States
North Dakota and the Streamlined Sales Tax program
Simplify Sales Tax. Last updated 2026-08-21. Sources last verified 2026-08-21.
North Dakota is a full member of the Streamlined Sales Tax program and has been since October 1, 2005, so if you register through the Streamlined Sales Tax Registration System (SSTRS) you file there under the program’s uniform rules. Some North Dakota cities and counties cap the local tax due on a single purchase, and a rate lookup won’t tell you when you’ve hit one.
Is North Dakota in the Streamlined Sales Tax program?
Yes, as a full member, effective October 1, 2005. North Dakota is one of all 24 member states in the Streamlined Sales Tax program.
Table: North Dakota in the Streamlined Sales Tax program. Checked August 21, 2026.
| Item | North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Membership status | Full member |
| Participating since | October 1, 2005 |
| Tax authority | North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, which publishes the city and county tax detail alongside the state rules |
| Local taxes | City and county sales and use taxes apply on top of the state tax, and cities and counties may levy special taxes on lodging, on lodging and restaurant sales, and on motor vehicle rentals |
| State’s own SST page | None published |
| Maximum local tax per purchase | Certain cities and counties set a ceiling on the local tax due on one purchase |
| Refund of local tax above a city or county ceiling | Buyers can request a refund from the state within three years of the purchase |
What SST membership changes for a seller collecting tax in North Dakota
North Dakota comes with the other member states when you register once, on how to register through the SSTRS. It uses the program’s shared definitions and sourcing rules, so one system files there. Selecting it starts an obligation, on what your ongoing obligations are after registering, and whether you qualify to have that work paid for is a separate test, on whether you qualify for free CSP services.
What is specific to North Dakota
Two things.
Local tax collected above a per-purchase ceiling comes back to the buyer, not through your return. The buyer claims that money back from the state, within three years of the purchase. Certain North Dakota cities and counties cap the local tax due on one purchase, so an over-collection on a large invoice becomes your customer’s claim to file, and it’s your question to answer. The jurisdictions, the amounts, and whether you charge to the ceiling or collect through it are on North Dakota local city and county taxes. Check it before a big invoice ships. Your own purchases into the state work the same way, so somebody on your side has to own that claim.
Lodging, restaurant, and vehicle rental lines each need their own tax code. North Dakota cities and counties may charge a lodging tax, a combined lodging and restaurant tax, and a motor vehicle rental tax, and those aren’t folded into the general local rate that resolves for a street address. So the change lands in your item setup rather than your rate table: a room night, a restaurant meal, and a rental car have to be distinguishable to whatever prices the order, because each of those taxes gets stated separately on the invoice. An address on its own can’t tell the office which of the three you sold.
None of that goes away because North Dakota is a member state. What the program changed here, from October 1, 2005, was the definitions North Dakota taxes against and the registration that gets you in; what it never reached is anything a city or county levies, which is where the per-purchase ceilings, the buyer’s refund route, and the lodging, restaurant, and vehicle rental taxes all sit. The office still sets your filing calendar and still publishes the local detail you have to read. None of the program reaches the states outside it either, so wherever else you file, you file on that state’s terms.
Where to register and where to find current rates
Register through the SSTRS and select North Dakota. The state rate, the city and county detail, the ceilings, the refund process, and the forms are on North Dakota sales and use tax. There’s no separate page here for the department’s own account of its participation. What the office publishes about the program sits inside that same sales and use tax page.
We don’t publish a North Dakota rate or a filing date here on purpose: a number that changes belongs with the department that changes it.