Wyoming’s sales tax is 4 percent. The state also has several special, local, and excise taxes. Cities, counties, and other municipalities may also have additional taxes related to retail sales. Businesses should ensure that they collect all monies related to their industries, as the state levies taxes against certain industries, such as alcohol, lodging, and tobacco.
Additionally, certain nonprofits and industries such as farming and manufacturing are exempt from paying taxes on certain items.
This guide does not fully describe all of Wyoming’s laws and regulations regarding taxes. Businesses should contact a business attorney or visit the Wyoming Department of Revenue website to learn more about the rules, regulations, tax laws, and tax information associated with their industries and the types of taxes due.
Types of taxes
In addition to Wyoming’s retail sales tax and use tax, business taxpayers must collect or pay several other taxes, including a use tax, local taxes, and special taxes.
Sales and use tax for sales of goods and services
Wyoming has a use tax that works in conjunction with the sales tax. Business filers pay one or the other. The use tax rate is not a consumer tax – it is a tax that a business pays for storing or using taxable tangible personal property instead of selling it. For example, a business purchases 20 cases of a cleaning agent to sell. It uses two of the cases in the business. The business would collect tax from the sale of 18 cases and pay use tax on two cases.
The use tax return is within the sales tax return.
Alcoholic beverage taxes
Wyoming levies an excise tax on alcohol. Currently, local municipalities do not add extra taxes to liquor and beer. Businesses must collect the special excise taxes on top of the sales tax rate of 4 percent.
The taxes are as follows:
- Beer and malt beverages: $0.005 per liter.
- Fermented liquors (wine): $0.0075 per 100 milliliters.
- Spirits: $0.025 per 100 milliliters.
One hundred milliliters is approximately 3.4 ounces. One liter is approximately 33.8 ounces.
Motor vehicle rental surcharge tax
Motor vehicle rental agencies must charge and collect a 4-percent tax on top of the sales tax. Businesses file reports twice per year but pay at the end of the year. The reports include
- The rental agency certificate number.
- The legal name of the business.
- Mailing address.
- Phone number.
- Fax number.
- All Wyoming locations.
The tax is based on the total dollar amount of rental transactions from January 1 through June 30 for the first report and from July 1 through December 31 for the second report. Figure the motor vehicle rental excise tax before sales tax. For example, if the total receipts for the period were $100,000, the excise tax is $4,000, and the total sales tax is $4,000.
Businesses deduct Wyoming registration fees for the reporting period from the amount. For example, if registration fees for the first half of the year are $2,000, the total tax due is $2,000.
The business remits the end-of-year report and payment of taxes for the entire year in January of the following year.
Motor fuel taxes
Wyoming has several fuel taxes:
- Gasoline: $0.24 per gallon ($0.23 on all gasoline sold plus $0.01 per gallon license tax).
- Gasoline for aircraft: $0.04 per gallon.
- Diesel fuels: $0.25 per gallon ($0.23 per gallon sold or distributed plus $0.01 per gallon license tax).
- Jet fuel: $0.04 per gallon.
- Alternative fuels: $0.24 per gallon, which includes a $0.01 license tax. Businesses use the gallon equivalent of liquid petroleum gas, compressed natural gas, or electricity for tax purposes. The tax includes a $0.01 license tax.
Lodging tax
Wyoming has a lodging tax of 5 percent. Lodging services include sleeping accommodations for transient guests, including:
- Hotels.
- Motels.
- Campgrounds for tents, campers, trailers, mobile homes, and other mobile sleeping accommodations.
Guides and outfitters must also collect the lodging tax for sleeping accommodations, including:
- Tents.
- Snow shelters.
- Base camps.
- Temporary structures that are dismantled after being used and any other form of temporary shelter.
The Wyoming Department of Revenue publishes a list of local sales and lodging taxes. The local taxes frequently change, so businesses should check them often.
Guides and outfitters are exempt from local lodging taxes. If a county has a local lodging tax, guides and outfitters collect only 3 percent of the lodging tax as the other 2 percent is distributed to the local jurisdiction.
For example, Laramie County has a local lodging tax of 4 percent. Guides and outfitters providing lodging as part of the service collect:
- Sales tax: 6 percent.
- Statewide lodging assessment: 3 percent.
