Sales Tax

The University is exempt from paying Iowa sales tax on the gross receipts from goods and services rendered in fulfilling its purpose as an educational institution.  Taxes are collected on the gross receipts of any activities for which an admission fee is charged, including athletic events, theater, concerts, student organization activities, and others.  The University collects sales tax on sales of goods, food, and services which are available to the general public. (Operations Manual Part V., Chapter 10)

An Iowa Sales Tax Exemption Certificate is required when normally taxable items or services are sold tax free. Normally, these are items for resale or for use in processing, but there are also other reasons for exemption.

The department making purchases exempt from Iowa sales tax needs to complete the Iowa exemption certificate linked below by completing the seller’s name and address in the fields highlighted in red.  Near the bottom of the form, another input box is highlighted in red in case any additional information needs to be included on the form.  This needs to be completed before giving the form to the seller.

The current state sales tax rate is 6%.  The LOST (Local Option Sales Tax) of 1% for certain cities within Johnson County expired on 6/30/13 and is no longer in effect.

The University is subject to the state-imposed hotel and motel tax as well as any locally imposed hotel and motel taxes within Iowa.  The Iowa Sales Tax Exemption Certificate does not apply to the hotel taxes.

Other state exemption forms can be found below.

Summary of the University of Iowa’s Filesales tax exemption status by state.

Certificates or forms available for the following states (pdf):