Nebraska Sales Tax

When your small business makes retail sales to customers in Nebraska, whether you’re based in the state or outside of it, you need to know what the state of Nebraska’s sales tax laws are and how they apply to you. This guide will help you navigate the nuances of Nebraska sales tax and understand your responsibilities more clearly.

Nebraska Sales Tax Rates

The state sales tax rate in Nebraska is 5.5%. Cities are permitted to add a local sales taxes at rates up to 2%, for a maximum total sales tax rate of 7.5%.

Tax Sourcing

Nebraska is a destination-based sales tax state, so the appropriate rate to charge your in-state customers is based on their delivery address if you’re shipping their purchase. This means it’s important to be able to determine the correct total tax rate (including local rates) for a given address, which generally cannot be determined by zip code alone. Using a service such as AccurateTax can automate this process.

If you have a physical retail space where your customers come to make purchases, the applicable sales tax rate is the one at the point of sale location.

Nebraska Nexus

Your company must have a sales tax nexus (“presence”) in order to be required to collect Nebraska sales tax. This nexus may come in the form of a physical nexus or an economic one.

Physical Nexus

You have a physical nexus if you:

• Maintain or occupy an office or place of business in the state
• Have any representative or solicitor in the state for selling, delivering, or taking orders
• Derive rental receipts from leased tangible personal property in the state
• Solicit retail sales from residents of the state on a continuous or systematic basis through the media
• Are owned or controlled by an entity that owns or controls a retailer in the state
• Maintain or have a franchisee or licensee who is a retailer in the state

Economic Nexus

Even if you don’t have a physical presence in Nebraska, remote sellers will establish economic nexus if you make $100,000 or more in sales to Nebraska, or if you process 200 or more transactions in the state, as calculated over the current or previous calendar year.

Marketplace Facilitators

If a marketplace facilitator has nexus in Nebraska, whether physical or economic, then they must collect and remit tax on behalf of the third-party sellers utilizing their platform.

What is Taxable in Nebraska?

Tangible Goods

Sales of most tangible personal property are taxable in Nebraska. There are some exceptions, such as prescription drugs and medical devices, depreciable agricultural machinery for commercial agriculture, manufacturing equipment, and aircraft.

Groceries are not subject to sales taxes in Nebraska, but prepared food is. Admission fees and hotel accommodations are also taxable.

Services

Some services are taxable as well, including but not limited to:

• Charges to repair or maintain tangible personal property is taxable, with the exception of motor vehicles and qualified manufacturing machinery and equipment.
  • The exception also has an exception: painting a motor vehicle is taxable
• Repair and installation labor of security systems
• Landscape services, if they include the sale of installation of taxable personal property
• Mobile telecommunication services, telephone service, and utilities
• Some delivery charges
• Remote installation, configuration, and training services tied to taxable products if bundled or not separately stated
• Leases and rentals of tangible personal property

Shipping and Handling

Shipping and handling charges are taxable, if the items being shipped are themselves taxable, and the charge is paid to the seller. If a single charge is for the delivery of both taxable and non-taxable items, then only the portion of the shipping charge allocated for taxable items should be taxed.

The exception is separately stated U.S. postage on direct mail, which is non-taxable.

Handling charges are taxable.

Digital Goods and Services

The following digital products are taxable if the equivalent tangible form would be taxable:

• Digital audio works such as music
• Digital audio/visual works, such as movies and TV shows
• Digital books
• Codes that provide access to any of the above

Most services, including SaaS (software-as-a-service) are not taxable.

Exemptions

Sales tax exemptions apply in certain situations, generally when the purchaser qualifies for exemption based on their purpose of the nature of the transaction. These exemptions may apply to government entities and nonprofit organizations. They also apply to retailers making purchases for resale, and out of state purchasers when the good are delivered outside of Nebraska.

In order for an exemption to be valid, the purchaser must present a valid, completed, and signed resale certificate such as Form 13. The seller is responsible for maintaining this documentation as part of their records to support the sale as tax-exempt in case of an audit. The exemption certificate must state the reason for the exemption, be complete and accurate, and include the purchaser’s sales tax exemption number.

