Texas resale certificate: buying materials for resale without sales tax

What the Texas resale certificate is

The Texas resale certificate is a form the buyer fills in and hands to the supplier. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts publishes it as Form 01-339, Texas Sales and Use Tax Resale Certificate. You do not apply to the state for the certificate itself. The form should be furnished to the supplier, and the form says: Do not send the completed certificate to the Comptroller of Public Accounts.

What makes the form work is the buyer's sales tax permit. The Comptroller's publication for market and show sellers puts it this way: If you have a sales tax permit, you can buy items tax free to resell as part of your business. The certificate needs the purchaser’s Texas taxpayer number, and on the form the permit number must contain 11 digits. People who search for a Texas reseller permit usually mean this pair: the sales tax permit plus Form 01-339.

This page follows the Comptroller's own pages and the form itself, read on 3 Oct 2026. Tax rules change, especially after a legislative session, so check the Comptroller's page before you rely on a detail here. Cities and counties can add their own rules and their own local sales tax on top of the state rate. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Who can use a Texas resale certificate

You can issue Form 01-339 if you hold a Texas sales tax permit and you are buying taxable items to resell, rent or lease. The certificate requires the purchaser’s Texas taxpayer number, so a Texas business without a permit has nothing to write in that field.

A copy of your permit does not replace the form. The Comptroller says a copy of the customer's permit is not a substitute for a resale certificate. Suppliers who sell tax free need the completed certificate on file, because it is the seller’s evidence as to why sales tax was not collected on that transaction.

Makers who sell what they make are treated as businesses. The Comptroller's publication lists people who cannot use the occasional sale exemption, including artists or craftsmen who make items for sale. That means a candle maker or a jewelry maker selling regularly needs a permit, and with the permit can use the resale certificate for materials.

Sellers from other states are covered too. The Comptroller's publication for market and show sellers tells out-of-state sellers engaged in business in Texas: even if operating here temporarily, you must have a Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit. A retailer registered in another state can also fill in its Out-of-state retailer's registration number or Federal Taxpayers Registry (RFC) number for retailers based in Mexico on the form.

How to get a resale certificate in Texas

You do not apply for the certificate. You get a sales tax permit, then fill in Form 01-339 for each supplier.

1. Get a Texas sales tax permit

   Complete the Texas Online Tax Registration Application on the Comptroller's website. You can also apply by mail or in person at a Comptroller field office. There is no fee to apply. Our Texas sales tax permit guide covers the application in detail.

2. Download Form 01-339

   The form is a PDF on comptroller.texas.gov/forms/01-339.pdf. The front is the resale certificate. The back is the Texas Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certification, which is for exempt organizations, not for resale.

3. Fill in your details

   Enter your name as shown on your permit, your address and phone, and your permit number, which must contain 11 digits. Then name the seller and its address.

4. Describe the items and your business

   Describe the items you are buying, or refer to the attached order or invoice. Then describe your type of business or the items you normally sell. The supplier compares the two.

5. Sign and give it to the supplier

   Sign and date the form and give it to the supplier at the time of purchase. Do not send it to the state. If you buy only for resale from that supplier, the Comptroller says that if a customer purchases exclusively for resale, a seller can accept a blanket resale certificate.

What you can buy tax free with Form 01-339

The Comptroller lists the purchases the certificate covers, and they include taxable services as well as goods. On the form itself, you certify that the items will be resold in their present form or attached to other taxable items to be sold. The second row of the table is the one that matters for makers buying materials.

Example: a candle maker in Austin buys wax, wicks, fragrance oil and glass jars from a supplier, and a heat gun for her workbench. The wax, wicks, oil and jars go out the door inside each candle, which matches the Comptroller's integral-part description, so she can list them on the certificate. The heat gun stays in her studio, so she pays sales tax on it.

The certificate also covers resale outside Texas, within limits: you can issue it if you plan to resell in the United States or in Mexico, but not in any other countries.

Limits: what a Texas resale certificate does not cover

The certificate covers only items you resell, rent or lease. Things your business uses itself, such as tools, equipment and office supplies, are not covered. The Comptroller's rule for buyers is short: do not use a resale certificate if there is any question whether you will resell the property.

If an item bought for resale ends up in use, tax is due. The Comptroller says you owe tax on the merchandise, and gives the example that you purchased brooms for resale, but pulled one out of inventory and used it to sweep your store. You pay the tax either on the fair market rental value for the period of use of the merchandise or on your purchase price of the item, and you report it on the “taxable purchases” line of your return. The form allows only retention, demonstration or display while holding them for sale, lease or rental before the sale.

Mixed orders need care. When one order holds both, you must clearly indicate to the vendor which items will be resold and which ones the vendor should tax.

The back of the form is a different certificate for exempt organizations, and it does not require a number to be valid. The Comptroller also notes on the form that sales and use tax "Tax Exempt" Numbers do not exist, so a supplier asking for a tax-exempt number usually needs the completed certificate instead.

Penalties for misusing a Texas resale certificate

Giving a resale certificate for items you know you will use is a criminal offense under the statement you sign on Form 01-339. The level of the offense depends on how much tax the invalid certificate avoided.

Accepting a resale certificate from your own customers

If you sell to shops that resell your goods, you can sell tax free when they give you a completed Form 01-339. You must make sure it is properly completed, and the Comptroller says you should note the general character of the purchaser's business. Its example of a certificate to refuse is one describing the business as a service station for the purchase of a sofa.

You should not accept the certificate if you know or have reason to believe the property is being purchased for other than resale. To check a buyer's permit number, use the Comptroller's Sales Tax Permit Search.

For a regular wholesale customer, Texas allows one form to cover all orders: if a customer purchases exclusively for resale, a seller can accept a blanket resale certificate. That blanket certificate should state that all purchases will be resold in the regular course of business. Keep every certificate you accept for four years.

Taxable sales to everyone else still carry Texas sales tax: 6.25 percent state tax and up to 2 percent local tax. Permit holders file a return even if you have no sales or no tax to report.

Where Nation fits

Questions about the Texas resale certificate