Kentucky: Sales Tax Handbook
Kentucky Sales Tax Exemption / Resale Forms
5 PDFs
If you are a retailer making purchases for resale, or need to make a purchase that is exempt from the Kentucky sales tax, you need the appropriate Kentucky sales tax exemption certificate before you can begin making tax-free purchases. This page explains how to make tax-free purchases in Kentucky, and lists five Kentucky sales tax exemption forms available for download.
Printable Kentucky Exemption Certificates
We have five Kentucky sales tax exemption forms available for you to print or save as a PDF file. If any of these links are broken, or you can't find the form you need, please let us know. You can find resale certificates for other states here.
Kentucky allows the use of uniform sales tax exemption certificates, which are general exemption certificates that can be used across multiple states. You can find more info about these uniform certificates at the bottom of this page.
How to use sales tax exemption certificates in Kentucky
A sales tax exemption certificate is a form you can fill out yourself certifying that you meet the qualifications outlined for making sales-tax-free purchases. You will need to present this certificate to the vendor from whom you are making the exempt purchase - it is up to the vendor to verify that you are indeed qualified to make a tax-exempt purchase.
The state of Kentucky provides many forms to be used when you wish to purchase tax-exempt items such as prescription medicines, certain farming equipment or manufacturing and biotechnology.
The "Enterprise Zone Sales and Use Exemption Certificate for Building Materials" should be utilized when purchasing certain machinery and equipment.
Either the "Farm Exemption Certificate" or the "On-Farm Facilities Certificate of Exemption for Materials" should be utilized for purchases pertaining to agricultural activities.
The "Resale Certificate" should be utilized when purchasing items specifically intended for resale.
The "Solid Waste Recycling Machinery Exemption Certificate" should be utilized when purchasing machinery for use in the solid waste recycling industry.
The full list of downloadable exemption forms can be viewed on this page.
To apply the certificate, the buyer must first present the seller with their written certificate, which legally documents the exemption. The certificate should include the date it was created, the signature of the buyer or an employee or agent who signed on behalf of the buyer, both the seller's and buyer's addresses and names, the legal basis of the exemption being utilized, the buyer's tax registration or business license number, and a description of the merchandise that the buyer wishes to purchase.
How long is my Kentucky sales tax exemption certificate good for?
While the Kentucky Department of Revenue does recommend that all certificates should updated every four years, it is not required. Any industry exemption certificate is project-specific.
Can I use a blanket resale exemption certificate in Kentucky?
Kentucky does permit the use of a blanket resale certificate, which means a single certificate on file with the vendor can be re-used for all exempt purchases made from that vendor. A new certificate does not need to be made for each transaction.
Acceptance of uniform sales tax certificates in Kentucky
Kentucky is a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, an interstate consortium with the goal of making compliance with sales taxes as simple as possible in member states.
Because Kentucky is a member of this agreement, buyers can use
the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Uniform Sales Tax Certificate 
when making qualifying sales-tax-exempt purchases from vendors in Kentucky.
The following guidelines are provided for the use of the MTC Uniform Sales Tax Certificate in Kentucky:
- Kentucky does not permit the use of this certificate to claim a resale exclusion for the purchase of a taxable service.
- This certificate is not valid as an exemption certificate. Its use is limited to use as a resale certificate subject to the provisions of Kentucky Revised Statute 139.270 (Good Faith).
- The use of this certificate by the purchaser constitutes the issuance of a blanket certificate in accordance with Kentucky Administrative Regulation 103 KAR 31:111.
Simplify Kentucky sales tax compliance! We provide sales tax rate databases for businesses who manage their own sales taxes, and can also connect you with firms that can completely automate the sales tax calculation and filing process. Click here to get more information.
-->
Back to Kentucky Sales Tax Handbook Top