Farm equipment dealers: the licensing rule
Farm and Garden Machinery Dealers and Wholesalers. Written from the agency's own pages.
A business that sells tangible personal property in Texas must hold a Texas sales and use tax permit 1. The Comptroller says a retailer must be familiar with the agriculture and timber exemptions available for the items it sells 2. Machinery and equipment used exclusively on a commercial farm or ranch to produce food or other agricultural products for sale is exempt, and the Comptroller's examples include tractors, loaders and implements 2.
To buy such items tax free, the buyer must give the retailer an agricultural exemption certificate showing a current Ag/Timber Number 2. Exclusively means the item is used 100% of the time in producing agricultural products for sale 2. A retailer may verify an Ag/Timber Number through the Comptroller's online system, and is not required to accept an exemption certificate 2.
Farm machines and trailers used at least 80% of the time in listed farm uses are exempt from motor vehicle sales and use tax, claimed with Form 14-319 2. Equipment eligible for the agricultural use exemption is not subject to the diesel equipment surcharge 3. The sales tax permit application asks for tax identity details and a NAICS code, and it does not list skill, insurance or contractor bonding 5.
The Comptroller's Taxpayer Search shows whether a permit is active or inactive 4. The Comptroller's list of active permit holders shows a NAICS industry code for each outlet 6.
Not found in the pages read
- A Comptroller statement that the NAICS code on the active-permit list is self-reported or checked was not found in the pages read; the application page lists a NAICS code among the items an applicant needs.
- A Comptroller statement in words that the sales tax permit is not a contractor license was not found; the guide reports only what the permit pages list.
- Tax Code Chapter 151 text and Pub. 96-1112 (Agricultural Tax Exemptions, PDF) were not read: the statute site is built with JavaScript and the PDF was not downloaded. The agriculture points rest on the Comptroller's Agricultural and Timber Items page.
- Whether the Comptroller's Ag/Timber Number lookup page is a separate search from the Taxpayer Search was not checked beyond the text of the Agricultural and Timber Items page; the guide cites only that a retailer may verify an Ag/Timber Number online.
- Any Comptroller page specific to farm machinery merchant wholesalers (NAICS 423820) was not found; the guide rests on the permit FAQ and the agriculture page.
A guide is a summary for orientation. It is not legal advice, and the agency's pages and statutes control.