If a city or town has a local lodging tax, business providing guides and outfitters collects the 3-percent portion of the state lodging tax, but not the 2 percent that goes to the city. For example, Pinedale has a 4-percent local lodging tax. The business would collect:
- Sales tax: 4 percent.
- Statewide lodging assessment: 3 percent.
If the guide or outfitter provides lodging with their services outside of Pinedale but in Sublette County, the business will collect:
- Sales tax: 4 percent.
- Statewide lodging assessment: 5 percent (Sublette County does not have a local lodging tax).
Since Lusk has a local lodging tax of 3 percent, guides and outfitters would collect the sales tax of 6 percent plus the statewide assessment tax of 3 percent. Lusk is in Niobrara County, which does not have a local lodging tax. If the guide or outfitter provides services outside of Lusk’s boundaries but within the county of Niobrara, the business will collect the state sales tax of 6 percent and the statewide lodging assessment of 5 percent.
Because some of the services a guide or outfitter offers are not taxable, the business must list each service separately in order to distinguish between taxable and non-taxable services. If the business does not list items separately, then the entire amount is taxable.
For example, if an invoice includes guide service at $1,000, meals at $100, and lodging at $50, the consumer pays sales tax on meals and lodging, no tax on the guide service, and the state lodging assessment on lodging.
Discretionary tax (Local sales tax)
Certain counties levy a general-purpose county option tax rate, specific purpose county option tax rate, an economic development tax, and resort district tax as follows:
| County | General Purpose County Option Tax Rate | Specific Purpose County Option Tax Rate | Economic Development Tax | Resort District Tax | Total Local Taxes |
| Albany | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Big Horn | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Campbell | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Carbon | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Converse | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Crook | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Fremont | 1% | 0 | .50% | 0 | 1.50% |
| Goshen | 1% | 0 | .25% | 0 | 1.25% |
| Hot Springs | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Johnson | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Laramie | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Lincoln | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Natrona | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Niobrara | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Park | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Platte | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Sheridan | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Sublette | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sweetwater | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Teton | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
| Teton Village Resort District | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% | |
| Grand Targhee Resort District | 1% | 1% | 0 | 2% | 4% |
| Uinta | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Washakie | 1% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1% |
| Weston | 1% | 1% | 0 | 0 | 2% |
All local taxes are in addition to the state sales tax of 4 percent.
Registering for and filing Wyoming's taxes
Register at the Wyoming Department of Revenue to file sales and use tax returns and pay taxes. The state still allows paper filing for applications and submitting tax returns and other tax forms.
Wyoming sales tax holiday
Wyoming does not have a sales tax holiday.
Remote and marketplace sellers
Remote sellers and marketplace facilitators must collect sales tax from retail sales into Wyoming if they meet the financial nexus of:
- Gross receipts of over $100,000 for the previous year; or
- 200 or more individual transactions into the state.
Small businesses that do not meet the nexus are not required to collect sales tax. However, most businesses collect the tax as a convenience for their customers. If a business does not collect the sales tax, the consumer must pay use tax on taxable tangible personal property and services.
Wyoming sales tax exemptions
Wyoming law provides several sales tax exemptions. Some of the more common exemptions include:
- Sales to training and apprenticeship programs that are joint between Wyoming and the United States Department of Labor.
- Sales to certain manufacturers, processors, and compounders when the tangible personal property is an ingredient or part of the tangible personal property being manufactured, processed, or compounded.
- Livestock for marketing purposes.
- Livestock feed for marketing purposes.
- Poultry for marketing purposes.
- Poultry feed for marketing purposes.
- Seeds, bulbs, small plants, roots, and fertilizer to grow products to be sold.
- Wholesale sales, with the exception of controlled substances not sold with a prescription.
- Fuel, if used as boiler fuel to produce electricity.
- Tangible personal property and services sold to the government, and certain charitable and nonprofit organizations.
- Water delivered by truck or pipeline.
- Food for home consumption.
- Charges for the transportation of drilling rigs.
- Newspapers.
- Certain farm implements.
FAQs
Wyoming’s sales and use tax is 4 percent. Several counties have additional taxes, plus the state and certain counties have certain special taxes.
Wyoming’s resale certificate and tax exemption certificate is one document. Purchasers exempt from sales tax must ensure that the entire form is filled out. Give a copy to the seller and keep a copy for yourself.
