Do I need a sales tax permit in Michigan?

Every person in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail in Michigan must obtain a sales tax license before or when it begins business. A seller making retail sales at two or fewer events a year files a per event return instead. Michigan calls the registration a Michigan sales tax license. For a seller outside Michigan, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in the previous calendar year. Michigan's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

Sales tax permit · Michigan

How to Get a Michigan Sales Tax License

The short answer. In Michigan, the registration a business must hold before it makes sales subject to Michigan sales tax is a Michigan sales tax license, issued by the Michigan Department of Treasury. Michigan charges no fee for the sales tax license.

Michigan Sales Tax License at a Glance

What Michigan calls it	Michigan Sales Tax License
Issued by	Michigan Department of Treasury
How to apply	Online or paper
Fee	Free
Security deposit or bond	May be required
Expires	Renewed every year
Several locations	One covers all locations (see Locations)
Local sales tax	No local tax
Threshold for sellers outside the state	$100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 29, 2026. See the sources.

Who Needs a Michigan Sales Tax License

Every person in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail in Michigan must obtain a sales tax license before or when it begins business. A seller making retail sales at two or fewer events a year files a per event return instead.

For a seller outside Michigan, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in the previous calendar year. Michigan's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.

How to Apply

You apply to the Michigan Department of Treasury. You can apply online or on a paper application. Go to Michigan's registration page.

Michigan requires your registration to be displayed at the place of business.

What It Costs

Michigan charges no fee for the sales tax license.

Michigan may require security, such as a bond or deposit. Treasury must require a surety bond of $1,000 to $25,000 when it considers one necessary to secure collection of the tax, or when the applicant has failed to pay a tax or tried to evade one. A cash deposit, capped at the estimated tax for one year, may be given instead.

Does It Expire?

The sales tax license is renewed every year. Renewal depends on the business having paid the sales tax it owes, and Treasury charges no fee for the license. Treasury's guidance and its administrative rule give different dates for when the license year ends, so check the dates printed on your license.

More Than One Location

One registration covers all of a business's locations in Michigan. A business selling from more than one location displays a copy of its license at each one.

Local Sales Taxes in Michigan

Michigan has no local sales tax, so there is no local registration for it.

More for Michigan Businesses

Michigan resale certificate, for buying inventory for resale.
Sales tax nexus checker, to see which other states your sales may require you to register in.
Michigan LLC guide, for forming and running an LLC in the state.
LLC guide for eBay sellers in Michigan, for selling only through a marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Every person in the business of selling tangible personal property at retail in Michigan must obtain a sales tax license before or when it begins business. A seller making retail sales at two or fewer events a year files a per event return instead. Michigan calls the registration a Michigan sales tax license. For a seller outside Michigan, the economic nexus threshold is $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions in the previous calendar year. Michigan's own rule sets which sales count toward it and when registration must follow.
: Michigan charges no fee for the sales tax license. Michigan may require security, such as a bond or deposit. Treasury must require a surety bond of $1,000 to $25,000 when it considers one necessary to secure collection of the tax, or when the applicant has failed to pay a tax or tried to evade one. A cash deposit, capped at the estimated tax for one year, may be given instead.
: The sales tax license is renewed every year. Renewal depends on the business having paid the sales tax it owes, and Treasury charges no fee for the license. Treasury's guidance and its administrative rule give different dates for when the license year ends, so check the dates printed on your license.
: One registration covers all of a business's locations in Michigan. A business selling from more than one location displays a copy of its license at each one.
: Michigan has no local sales tax, so there is no local registration for it.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and tax agency say about the registration a business holds before it makes taxable sales, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you whether your own business must register: that turns on what you sell, where you sell it from, and how much you sell into the state, and fees, security rules and thresholds change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the tax agency named on this page before you start selling.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Michigan sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-205-53MCL 205.53, License; bond
legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-205-52cMCL 205.52c, Seller engaged in business; economic thresholds
ars.apps.lara.state.mi.us/AdminCode/DownloadAdminCodeFile?FileName=R+205.1+to+R+205.142.pdf&ReturnHTML=TrueMich. Admin. Code R 205.1, Sales tax licenses
michigan.gov/taxes/business-taxes/sales-use-tax/information/sales-tax-license-faqMichigan Treasury, Sales Tax License FAQ
michigan.gov/taxes/-/media/Project/Websites/taxes/Forms/MBT/518_1017.pdfMichigan Treasury Form 518, Registration for Michigan Taxes (Rev. 02-18)

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.