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School districts are not eligible to make purchases using a reseller permit. Because school districts do not typically collect retail sales tax, they must pay retail sales tax on all retail items they purchase (see below).
Taxable and nontaxable purchases
School districts must pay retail sales tax or use tax on the following goods and services:
- Catering services
- Construction services
- Copying services
- Equipment, including used and surplus
- Landscape maintenance and horticultural services
- Lease or rental of tangible personal property
- Lodging
- Magazine subscriptions
- Musical instruments
- Office supplies
- Portable classrooms
- Prewritten software, including updates and patches
- School books
- Telephone services
- The use of a recreational facility when the owner controls the facility
The following goods and services are not subject to retail sales tax/use tax:
- Computer training
- College testing services
- Chemical toilet services
- Internet access
- Janitorial services
- A license to use a recreational facility when the school district controls the facility
- Newspapers
- Piano tuning services
- Royalty payments for use of music, scripts, etc.
Digital Curriculum Streamed or Accessed Online
Certain digital products purchased by school districts are exempt from sales and use tax. Examples include digital textbooks, online supplemental teaching materials, educational software, and study materials. To qualify for the tax exemption, all of the following requirements must be met:
(1) The product must be a “digital good,” digital automated service (DAS), or remote access software (RAS), as defined in current law (see note below);
(2) Students must be able to access the products at a school library (either at the physical location or via a website), free of charge; and
(3) The purchaser must provide the vendor with a completed Digital Products and Remote Access Software Exemption Certificate, with the “Purchased to be made available free of charge to the general public” box checked.
Note 1: It is not required that the digital products be made available to non-students.
Note 2: For definitions of “digital goods,” DAS, and RAS, please see our Digital Products page.