A failure to provide this documentation during an audit may result in the seller having to pay the sales tax, including any penalties and interest.

Sales Tax Holidays

Unlike some states, Nebraska does not offer any sales tax holidays. This means there is never a holiday on sales of school supplies, appliances, firearms and ammunition, or other tangible property.

Registration and Filing

To ensure sales tax compliance, you must register for a Nebraska sales tax permit online. For those with existing business relationships in Nebraska, you can also complete Form 20 and mail it to the Department of Revenue. There is no charge to apply for the seller’s permit, and you do not have to renew it. Each location will need a separate permit if you have more than one business location.

Most businesses will file their Nebraska sales tax return online using NebFile for Business. Alternatively, if your business participates in the Streamlined Sales Tax program, you may file through your Certified Service Provider (such as AccurateTax).

The state will mail out paper forms only to small businesses that have never filed online and are not required to. If you meet these criteria, you will receive your return in the mail on or about the 10th of the month following the close of the period that the return is for.

Filing Frequencies

Returns are due on the 20th of the month following the close of the period they cover, and the frequency with which you must file will depend on the size of your average monthly tax liability. Your filing frequency will be assigned by the state. Generally, businesses with a yearly tax liability of $3000 or more will file monthly. Those with a yearly tax liability between $900 and $3000 will file quarterly, and those with an annual tax liability of less than $900 will file annually.

If not specified, the default filing frequency is monthly. Note that the state may assign an annual filing frequency to certain seasonal retainers regardless of their tax liability amount.

If you have multiple business locations, you can file one combined return for all of them if the same person or persons own at least 80% of all locations. Regardless of how you file, however, each location is always required to have its own sales tax permit. Before you file a combined return, you must apply for permission from the state.

For easier filing, use a service like AccurateTax to handle your filings.

Annual Filers

Annual filers must submit their returns and payments by January 20^th.

Quarterly Filers

Quarterly filers have the following due dates:

Period	Due Date
January – March (Q1)	April 20
April – June (Q2)	July 20
July – September (Q3)	October 20
October – December (Q4)	January 20

Monthly Filers

If you must file sales tax monthly, these are the due dates:

Period	Due Date
January	February 20
February	March 20
March	April 20
April	May 20
May	June 20
June	July 20
July	August 20
August	September 20
September	October 20
October	November 20
November	December 20
December	January 20

In any case, if a due date falls on a weekend or state holiday, it will be extended to the next business day.

Penalties and Interest

Failure to file or make payments on time will result in a penalty of $25 or 10% of the total tax due, whichever is greater. Zero returns are required for as long as you hold a valid Nebraska sales tax permit.

You must file a return, even if no tax is due. Zero dollar returns have the same due dates, even though no payment will be needed.

Nebraska offers a voluntary disclosure program to assist those with penalties and interest on back taxes. For more information, see this document on their website.

Resources

• Nebraska Sales Tax Guide
• Nebraska Sales and Use Tax FAQs
• Nebraska Sales and Use Tax Forms
• Nebraska Sales Tax Calculator

Nebraska Sales Tax Software

Regardless of the volume of taxable sales that you make in Nebraska, keeping up with the requirements for collecting and remitting sales taxes to the state can be a time-consuming and confusing process. And if you sell in multiple states, it’s an even bigger headache, as they each have their own sets of regulations, procedures, and rates. However, this burden can be eased by using sales tax calculation software like AccurateTax’s TaxTools, which is designed to manage sales tax collection and reporting.

TaxTools gives you back the time you spend on tracking your taxable sales in Nebraska and elsewhere so that you can use it to focus on other aspects of growing your business. With the ability to produce up-to-date reports on your taxable sales, TaxTools allows you to stay on top of things while also meeting state requirements for record-keeping. The program will also periodically check for changes to state sales tax laws that may impact you, and it allows you to file your sales tax returns and make payments directly. TaxTools integrates smoothly with many eCommerce platforms, so you won’t have to change anything about the way you already do business to take advantage of its benefits.

So, if you’re ready to see how TaxTools can help streamline your business processes, click here to sign up for a free trial today.

Last updated July 2025