Tax-exempt sales
Mark a sale tax-exempt for a reseller, nonprofit, government or out-of-state buyer, record the certificate, and keep a copy with the deal.
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Some sales charge no sales tax, or only part of it: a car bought for resale, by a nonprofit or a government office, or by a buyer from another state. Whether a sale is exempt is your decision, made on the buyer's paperwork. AutoDealer.io records what you decided, prints it, reports it, and reminds you to keep the certificate. It never marks a sale exempt by itself.
Mark a sale tax-exempt
- On New deal, or on an open deal's Deal info step, tick Tax-exempt sale.
- Pick the reason: Resale (dealer or reseller), Nonprofit organization, Government buyer, Out-of-state buyer, or Other.
- Enter the Certificate number and the Issuing state from the buyer's certificate.
- Check the Tax amount, then save.
What each reason needs:
| Reason | Certificate number | Tax box |
|---|---|---|
| Resale | Required, with the issuing state | Starts at 0.00 |
| Nonprofit | Required, with the issuing state | Starts at 0.00 |
| Government | Required (a purchase order number is accepted), with the issuing state | Starts at 0.00 |
| Out-of-state buyer | Optional | Left as it is: enter whatever tax is still owed |
| Other | Optional | Left as it is. A Note saying why is required |
The tax box always stays editable. Some states still charge part of the tax on an out-of-state buyer (Florida's DR-123 rule, for one): type that amount, and the deal records the sale as partly exempt. AutoDealer.io never works out a partial out-of-state amount for you, and it never checks a certificate number with the state.
To undo it, untick Tax-exempt sale, set the tax, and save.
Each time a sale is marked exempt, changed, or cleared, the audit log records who did it, the reason, the certificate and the tax before and after. Once the deal is marked sold, the exemption is frozen with the rest of the money.
Keep the certificate
An exempt deal's checklist shows Tax exemption certificate: Upload the buyer's certificate until a copy is on file.
- Open the deal's documents and upload the buyer's certificate.
- Choose the kind Tax exemption certificate.
The step then reads done. It is a reminder, not a block: the deal saves and can be marked sold without it. Keep the certificate anyway, since it is what proves the exemption if the sale is ever audited.
What prints
- Bill of sale: the Sales tax line reads "EXEMPT (Resale, certificate #12345, FL)". A partly exempt sale prints the amount charged and "partly exempt" with the reason.
- Review step: the recap has a Tax-exempt sale row with the reason and certificate, and a Certificate not on file badge until the copy is uploaded.
- Florida title application (HSMV 82040): for a government or nonprofit buyer, the exemption certificate box is ticked with the number; for Other, the Other box is ticked with your reason.
- Idaho title application (ITD 3337): the Tax Exempt Sale box is ticked.
- Every other state's exemption boxes are left for you to fill on the form, since the agency decides which exemption code applies.
The sales tax report
Reports → Sales tax lists exempt deals in their own Exempt sales block, grouped by reason, with the number of deals, the selling price total and any tax still charged. They are left out of the jurisdiction lines, so the taxable sales you file match what you collected.
FAQ
Is a company's purchase tax-exempt?
Not by itself. A business pays sales tax like anyone else unless it gives you an exemption certificate (for example a resale certificate). See Company customers.
Is a wholesale deal tax-exempt?
Only if the buyer gives you a resale certificate. Mark it exempt with the reason Resale and the certificate number.
Can the AI assistant mark a sale exempt?
No. It reads the exemption on a deal ("what's left to close on A100" names it and says whether the certificate is filed), but an exemption is recorded by you on the deal page. Any assistant card that changes a deal's sales tax always waits for you to approve that one card, and Autopilot never applies it.
Does a trade-in change an exempt deal?
The trade-in still lowers the deal total. The tax stays what you entered, since an exempt deal's tax is not worked out from your tax schedule.