A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC) at the University of Wyoming.
By Piper LeMoine, WSBDC Office Associate
What is the Wyoming Use Tax? Larry, Rawlins.
According to the State of Wyoming Department of Revenue, “the use tax is a companion to the sales tax and is imposed upon goods purchased tax-free outside Wyoming, for use in Wyoming.” First adopted in 1937, the goal of the tax is to level the playing field between Wyoming merchants who have to collect the sales tax and the out-of-state merchants who may not have to collect sales tax from their Wyoming customers.
The tax, which is the same as the sales tax rate of the county where the purchaser resides, usually includes catalog or Internet purchases (unless otherwise specified by the company) and must be reported with applicable tax paid by the end of the month following the month of purchase. If not reported and paid in that amount of time, the state will impose a penalty of 10 percent of the tax amount owed, with interest accumulating daily on the unpaid tax. Forms for reporting the use tax are available online at the homepage of Excise Division of the Department of Revenue, http://revenue.state.wy.us.
Sales and use taxes are used by the state to provide many of the services Wyoming citizens enjoy. Use taxes are due only on those purchases made out of state, where taxes have not been paid. For more information go to the Wyoming Department of Revenue Web site or call (307) 777-5200.
The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To ask a question call 1-800-348-5194, (307) 766-3505, e-mail wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write P.O. Box 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922. Additional help is available at the WSBDC Web page, www.uwyo.edu/sbdc
Posted on Monday, November 10, 2003