Get your tax IDs in North Dakota

An EIN, if you need one, comes from the IRS. North Dakota then adds a sales tax permit if you sell taxable goods, withholding if you have employees, and an unemployment account once you owe the tax. Income tax follows the federal classification of the business.

What’s different in North Dakota

• State sales tax is 5%, and groceries are not taxed. Cities and counties may add their own sales and use taxes, and the Tax Commissioner usually collects those taxes¹.
• There is no personal-property tax on ordinary business equipment and inventory. Personal property is exempt from property tax, except certain oil and gas refineries and utilities².
• An LLC does not pay North Dakota income tax on its own, unless federal tax treats it as a corporation. The owner’s return does.
• The income tax page still prints the 2025 tax year³ brackets. It does not print a 2026 table.*
• Unemployment tax for 2026 uses a $46,600⁸ wage base. The new-employer rate depends on construction and on whether the account balance is positive.

Do this

1. Get an EIN from the IRS if you need one. It is free and, if approved, issued immediately¹⁰ online. Don’t pay a website to apply for you. The IRS page is the one that says who needs a number.
2. If you sell taxable goods or certain services in North Dakota, apply for a sales tax permit. Sellers of taxable tangible personal property, admissions, and lodging must have one. Apply about 30 days before you open. A sales tax permit does not transfer when you buy a business¹. The application is in North Dakota Taxpayer Access Point (ND TAP)⁶ from the sales tax page. That page does not state a permit fee.* Check the screen before you submit.
3. Look up the place of the sale. The state piece is below. Cities and counties may add their own sales and use taxes, and the Tax Commissioner usually collects those taxes¹. The Tax Commissioner publishes a rate lookup. Use it for the city or county rate instead of guessing.
4. File sales tax on the schedule the permit assigns. The schedule is monthly, quarterly, or annual, set when you apply for the permit¹. Returns go through ND TAP. The sales tax page does not print one due date for every business.* Use the deadline on your account.
5. If you sell into North Dakota and you have no location here, read the remote-seller rule before you collect anything. Collection starts after $100,000 of taxable sales into the state in the current or previous calendar year. You then start the next calendar year, or 60 days after the threshold is met, whichever is earlier¹. You also collect the local tax.
6. Register for withholding when you pay wages for work in North Dakota. Withholding applies to wages for work in North Dakota that are subject to federal income tax withholding, and wages a North Dakota employer pays a resident working in another state unless that state requires withholding. Wages a farmer or rancher pays, and wages exempt from federal withholding, are not subject to North Dakota withholding. Employers file quarterly electronic Form 306 when last year's withholding was $1,000 or more, or when a payroll provider files the federal withholding electronically. The dollar test is $1,000 withheld in the previous calendar year. Form 306 is still filed when no wages were paid. An employer not required to file electronically can use the paper Form 306. The withholding page does not print a separate due schedule for paper filers.* Check ND TAP when you register. W-2s and North Dakota 1099s go in by January 31. Minnesota and Montana residents working in North Dakota can be exempt from North Dakota withholding. The employee gives you Form NDW-R⁶. The hiring guide covers the federal side.
7. Open an unemployment account when you are liable, and report new hires. Register within 20⁷ days after the first worker. The tests and the 2026 rates are below. New employees go to Health and Human Services within 20⁹ days. Workers’ compensation is a separate account: Stay compliant.

Rates and income tax

State sales and gross receipts tax, from the sales tax page:

• 5%¹ on most retail sales.
• 7%¹ on alcohol.
• 3%¹ on new farm machinery used only for agricultural production.
• 3%¹ on new mobile homes.

Groceries are not taxed, and neither are natural gas, electricity, or most professional services. Personal property is exempt from property tax, except certain oil and gas refineries and utilities².

A late sales return costs 5% of the tax or $5, whichever is more, for the first month a return is late. After that, another 5% each later month, up to 25% of the tax. Late payment is 5% of the unpaid tax or $5, whichever is more. Interest is 12% a year. Interest is not charged for the first month a return is filed late¹.

Individual income tax is due April 15. The rate page prints brackets for the 2025 tax year: 0% up to $48,475, 1.95% up to $244,825, and 2.50% above that if you file single, and 0% up to $80,975, 1.95% up to $298,075, and 2.50% above that if you file jointly. Married filing separately and head of household are on the same page. The page does not print 2026 brackets.* Check it again before you file for 2026. Estimated tax applies when you must pay federal estimated tax and you expect more than $1,000 of North Dakota net tax³. This page does not calculate your tax.

A C corporation files Form 40, due April 15 for a calendar year, or the 15th day of the fourth month after a fiscal year ends. The tax is 1.41% on North Dakota taxable income up to $25,000, then $352.50 plus 3.55% of the amount over $25,000 up to $50,000, then $1,240 plus 4.31% of the amount over $50,000. Those rates are unchanged since 2015. A corporation that elects the water's edge method pays an extra 3.5% surtax. Estimated payments apply when the tax is expected to be more than $5,000 this year, and was more than $5,000 last year⁴.

Partnerships, S corporations, and LLCs do not pay North Dakota income tax at the entity level². An LLC taxed as a partnership or S corporation for federal tax is treated the same way in North Dakota. A partnership files Form 58 by April 15. An S corporation files Form 60 by April 15. A nonresident owner’s year-end North Dakota share is withheld at 2.5%. A partnership, S corporation, or other pass-through entity with 10 or more owners must file and pay electronically⁵.

Unemployment

Liable at $1,500 in a quarter, or with one or more workers in 20 different weeks in a calendar year. Other tests cover farm work, domestic work, nonprofits, and a buyer of a business that already owes the tax. Reports are due the end of the month after each quarter⁷.

For 2026, the wage base is $46,600. A new non-construction employer pays 1.00% with a positive balance and 6.07% with a negative balance. A new construction employer pays 9.67% whether the balance is positive or negative. On the 2026 sheet, new employers are non-construction employers covered after June 30, 2024, and construction employers covered after June 30, 2023⁸. An employer moves to an experience rate the calendar year after it has six quarters of coverage before October, or ten quarters for construction⁷.

What you get back

An EIN if the IRS approves the application, a sales tax permit if you register, a withholding account if you have wages, and an unemployment account if you are liable.