Card show sales tax is simpler than it looks: cards are taxable, you register with the state before you sell, and you charge the combined rate for the venue. None of the 21 states covered here exempts trading cards; they are ordinary tangible personal property. Minnesota’s Fact Sheet 148 goes further and names sports memorabilia, coins, comic books and stamps as taxable at collectors’ shows. What changes from state to state is the paperwork. Facts are as of 17 October 2026.
| Sales | $2,500.00 |
|---|---|
| Taxable sales | $2,500.00 |
| Sales tax to remit | $156.25 |
Collect this from buyers on top of your prices, or it comes out of your margin. Base rate from the state revenue department, checked 17 Oct 2026.
Register before you set up the table
Every state covered expects a card show vendor to be registered for sales tax before the first sale, or to file through a promoter-run process. Some examples:
- California. A temporary seller’s permit from CDTFA, free, applied for online up to 90 days before the show. Selling at a location for less than 90 days makes you a temporary seller. If you already hold a permanent permit, add a sub-permit for each location instead.
- Texas. A regular Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit, also free. The Comptroller describes no event-only permit, and out-of-state dealers who sell or take orders at a Texas show need one too.
- Illinois. The organizer registers the event with IDOR’s Special Events Unit and vendors report on Form IDOR-6-SETR. If the event is not registered, the vendor registers with IDOR and files Form ST-1. IDOR applies the same rules whether you sell as a business or a hobby.
- Ohio. A Transient Vendor’s License (Form ST-1T), valid statewide. The fee has been reported at $50 since 9 April 2025, but that figure comes from search excerpts of current Ohio pages; the only Ohio document we read in full is an older brochure listing $25. Confirm before applying.
- New York. A regular Certificate of Authority, applied for at least 20 days before you start. Show vendors cannot get a temporary certificate, even for a single sale.
- Colorado. A Special Event License (DR 0589): $8 for one event, $16 for multiple events over a two-year cycle, and $0 if you already hold a Colorado sales tax license. The organizer can hold a license to file for its sellers instead.
- Nevada. The promoter holds a One-Time Special Event Permit and you complete a One-Time Sales Tax Return, handing it and the tax to the promoter before you leave. Vendors at more than two events in 12 months need their own permit.
Promoters carry duties too. In Ohio, North Carolina, Washington and Arizona they keep vendor lists, and Minnesota fines operators $100 per non-compliant seller per day. Expect to be asked for your permit number when you book a table.
Charge the rate for the venue
The rate is the state rate plus every local, county and district tax at the show’s address. Texas is 6.25% plus up to 2% local, for 8.25% at most. Colorado’s 2.9% state rate is the lowest here, but some home-rule cities collect their own tax and need a separate city license and return, so check with the venue city. Tennessee applies local tax only to the first $1,600 of a single item and adds a 2.75% state single-article tax on the part from $1,600.01 to $3,200, which matters for slabs.
Tax on top or tax included
Most dealers price cards in round numbers. You have two options:
Tax on top. A $40 card at 8.25% becomes $40 + $3.30 = $43.30. Clean books, awkward change.
Tax included. The sticker price already holds the tax, so you work it out after the show:
tax inside = sales × rate ÷ (100 + rate)
You took $1,000 in sales at an 8.25% venue. Tax inside is $1,000 × 8.25 ÷ 108.25 = $76.21, and your taxable sales are $923.79. Check it: $923.79 × 8.25% = $76.21, and $923.79 + $76.21 = $1,000.00. The common mistake is to take 8.25% of $1,000 ($82.50), which overpays by $6.29. Post a sign at the table saying prices include tax, so buyers know what they are paying.
Resale certificates
A sales tax resale certificate lets you buy inventory tax-free because you will resell it: sealed hobby boxes from a distributor, a dealer’s case of singles, a collection bought for your bins. You give the certificate to the seller, who keeps it. Some people call the registration number on it a reseller tax ID.
It works the other way at your table. When another dealer buys cards to resell and hands you a valid certificate, you don’t charge them tax; keep the certificate with your show records. Without one, the sale is taxable. This exclusion for sales for resale is standard, but we did not re-check each state’s certificate rules, so use the form the venue’s state publishes.
A resale certificate is not a permit to sell. You still need the registration for the show.
Occasional-sale exemptions rarely fit
Many states exempt occasional sales, and those exemptions almost never fit a regular card show vendor:
- California’s example is up to two garage sales in 12 months; a third needs a permit.
- Texas excludes shows that charge a booth fee or commission and anyone who buys or trades items to resell.
- Minnesota’s exemption covers individuals at one event a year, three days at most, with $500 or less of sales.
- New York requires a Certificate of Authority even for one occasional sale at a show.
If you sell from your own personal collection once, check the state’s rule. If you rip product and sell the hits every month, you are a retailer.
Trades at the table
Trades are where card show tax gets murky. California and Texas treat barter as a sale taxed at the fair market value of what you receive, and a trade-in allowance does not reduce the taxable price. New York reduces the taxable receipt only when you take the traded card to resell, which usually fits a dealer. Illinois and Washington allow like-kind trade-in reductions; a card taken toward a card plausibly qualifies, but neither state confirms it. Record the value of every trade, which also matters for income tax, as explained in trading card trades records.
The 21 states at a glance
Base rates are the state rate only; add local tax for the venue. “Partly” means at least one key fact on that state page rests on search excerpts or older documents.
| State | Base rate | Permit or registration | Checked on agency page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 5.6% (TPT) | TPT license, unless the promoter runs a central register | Partly |
| California | 7.25% | Temporary seller’s permit, free | Yes |
| Colorado | 2.9% | Special Event License, $8 per event | Yes |
| Florida | 6% | Certificate of Registration (DR-11) | Partly |
| Georgia | 4% | Registration or Miscellaneous Sales Event form | Partly |
| Illinois | 6.25% | Form IDOR-6-SETR via the organizer | Yes |
| Indiana | 7% | Registered Retail Merchant Certificate, $25 | Yes |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | Vendor registration via MassTaxConnect | Partly |
| Michigan | 6% | Form 5089 for one or two events, license for more | Partly |
| Minnesota | 6.875% | Sales tax registration before the event | Yes |
| Missouri | 4.225% | Sales tax license (Form 2643S for individuals) | Yes |
| Nevada | 6.85% | One-Time return through the promoter | Yes |
| New Jersey | 6.625% | NJ-REG and Certificate of Authority | Yes |
| New York | 4% | Regular Certificate of Authority | Yes |
| North Carolina | 4.75% | Certificate of Registration | Yes |
| Ohio | 5.75% | Transient Vendor’s License | Partly |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | Sales tax license or Transient Vendor Certificate | Yes |
| Tennessee | 7% | Special event vendor registration | Partly |
| Texas | 6.25% | Sales and Use Tax Permit, free | Yes |
| Virginia | 5.3% (incl. 1% local) | Form ST-50 per event for a few events a year | Yes |
| Washington | 6.5% | Temporary Registration Certificate, free | Yes |
The National in Rosemont
The 2025 and 2026 National Sports Collectors Conventions were both held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, with the 2026 show running 29 July to 2 August, according to hobby press reports in Sports Collectors Digest. That put dealers under Illinois special-event rules: the organizer registers the event with IDOR, and vendors report on Form IDOR-6-SETR at the Rosemont rate. We could not confirm where the National goes from 2027.
Pullsheet’s Shows tab tracks sales, trades and tax by show, and the card show sales tax calculator has every state. For income tax on the same sales, see Whatnot taxes, which applies to show profit too.
This guide explains each state’s rules as published; it is not tax advice, so confirm with the state before your next show.