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| Sales and Use Tax Rate Locator |
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Information for Retailers and Vendors
Overview The Oklahoma Tax Commission has developed this tax rate data system to help you determine the correct sales or use tax to charge on delivery sales. This data system assigns city and county tax rates to all of the ZIP+4 Code areas in the state. It will allow you to find the correct ZIP+4 Code area (and corresponding tax rates) for individual addresses. This data system allows you to:
Updates to Data To make it easier for you to keep up with city and county rate changes and city boundary changes, Oklahoma statutes were amended to require that these changes could only occur on the first day of a calendar quarter. In addition, the Tax Commission is required to provide 60 days notice to retailers prior to any change. To fulfill these requirements, the Tax Commission will be making the rates for the upcoming quarter available at least 60 days before the beginning of that quarter. Rate Changes The Commission will also separately post all rate and boundary changes so retailers can easily identify changes that might impact their sales. Rate/Boundary Changes The address and 9-digit ZIP Code information included in the data system will be routinely updated. You will not need to check for these updates unless you were unable to find a specific address and were required to use a default rate. How to Determine the Location of a Sale As a sales or use tax permit holder, you have an obligation to charge your customer and remit to the Tax Commission the correct state, county and municipal sales or use taxes due for each sale. When the product is received by the purchaser at your place of business, that location becomes the “source”, and you should charge the appropriate rate for your place of business. When you deliver the product to your customer at another location, the location where receipt by the purchaser occurs becomes the “source”, and you should charge the appropriate rate for the point of delivery. To help you determine the correct Oklahoma municipal sales or use tax to collect and remit for delivery sales, the Tax Commission has developed this data system to assist you. The data system provides you with the combined state, county and municipal tax rate applicable to the point of delivery to your customer. For a complete summary of the Oklahoma sourcing rules, including exceptions and special rules for leasing transactions and sales of telecommunication services, please follow the link provided. View Rules Summary Sales vs. Use Tax Sales Tax Under Oklahoma law, state sales tax must be charged and collected on all transfers of title or possession of tangible personal property for valuable consideration that occur within this state. The sales tax is also levied on certain services that are provided in this state. If the transaction occurs within the boundaries of a county or municipality that also levies a sales tax, the applicable county or municipal sales tax must also be charged and collected. Sales Tax Statute Definition Use Tax Oklahoma state use tax must be paid on tangible personal property purchased and brought into this state for storage, use or consumption. If the property is brought into a county or municipality that also levies a use tax, the applicable county or municipal use tax must be paid. If you are a retailer maintaining places of business both within and without this state and are making sales from a place of business outside this state for use in Oklahoma, you are responsible to collect the appropriate state and local use tax from your customer. Background on Streamlined Sales Tax Effort Upon the passage of Senate Bill 708, Oklahoma became one of twenty states to enact all or part of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. The Agreement was adopted in November, 2002 and is a culmination of the efforts of forty states and the District of Columbia working together with business representatives in the Streamlined Sales Tax Project. The Streamlined Sales Tax Project was organized in March, 2000 and is an effort created by state governments, with input from local governments and the private sector, to simplify and modernize sales and use tax collection and administration. The Project's proposals include tax law simplifications, more efficient administrative procedures, more uniformity among the states' sales and use tax laws, and emerging technologies to substantially reduce the burden of tax collection. The Project's proposals are focused on improving sales and use tax administration systems for both Main Street and remote sellers for all types of commerce. For more information about the Project, visit the Project's Web site at www.streamlinedsalestax.org. Liability Protection The tax rate data system is provided by the Oklahoma Tax Commission to assist you in charging your customer the correct state and local tax rate. The data system assigns a combined state and local tax rate for each ZIP+4 area code. You may rely on this data system to determine the proper sales or use tax rate at the location in which delivery to the purchaser occurred. If you rely on this data system, you will be held harmless for any erroneous data provided by the Tax Commission on tax rates, boundaries, or taxing jurisdiction assignments. Default Addresses The sourcing rules provide that, in certain situations, you may default to the location of the address of the purchaser found in your business records or the address for the purchaser that was obtained during the applicable transaction. Please review the rules for the applicability of these default rules. Default Rules. The use of these default rules only applies when you could not ascertain the address of the point of delivery. An example would be when you deliver the product to a shipper without knowing where the shipper will deliver the product. You may use these default rules unless you are knowingly participating in a fraud or acting with gross indifference, e.g., by intentionally employing an address for the purchaser that you know is not valid. Due Diligence If a ZIP+4 area code designation is not available, or if you are unable to determine the ZIP+4 area code designation, you may utilize the tax rate assigned to the five-digit ZIP Code area of the point of delivery. The statutes provide that you may only use the tax rates for the five-digit area if you have used “due diligence” to determine the ZIP+4 designation. You are presumed to have used due diligence if you attempted to determine the ZIP+4 designation by utilizing the address lookup function found on this Web site. The system will generate confirmation numbers that you may wish to keep record of to demonstrate your use of the system. For transactions over $1,000 (not including tax), you are required to keep a receipt, provided by the system, to verify your due diligence. If the Sales and Use Tax Rate Locator system is not working, you should determine the proper tax rate for each location to which a sale is sourced using the best information available to you. Make a note in your records of the date the system was not working and keep for further reference. Default Rates In some ZIP+4 area codes there is an overlap of county and municipal boundaries. When this occurs, the statute provides that the lowest rate in the area shall apply. For example, City A has a combined state and city rate of 8%. City B has a combined state and city rate of 7.5%. If the ZIP+4 area code includes both City A and City B, the data system will assign a combined state and city rate of 7.5%. The collections from an area that includes more than one jurisdiction will be allocated, by the Tax Commission, between the jurisdictions based upon population. For those instances, the system will provide you with a code for you to use on your sales tax return. Find Rates Download Address Database Our address database is available for retailers/vendors who may want to incorporate this information into their own systems. It is not available to download directly from a link on this site due to the large file size. If you would like a copy, please e-mail your company information to Kathryn E. Hines at kehines@ou.edu for ftp access. |