Last Updated: February 16, 2024, 2:19 pm by TRUiC Team


Oklahoma Sales Tax Guide

SALES TAX RATE:

4.50%

MAXIMUM LOCAL & COUNTY RATES:

7.00%

State sales tax.
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Read this Guide

This guide simplifies compliance with Oklahoma's sales tax code by breaking down the process into four easy steps:

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Use a Professional Sales Tax Service:

One such reliable service:

TaxJar helps entrepreneurs with ecommerce sites calculate sales tax at checkout ($17/month)

Which Goods and Services Are Taxable?

Determining whether or not the products or services your company sells are taxable in Oklahoma is the first step in sales tax compliance.

Traditional Goods or Services

Goods that are subject to sales tax in Oklahoma include physical property, like furniture, home appliances, and motor vehicles.

Prescription medication and gasoline are both tax-exempt.

Digital Goods or Services

A digital good or service is anything electronically delivered, such as an album downloaded from iTunes or a film purchased from Amazon.

Oklahoma does not require businesses to collect sales tax on the sale of digital goods or services.

However, Oklahoma has one exception to this policy. Businesses must collect sales tax on pre-written computer software that is sold online.

How to Register for Oklahoma Sales Tax

If you determined that you need to charge sales tax on some or all of the goods and services your business sells, your next step is to register for a seller's permit. This allows your business to collect sales tax on behalf of your local and state governments.

In order to register, you will need the following information:

  • Personal identification information (Name, address, SSN, etc.)
  • Business identification information (Name, address, EIN, etc.)
  • Business entity type
  • Date of incorporation (if applicable)
  • Types of products sold

Register for a Seller’s Permit

Register for a Seller's Permit online through the Oklahoma Taxpayer Access Point

Get Started

Fee: $20.00 per application. $10.00 per additional business location.

Expiration: 3 years after the date the permit was issued

Save Money with a Resale Certificate

With a resale certificate, also known as a reseller's permit, your business does not have to pay sales tax when purchasing goods for resale.

 

Download Resale Certificate

Download the Resale Certificate through the Oklahoma Tax Division

Download Form

Instruction: Present the certificate to the seller at the time of purchase.

Collecting Sales Tax

After getting your seller's permit and launching your business, you will need to determine how much sales tax you need to charge different customers. To avoid fines and the risk of costly audits, it's important for business owners to collect the correct rate of sales tax.

When calculating sales tax, you'll need to consider the following kinds of sales:

  • Store Sales
  • Shipping In-State
  • Out-of-State Sales
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Recommended: Use our Sales Tax Calculator to look up the sales tax rate for any Zip Code in the US.

Store Sales

For traditional business owners selling goods or services on-site, calculating sales tax is easy: all sales are taxed at the rate based on the location of the store.

Here's an example of what this scenario looks like:

Mary owns and manages a bookstore in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since books are taxable in the state of Oklahoma, Mary charges her customers a flat-rate sales tax of 8.517% on all sales. This includes Oklahoma’s state sales tax rate of 4.5%, Tulsa county’s sales tax rate of 0.367%, and Tulsa’s city tax rate of 3.65%.

In-State Sales

The state of Oklahoma follows what is known as a destination-based sales tax policy. This means that long-distance sales within Oklahoma are taxed according to the address of the buyer. This policy applies to state, county, and city sales taxes.

Consider the following example:

Steve runs his own business selling electronics on eBay out of his home in Enid, Oklahoma. A customer living in Edmond, Oklahoma finds Steve’s eBay page and purchases a $350 pair of headphones. When calculating the sales tax for this purchase, Steve applies the 4.5% state tax rate for Oklahoma, plus 3.75% for Edmond’s city tax rate. At a total sales tax rate of 8.25%, the total cost is $378.88 ($28.88 sales tax).

Out-of-State Sales

Oklahoma businesses only need to pay sales tax on out-of-state sales if they have nexus in other states. Nexus means that the business has a physical presence in another state.

Common types of nexus include:

  • physical location, such as an office, store, or warehouse
  • An employee who works remotely or who is a traveling sales representative
  • marketing affiliate
  • Drop-shipping from a third party seller.
  • temporary physical location, including festival and fair booths.

File Your Sales Tax Return

Now that you’ve registered for your Oklahoma seller's permit and know how to charge the right amount of sales tax to all of your customers, you are all set to file your sales tax return. Just be sure to keep up with all filing deadlines to avoid penalties and fines.

Recommended: Accounting software can help simplify your business tax returns as well as help with payroll and bookkeeping. Try our recommended accounting service today to save thousands of dollars on your taxes.

How to File

Oklahoma requires businesses to file sales tax returns and submit sales tax payments online.

File the Oklahoma Tax Return

File with the Oklahoma Taxpayer Access Point.

File Online

How Often Should You File?

How often you need to file depends upon the total amount of sales tax your business collects.

  • Semi-Annual filing: If your business collects less than $83.33 in sales tax per month then your business should elect to file returns on a semi-annual basis.
  • Monthly filing: If your business collects more than $83.33 in sales tax per month then your business should file returns on a monthly basis.
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Note: Oklahoma requires you to file a sales tax return even if you have no sales tax to report.

Filing Deadlines

All Oklahoma sales tax return deadlines fall on the 20th day of the month, unless it is a weekend or federal holiday, in which case the deadline is moved back to the next business day. Below is a list of this year’s filing deadlines:

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Semi-Annually filing:

  • (Jan. - June): Due July 20
  • (July. - Dec.): Due Jan. 22

Monthly filing: The 20th of the following month, or the next business day, e.g. April 20 for the month of March, or May 22 for the month of April.

Penalties for Late Filing

Oklahoma charges a late filing penalty of 25% of the tax that is reported on the tax return if not filed within 10 days of the written notification from the state.

Oklahoma also charges a late payment penalty that is equal to 10% of the tax that is unpaid if not paid within the first 15 days after the due date.

The state assesses the unpaid tax with a compounded interest rate of 15% per year or 1.25% per month or partial month for any unpaid tax or penalty.

Oklahoma Helpful Resources

Streamlined Sales Tax Information

Oklahoma Sales Tax Information

Oklahoma Sales Tax Help Number: 
405-521-3160