you a Form 1099-K with lower amounts and/or transactions." (Understanding your Form 1099-K, reviewed ). The Instructions for Form 1099-K count both parts for the calendar year, through each platform separately, and say the box 1a gross amount is figured without adjustments for credits, discounts, fees, refunds or shipping, so a 1099-K figure is not the same as profit. More on the federal rule in Form 1099-K for resellers.
Sources: Montana Employer and Information Agent Guide with Montana Withholding Tax Tables (V4 November 2025); Montana Forms 1099 Without Withholding Due Dates.
Worked examples
$800 of sales on one platform by a Montana seller
$800 in 40 transactions is far below the federal test (over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions) but over the $600 the department's guide lists for Forms 1099-K filed with Montana for a Montana resident or business. Compare any form that arrives with the platform's sales report. At $500, neither figure is reached.
A $40 sale shipped to a buyer in Billings
The buyer pays $40 plus shipping and no Montana sales tax, because Montana has no general sales tax; the marketplace has nothing to collect for Montana on the order. Billings isn't on the department's list of resort areas.
A $50 item sold at a booth in Whitefish
Whitefish is on the department's list of resort areas with a 3% resort tax, which applies to luxuries sold in the resort area as well as lodging, food service, bars and destination recreation. If the item is one the resort tax reaches, 3% of $50 is $1.50; what counts is set by 7-6-1501 and 7-6-1503, MCA, and local rules, and the department doesn't administer the tax.
Edge cases and details
- The department lists ten resort areas, each at 3%: Red Lodge, Virginia City, West Yellowstone, Whitefish, Big Sky, Cooke City, Craig, Gardiner, St Regis and Wolf Creek. The maximum resort tax rate is 3% (7-6-1503, MCA), and local voters must approve it.
- The Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate isn't filed with the department: it goes to the out-of-state vendor, and the department says some states, including Washington, may require their own form or more information.
- The guide lists other amounts for other forms: $600 for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, and $10 for Forms 1099-INT and 1099-DIV.
- Montana doesn't accept Forms W-2 or 1099 with truncated Social Security or Employer Identification Numbers, the department's 1099 page says, though individuals may still submit truncated forms with an income tax return.
What to do
- Keep each platform's sales report by year; if a 1099-K arrives below the federal threshold, compare it with that report and check with a tax professional about how it fits your returns.
- If you buy inventory from out-of-state vendors, read the department's Sales Tax Guidance page on the Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate, which you give to the vendor rather than file.
- If you sell in person in a resort area such as Whitefish or West Yellowstone, ask that community about its resort tax.
- For orders shipped to other states, check the destination state's page here for who collects on marketplace sales.
Common questions
Does Montana have its own 1099-K threshold?
Yes. The Montana Department of Revenue's Employer and Information Agent Guide lists $600 for Forms 1099-K filed with Montana for a distribution to a Montana resident or business. The federal test is over $20,000 in more than 200 transactions, and the IRS says platforms may send a 1099-K for less.
Do eBay, Poshmark or Etsy charge Montana sales tax?
There is no Montana general sales tax to charge: the department says Montana does not have a general-use sales tax. Local resort taxes in designated resort areas are separate, and the department doesn't administer them.
Can a Montana reseller buy inventory tax-free from out-of-state suppliers?
The department says a Montana business can give an out-of-state vendor the Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate; the vendor may accept it and exempt the sale from its state's sales, use or transaction tax, but isn't required to.
Related
- Every state on one table: sales tax, marketplace facilitator laws and 1099-K rules
- Montana: seller's permit and resale certificate rules
- Missouri: sales tax and 1099-K rules
- Nebraska: sales tax and 1099-K rules
- 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 advice
This page summarizes Montana's own published pages and statutes as read on , and the IRS's 1099-K pages. It doesn't say what you should file, register for or pay. Rules depend on your situation and change: check with a tax professional, or with the state's revenue department.
Sources
Official pages this page is built from, with the day each was read.
- Montana Department of Revenue: Sales Tax Guidance for Montana Business and Residents; read . No general-use sales tax; Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate; Montana businesses selling online into sales tax states.
- Montana Department of Revenue: Local Resort Tax; read . Resort tax up to 3%, what it applies to, the resort areas and their rates; not administered by the department.
- Montana Department of Revenue: Montana Employer and Information Agent Guide with Montana Withholding Tax Tables (V4 November 2025); read . Information agents file Forms 1099 with Montana in the listed amounts: $600 for Form 1099-K, $600 for 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC, $10 for 1099-INT and 1099-DIV.
- Montana Department of Revenue: Montana Forms 1099 Without Withholding Due Dates; read . Form 1099-K due February 28 on paper and April 1 electronically; no withholding account needed; no truncated numbers.
- IRS: Understanding your Form 1099-K, reviewed . The federal 1099-K test.
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1099-K, reviewed . Both parts of the federal test counted for the calendar year.
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.