MN Sales Tax Exemption
Minnesota homeschoolers may claim an exemption from MN sales taxes when purchasing items used to perform the educational functions of their homeschool. We have researched what homeschoolers must do in order to enjoy this exemption, and hundreds of our customers have successfully completed this process without any problems. While we have done our best to accurately convey this information below, it is important that you read the below DISCLAIMER before proceeding.
There are three steps required before you can claim an exemption from MN Sales Taxes for your homeschool purchases. It is not difficult, and there is no cost other than a small amount of your time. Please click on each step listed below to view details and suggestions.
Once you have completed all of these steps and filed your Certificate of Exemption with us, you will not have to do this again unless your situation changes. Certificates of Exemption do not expire unless any of the information supplied on the certificate changes. However, the Minnesota Department of Revenue recommends you provide updated Certificates of Exemptions to retailers every three or four years.
What kind of items may be exempt from MN Sales Taxes for homeschoolers? The Minnesota Department of Revenue has written the following:
What items can a home school buy exempt from tax?
The items must be used to perform the educational functions of the home school. This includes items such as books, pens, pencils, paper, and school supplies used exclusively for educational purposes.
What items are taxable?
The exemption does not apply to purchases of meals, lodging, or to purchases or leases of motor vehicles. General home furnishings such as kitchen tables and chairs, beds, sofas, and fixtures are taxable. Utilities and telephone services are also taxable since these items are needed for the home regardless of whether or not the family has a home school.
Purchases of items such as computers, software, VCRs, and TVs, by a home school for use exclusively in its educational functions are exempt. However, these items are taxable if purchased for personal or recreational use by the family.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue has also reported that items which contain Christian or other religious content may also qualify for an exemption from MN Sales Taxes for homeschoolers as long as these are used “exclusively for educational functions of the homeschool”. Please contact the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division if you have any questions about which items you may buy exempt from MN Sales Taxes as we are unable to answer these types of questions.
Step 1 – Apply for Nonprofit Exempt Status with the Minnesota Department of Revenue
Just like any other non-profit organization in Minnesota, including public schools, you must first receive “Nonprofit Exempt Status” from the Minnesota Department of Revenue before you can claim an exemption from MN Sales Taxes for your homeschool purchases. The application process is easy, free, and quick, requiring just a couple of minutes to complete. Once you receive your MN Tax ID Number, it is permanent – no renewals are required unless there is a change in your status, e.g., a change of address. And there are no subsequent “filing” requirements, as there are for Income Taxes.
There are TWO one-page forms MN homeschooling Parents need to complete and deliver together to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division, in order to apply for this status. These are linked below, along with suggestions on how to complete these forms. (Suggestions for Non-Parents also are included.)
Please read these suggestions carefully before completing these forms.
1. Form “ST16, Application for Nonprofit Exempt Status – Sales Tax” (Print to complete by hand, or download to use fillable fields in this pdf form). Below are suggested ways homeschoolers should complete this form. These suggestions were confirmed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division. Please note: This same Division has also confirmed that exemption from Federal income tax under IRS Code 501(c) (3) is NOT required for homeschooling families, even though this is suggested in the Form ST16 instructions.
When completing this Form ST16, please fill in your information BELOW each field title. For example, the name of your homeschool (e.g., “Johnson Homeschool”) should be written BELOW the field title “Organization Name” and not on the line above this text. Similarly, enter your information BELOW the field titles “Mailing Address”, “City”, “State”, and “Zip Code”, and not on the lines above these texts.
“Organization Name” – The MN Department of Revenue requires that the name of an organization be entered here, and NOT the name of one or both parents of a homeschool family. Something like “Johnson Homeschool” is quite acceptable, even if others are using th same name. If an application is received with just the parent’s name(s), the MN Department of Revenue may add the word “Homeschool” in their approval documentation, or reject the application.
“Organization’s web address, if any” – Most homeschooling families will not have a website for their homeschool, and therefore can leave this field blank.
“Mailing Address” – The MN Department of Revenue will mail their response to your application to this address.
“Federal Tax ID Number” and “Minnesota Tax ID Number” fields should be left blank, unless you have these for your homeschool (unlikely). Please note: You cannot use Tax ID Numbers you may have for any other organization (e.g., your business). Your homeschool must obtain its own, unique, MN Tax ID Number.
“Phone” and “Email Address” fields are optional, but will be helpful should the MN Department of Revenue need to reach you with a question regarding your application.
In the “Type of Organization” section, check the “Home School” box. (We’ve done this for you in the linked form.)
“Supporting Documents” – The requirements for Parents and Non-Parents are different.
Parent(s) of their own children must include a signed “Affidavit Stating Nonprofit Home School Status for the Purpose of Obtaining a Sales Tax Exemption Number” (see below) with this Form ST16 stating that your children’s school is a homeschool. Please note: When you include this affidavit with your mailed Form ST16, you do NOT need to provide the items listed below for Non-Parents (as suggested in the instructions for Form ST16). This signed affidavit is the ONLY “Supporting Document” Parents are required to include with Form ST16.
Non-Parents must include both of the following with this Form ST16:
i.) List the name of the school district in which the home school is located
ii.) Attach a copy of one of the following as evidence of instructor qualifications (as required under Minnesota Statute 120A.22, subd. 10):
- your current Minnesota teaching license
- teacher competency examination results
- baccalaureate degree
- the name and a copy of the license of the teacher you are directly supervised by
“Principal Officers” –
- Parent(s) should enter their name(s) and “Parent” for their title. Listing just one parent is sufficient, although both parents can be listed.
- Non-Parent(s) should enter their name(s) and “Teacher” for their title, or other appropriate titles.
Be sure to sign and date the form at the bottom of the page using the same title you defined above. The “Preparer Signature” and the other Preparer information fields may be left blank, unless someone else completed this form for you. Be sure to also include the “Supporting Documents”, as outlined above, when submitting this Form ST16.
2. Form “Affidavit Stating Nonprofit Home School Status for the Purpose of Obtaining a Sales Tax Exemption Number” (for Parents only). For most, this is a simple, straight-forward form. Please note: Enter your name(s), and NOT the name created for your homeschool listed in the “Organization Name” field in Form ST16. Either one or both parents may sign this form.
When completed and signed, submit Form ST16 and the required “Supporting Documents” together in one of the following ways:
By Mail:
Minnesota Revenue
Sales and Use Tax Division
600 N Robert Street
Mail Station 6330
St. Paul, MN 55146-6330
By Fax: 651-556-3102
By E-mail: nonprofit.exemptstatus@state.mn.us
You are now ready for Step 2.
When you receive your approval letter it will contain a Minnesota Tax ID Number for your homeschool. You will need this number in order to complete Step 3. This number, along with the name and address of your homeschool, should be all you need to get setup for tax exempt purchases in nearly any store in MN.
Please note: We suggest you record this MN Tax ID Number in your cell phone under either the name you created for your homeschool, or “MN Tax ID Number”, so it is readily available when you need it.
Please be sure to keep this approval letter on file for future reference.
After you’ve received this approval letter, please complete the steps outlined in Step 3.
OK, you’re almost done! The last step is to provide your MN Tax ID Number along with your signature to EACH store where you want to claim this exemption. Each store may receive this information from you differently. Like us, many, if not most, will require a completed Form ST3. It is required that you list on this form the name of the store where you will be making your purchase. Therefore, this form will be different for each store. We’ve filled in our store information for you in the form linked below.
Form “ST3, Certificate of Exemption” (Print to complete by hand, or download to use fillable fields in this pdf form). Below are suggested ways homeschoolers (vs. other non-profit organizations) should complete this form. These suggestions were confirmed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division. Please contact them if you have any questions about how to complete this form.
Please read these suggestions carefully before completing this form.
Please note: DO NOT check either of the first two boxes at the top of this form, i.e., those labeled “Check if this certificate…” and “If you are a contractor…”. Similarly, leave blank “Exempt entity name” and “Project description”.
Instead, begin filling out this form in the “Name of Purchaser” field, leaving everything above blank.
When completing this ST3 form, please fill in your information BELOW each field title. For example, the name of your homeschool (e.g., “Johnson Homeschool”) should be written BELOW the field title “Name of Purchaser” and not on the line above this text. Similarly, enter your information BELOW the field titles “Business Address”, “City”, “State”, “Zip code”, “Purchaser’s Tax ID Number”, and “State of Issue”, and not on the line above these texts.
| “Name of Purchaser” – Enter the same name of your “organization” listed in the approval letter you received from the MN Department of Revenue. This will be the name you created for your homeschool (e.g., “Johnson Homeschool”) and NOT your personal name(s).
“Business Address” – Enter the same address for your “organization” listed in the approval letter you received from the MN Department of Revenue. This will typically be your home address. Be sure to include city, state and zip code. “Purchaser’s Tax ID Number” – Enter the MN Tax ID number listed in the approval letter you received from the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Please note: Be sure to enter “MN” in the “State of Issue” field. Leave the “FEIN” and “Driver’s license” fields blank. These are not required when you provide your MN Tax ID Number. “Seller’s” information – We’ve completed these fields for you in the linked form. “Type of Business” – Check box #17, “Nonprofit Organization”. (We’ve done this for you in the linked form.) “Reason for Exemption” – Check box “F”, “Educational organization #”. (We’ve done this for you in the linked form.) |
Be sure to sign and date the form at the bottom using the same title you defined in Form ST16 of Step 1, usually “Parent” or “Teacher”.
Finally, deliver this completed ST3 Form to us either in person or by mailing it to us at:
| Heppner’s Legacy Homeschool Resources 369 Jackson Avenue NW Elk River, MN 55330-1803 |
IMPORTANT: If you currently have an on-line account on our website, or if you later create an on-line account on our website, please wait a couple of days for us to update this account to make it tax exempt before making a purchase. We will notify you via e-mail when this has been completed. If you make a purchase before receiving this e-mail, non-refundable MN Sales Taxes will be added to your on-line purchase.
Once we receive your completed ST3 Form, we will set things up in our systems, both in-store and in your on-line account with Heppner’s Legacy Homeschool Resources, so we never charge you MN Sales Taxes again, unless you ask us to do so (e.g., when purchasing something which will not be used in your homeschool). However, here is an important note which we received from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division:
| Exemption certificates do not expire unless the information on the certificate changes. We recommend updating exemption certificates every three or four years. A purchaser may provide a blanket certificate to a vendor for all purchases. Also, applications for nonprofit exempt status from Minnesota sales and use tax for homeschools are approved based on current facts and circumstances regarding each organization and laws in effect at the time of approval. Different circumstances, statutory changes, or subsequent court decisions could affect organizations’ nonprofit exempt status. Homeschools must contact us if their character or method of operation changes so we can consider the effect of the change on their status. Also, homeschools must inform us of all changes in their legal name or address. |
Please note: If, after you have been setup in our systems to be exempt from MN Sales Taxes, you need to purchase something for anything other than your homeschool educational purposes, please contact us so we can be sure to add the appropriate MN Sales Taxes for that purchase only.
Please note: If you cease homeschooling, please contact us so we can update your in-store and on-line account records accordingly.
As you may have heard us say, “We are here to help!” Therefore, we hope you have found this information helpful and useful.
| DISCLAIMER
We believe the information posted on this website regarding MN Sales Tax Exemption for homeschoolers was accurate as of the time it was posted. However, you should contact the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division in order to confirm that all statements and suggestions posted on this website are accurate and current before proceeding. By following any of the steps and suggestions outlined on this website you agree that you, and not we, are responsible for correctly doing what is necessary to claim an exemption from MN Sales Taxes for your homeschool purchases, and you accept full responsibility for any and all subsequent actions made against you by anyone in this regard. |
How to contact the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Division:
| By Mail: Minnesota Revenue Sales and Use Tax Division 600 N Robert Street Mail Station 6330 St. Paul, MN 55146-6330By Phone: 651-296-6181 or 1-800-657-3777 By Fax: 651-556-3102 By E-mail: nonprofit.exemptstatus@state.mn.us |
References:
M. S. 297A.67, Subd. 13 Textbooks
M. S. 297A.67, Subd. 13a Instructional Materials
M. S. 297A.67, Subd. 14 Personal computers prescribed for use by school
M. S. 297A.70 Exemptions for governments and nonprofit groups
Rule 8130.6700 Textbooks