Nevada tax tidbits: trade show taxes

In addition to being a prime vacation destination, Las Vegas hosts hundreds of conventions, conferences and trade shows each year.

The influx of visitors definitely helps out the Silver State's treasury, and officials are determined to get every possible cent from the visitors.

If you're a vendor attending an event, tradeshow or convention in Sin City or elsewhere in Nevada, state tax collectors want you to know that you need to contact the event promoter to get your "one-time permit" to sell in the state.

And that selling means collecting state sales tax.

These temporary sellers must turn over whatever sales tax collected — checks made payable to the Nevada Department of Taxation, please — to the promoter at the end of the event.  

Think you're off the tax hook because you'll just be giving away samples at the trade show? Think again. Some vendors may not be aware, say Nevada revenue officials, that its use tax is due on tangible personal property that is given without charge and has significant value.

Tangible personal property, as defined by Nevada statutes,  means "personal property which may be seen, weighed, measured, felt or touched, or which is in any other manner perceptible to the senses."

These sales tax rules just go to show that it's never smart to gamble on a state's tax laws.

Tax trip around the United States: This post is part of our series highlighting tax information from the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. You can read other state tax blurbs at our Complete menu of tasty state tax tidbits.

The State Tax Departments page provides links to official state and District of Columbia revenue Web sites so that you can find out more about your home's tax laws and filing requirements.

As we work through the 2010 tax season, a different state will be featured each day as noted in Don't forget your state taxes! Check back to see what tax tidbit we share about your home.

Related posts:

• State Tax Tidbits
• State Tax Departments
• Don't forget your state taxes!
• Illinois watercraft use tax
• State use taxes tend to be useless

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