1. The Unique Situation in Montana
Montana is one of only five U.S. states without a statewide sales tax (along with Oregon, New Hampshire, Delaware, and Alaska). This means:
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There is no state-level sales tax obligation for resellers, marketplace facilitators, or online sellers.
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Sellers shipping into Montana from other states do not need to collect Montana sales tax.
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Marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay also have no Montana collection requirement because there’s no sales tax law to comply with.
👉 Unlike Alaska, which has local jurisdiction taxes (via ARSSTC), Montana does not impose any local sales tax on general goods.
2. Are There Any Exceptions?
Yes. While Montana doesn’t have a general sales tax, certain local resort and tourist-focused taxes exist under Montana law. For example:
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Some resort communities may levy up to a 3% resort tax on lodging, prepared meals, and luxury goods/services sold within their boundaries.
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These are limited, local, and typically affect in-person sales, not online orders shipped into Montana.
For resellers shipping nationwide, these exceptions usually do not apply.
3. What This Means for Marketplace Facilitators
If you sell through marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, Walmart, etc.):
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The marketplace facilitator is not required to collect sales tax on Montana orders.
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Your Montana customers pay only the product price + shipping (unless you specifically operate in a resort community subject to local tax).
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You still need to track income for federal tax purposes, but there’s no Montana sales tax reporting requirement.
4. Case Study: Reseller Selling Nationwide
Example: Jack runs an online store and sells across all 50 states via Amazon and Shopify.
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When he sells to California, Amazon collects and remits California sales tax.
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When he sells to Alaska, he must consider ARSSTC local rules.
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When he sells to Montana, no sales tax is applied—Amazon automatically charges $0 in sales tax for Montana buyers.
Impact: Jack can confidently ship to Montana customers without worrying about compliance or remittance obligations.
5. Practical Guidance for Resellers in 2025
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Don’t register for a sales tax permit in Montana—it doesn’t exist.
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Don’t collect sales tax from Montana buyers; doing so could create confusion and potential refunds.
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Do track Montana sales as part of your overall gross receipts for federal tax reporting.
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If you open a physical retail location in Montana, research whether a resort tax applies in your city/town.
6. FAQs
Q: Do I need to hit an economic nexus threshold in Montana?
A: No. Montana does not have economic nexus laws for sales tax because there is no sales tax.
Q: Do marketplace facilitators collect Montana tax?
A: No. Marketplaces only collect where states impose sales tax laws.
Q: Are there hidden taxes on goods in Montana?
A: Only in rare cases (resort/lodging taxes), and they generally apply to services or tourism-based businesses, not online product resellers.
