West Virginia: Sales Tax Handbook

West Virginia Sales Tax Exemption / Resale Forms 2 PDFs

If you are a retailer making purchases for resale, or need to make a purchase that is exempt from the West Virginia sales tax, you need the appropriate West Virginia sales tax exemption certificate before you can begin making tax-free purchases. This page explains how to make tax-free purchases in West Virginia, and lists two West Virginia sales tax exemption forms available for download.

Printable West Virginia Exemption Certificates

We have two West Virginia 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.

Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption	Download Now
Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption (Multistate)	Download Now

West Virginia 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 West Virginia

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 West Virginia provides a particular form to be used when you wish to purchase tax-exempt items such as prescription medicines.

The "West Virginia Consumers Sales and Service and Use Tax Resale Certificate" should be utilized when purchasing tax exempt merchandise, such as goods specifically intended for resale.

The forms can be downloaded 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 West Virginia sales tax exemption certificate good for?

A blanket exemption certificate does not have an explicitly stated expiration period, and are considered to be valid so long as there is no more than a one year gap between purchases, or until the certificate is revoked by the buyer.

Can I use a blanket resale exemption certificate in West Virginia?

West Virginia 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 West Virginia

West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia.