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Wisconsin Department of Revenue

 Sales and Use Tax
Exemptions

  1. What's exempt?
  2. What is the Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate?
  3. When are occasional sales of tangible personal property or taxable services exempt from sales or use tax?
  1. What's exempt?

    Normally, to purchase taxable property or services in Wisconsin without tax, an exemption certificate must be given to the seller as described in Question 2 below.

    However, for retail sales of certain property (for example, food for human consumption sold by grocery stores), the taxable use is so rare or unlikely that exemption is presumed and certificates are not required to be given to the seller. For more information, see Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax (Pub 201).

  2. What is the Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate?

    The Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate (Form S-211) may be used to claim exemption from Wisconsin state, county, baseball and football stadium, and premier resort sales or use taxes.

    Under the sales and use tax law, all receipts from sales of tangible personal property or taxable services are subject to the tax until the contrary is established. However, a seller who accepts in "good faith" a valid exemption certificate is relieved of any responsibility for collection or payment of the tax upon transactions covered by the certificate. A valid certificate is one that is completely filled in and discloses a specific exemption claim appropriate to the business or activity being conducted by the purchaser.

    The seller should be familiar with the various exemption requirements and the instructions for using this certificate. For more information about exemptions see Wisconsin Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate (Form S-211).

    Exemption certificates are signed by purchasers and are given to sellers to verify that a transaction is exempt. Sellers exclude from taxable gross receipts transactions for which they have accepted a valid exemption certificate in good faith from a purchaser. Sellers must retain copies of the exemption certificates.

  3. When are occasional sales of tangible personal property or taxable services exempt from sales or use tax?

    Sales of tangible personal property and taxable services are not taxable if they are exempt "occasional sales". Some exempt "occasional sales" may include:

    • Exempt occasional sales by Nonprofit Organizations - Sales by neighborhood associations, churches, social clubs, civic clubs, garden clubs, and other non-profit organizations which conduct one or more fundraising events during the year are exempt if certain conditions are met. These conditions are set forth in Publication 206.
    • Sales by Auction - Sales by an auctioneer of personal household goods and personal farm property if the auctioneer has 5 or fewer auctions at that location during the year. Refer to Publication 217 for more information.
    • Sales of tangible personal property or taxable services by a person not otherwise required to hold a seller's permit, if the total taxable gross receipts from sales of tangible personal property and taxable services are less than $1,000 during the calendar year. Additional information is provided in Publication 228, beginning on page 4.
    • General rules and information regarding what other sales may qualify as exempt "occasional sales" is provided in Publication 201, on page 37.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
Customer Service and Education Bureau
PO Box 8949
Madison, WI 53708-8949
Phone: (608) 261-6261
Fax: (608) 267-1030
E-Mail Additional Questions

Last updated January 2, 2008