Missouri: Sales Tax Handbook
What constitutes sales tax nexus in Missouri?
One of the more complicated aspects of Missouri sales tax law is sales tax nexus, the determination of whether a particular sale took place within the taxation jurisdiction of Missouri, and is thus subject to state (and possibly local) sales taxes.
If a vendor's transactions are determined to have nexus in Missouri, the vendor must register for a Missouri sales tax license and collect appropriate sales taxes from the buyer for all transactions with nexus in the state. On this page, we have compiled some of the most commonly needed facts about what constitutes sales tax nexus in Missouri.
Sales Tax Nexus in Missouri
According to the Missouri law, retailers who have tax nexus can be defined in several different ways.
If your business stores goods in a warehouse within the state, has an office, any place of business, or any owned property in the state, there is delivery of property within the state's boundaries using a vehicle owned by a Missouri taxpayer, owns a real or personal property in Missouri, or an employee, representative, or independent contractor who is present in the State of Missouri for greater than two days each year has tax nexus in the state of Missouri.
For additional details on sales tax nexus law in Missouri, see the nexus information page from the Taxation Division at http://www.azdor.gov/Audits/Nexus/NexusTPT.aspx 
Taxation of Internet-Based Sales in Missouri
NOTE: 2018 Supreme Court Ruling Regarding Online Sales Taxes
In the 2018 Supreme Court case South Dakota vs. Wayfair Inc, Et Al., the court overturned a previous ruling that required a merchant to have physical nexus in order for a state to collect sales tax. This means that any state is now free to enforce collection of sales taxes on out-of-state online merchants. The information provided here may be subject to change, and many states are expected to begin collecting online sales taxes following this ruling.
Depending on the situation, Missouri may or may not charge sales tax on Internet-based transactions. When it comes to Missouri's click-through nexus, there is a presumption of nexus if any seller enters into an agreement with a resident of the state, where the resident, for any sort of payment, directs potential buyers, in any way(including online), to the seller, and all of the seller's gross receipts from sales to customers in Missouri add up to be greater that ten thousand dollars for the previous year. It is possible for this to be rebutted by showing that the resident did not engage in any activity in the state of Missouri that was prominantly associated with the seller's market in Missouri in the previous year
The nexus status and taxability of Internet-based sales, by vendors and/or consumers within Missouri, have been the subject of hot debate in recent years. You can learn more on our introduction to Internet-based sales taxes.
Does my business have tax nexus in Missouri?
The folks at the sales tax compliance company Avalara are an approved Missouri sales tax partner, and you can use their free Missouri nexus wizard tool to determine whether or not your business has nexus, and is therefore required to pay Missouri sales taxes. If you're interested in automating your sales tax collection and filing process, click here to get more information.
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