California BOE Sales Tax Permit (Sellers Permit) Tips

The Board of Equalization (BOE), charged with collecting California's sales and use tax, will soon be revising its seller's permit application form to reflect that names, addresses, and products purchased from major suppliers (if any) must be provided whether they are California-based or not.

Some other tips when obtaining a seller's permit (also referred to as a resale certificate or sales tax permit):

• It takes an average of 2-3 weeks to obtain one by mail, but you may obtain one on the spot in person at one of the BOE's field offices
  
• Possibly the most common error when mailing the application (Form BOE-400-SPA) is forgetting to attach copies of drivers' licenses
  
• Signatures on the application must match those on the drivers' licenses
  
• Foreign corporations and LLCs will not be issued a permit unless they are registered with the Secretary of State
• Contrary to what many BOE employees believe and may tell you, a social security number is not required in order to obtain a permit for a limited liabilty company (this issue arises when the LLC members are foreign nationals without SSNs or ITINs)

Other assistance and tips are provided to our clients as relevant.