Print-on-Demand Resale Certificate Guide: Stop Paying Tax on Every Printify and Printful Order

There are over 228,000 print-on-demand stores operating in the United States. The vast majority of them are paying sales tax on every single order their POD provider fulfills. They do not have to be.

When Printify, Printful, or Gelato produces a t-shirt, mug, or poster for you, that production cost is a wholesale purchase. You are buying a product to resell to your customer. That transaction qualifies for sales tax exemption, just like any other wholesale purchase. All you need is a resale certificate on file with your provider.

Most POD sellers never set this up. The ones who do save hundreds or thousands of dollars per year.

Print on Demand

How Sales Tax Works in Print-on-Demand

The Two Tax Events

Every POD transaction involves two separate tax events:

Event 1: You buy from the POD provider (production cost) This is a wholesale purchase. You are buying a product that you will resell to your end customer. With a resale certificate on file, this purchase is tax-exempt.

Event 2: Your customer buys from you (retail price) This is a retail sale. Sales tax applies based on the customer's shipping address and your nexus. Your Shopify, Etsy, or marketplace platform handles collection.

Without a resale certificate, you pay sales tax on Event 1 AND your customer pays sales tax on Event 2. That is double taxation on the same product, which is exactly what resale certificates are designed to prevent.

The Money You Are Losing

Let's work through a concrete example.

Scenario: You sell custom t-shirts. Your Printify production cost is $15 per shirt. You are in a state with 7% sales tax. You sell 500 shirts per month.

At 500 shirts per month, you are handing $6,300 per year to the state unnecessarily. Scale that to 1,000 units per month and the number doubles to $12,600. For a POD business with tight margins (typical net margins run 15-25%), this is the difference between a healthy business and one that barely breaks even.

Which POD Providers Accept Resale Certificates?

All major POD providers accept resale certificates. Here is how each one handles the process.

Printify

Printify is the largest POD platform by store count. They work with a network of print providers, and tax exemption applies to orders fulfilled through their system.

How to submit your certificate to Printify:

1. Log in to your Printify account
2. Go to My Account (click your profile icon)
3. Navigate to Tax settings or Tax exemption
4. Select the states where you have a valid resale certificate
5. Upload a clear scan or photo of your certificate for each state
6. Enter your sales tax ID number
7. Submit for review

Processing time: Printify typically processes exemptions within 3-5 business days. Once approved, production charges for orders shipped to those states will no longer include sales tax.

Important note: Because Printify uses multiple print providers across different states, the state that matters is often where the print provider is located, not where your customer is. Submit certificates for as many states as possible to maximize your savings.

Printful

Printful operates its own fulfillment centers (they do not use a third-party network like Printify). Their main facilities are in California, North Carolina, Texas, and several other states.

How to submit your certificate to Printful:

1. Log in to your Printful dashboard
2. Go to Settings in the left sidebar
3. Click on Tax settings
4. Select Add tax exemption
5. Choose the state and exemption type (resale)
6. Upload your resale certificate
7. Enter your tax ID and business details
8. Submit for review

Processing time: Printful reviews exemptions within 2-5 business days. You will receive an email confirmation when approved.

Which states matter most for Printful: Since Printful owns its fulfillment centers, focus on submitting certificates for states where their facilities are located:

• California (Los Angeles area)
• North Carolina (Charlotte area)
• Texas (Dallas area)
• Minnesota (headquarters)
• Any additional states they expand into

If your orders are produced in California and you have a California resale certificate on file, those orders ship to you (or your customer) without sales tax applied to the production cost.

Gelato

Gelato operates a global network of print partners. For US orders, they work with domestic facilities across multiple states.

How to submit your certificate to Gelato:

1. Log in to your Gelato dashboard
2. Navigate to Account settings
3. Find the Tax information or Tax exemption section
4. Upload your resale certificate
5. Enter your business and tax ID information
6. Submit for processing

Processing time: Typically 3-7 business days.

Other POD Providers

If your POD provider is not listed, contact their support team. Almost every provider has a process for resale certificate submission.

Which States Does This Work In?

The Short Answer

Your resale certificate exempts production charges in states where:

1. You have a valid resale certificate, AND
2. The print facility (or the POD provider's tax nexus) is in that state

States Where This Has the Biggest Impact

These states have the highest combined sales tax rates, meaning the savings per unit are largest:

If your POD provider fulfills orders from a facility in California or Texas, and you do not have a certificate on file, you are paying over a dollar in unnecessary tax on every unit.

States With No Sales Tax

Five states have no state sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. If your POD provider happens to fulfill orders from a facility in one of these states, no sales tax is charged on production regardless of your certificate status.

Step-by-Step: Getting Your Certificate and Submitting It

Step 1: Register Your Business

If you have not already, register your business with your state. An LLC or sole proprietorship both work. You need a legal business entity to obtain a resale certificate.

Step 2: Apply for a Sales Tax Permit

Contact your state's department of revenue (or equivalent agency) and apply for a sales tax permit. In most states, the resale certificate is issued alongside or as part of this permit.

Apply for Your Resale Certificate

Step 3: Gather Your Documents

Before submitting to your POD provider, have these ready:

Step 4: Submit to Each POD Provider

If you use multiple POD providers (many sellers use both Printify and Printful for different products), submit your certificate to each one separately. The certificate only applies to the providers that have it on file.

Step 5: Verify It Is Working

After your certificate is approved:

1. Place a small test order
2. Check the invoice or order details
3. Confirm that sales tax is no longer being charged on production
4. If tax still appears, contact the provider's support team

Step 6: Submit for Multiple States

Your home state certificate is a good start, but for maximum savings, obtain and submit certificates for every state where your POD providers have fulfillment facilities. Some states accept out-of-state certificates; others require in-state registration.

States that typically require in-state registration:

• California
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Washington

Beyond Production Costs: Other Tax Considerations for POD Sellers

Sales Tax Collection on Your Store

Your resale certificate handles the purchasing side. On the selling side, you need to collect sales tax from customers in states where you have nexus.

If you sell on marketplaces:

• Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and similar platforms collect and remit sales tax as marketplace facilitators
• You do not need to handle collection for those channels

If you sell on your own Shopify store:

• You are responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax
• Shopify has built-in tax calculation tools
• You need to register in states where you have nexus

Economic Nexus for POD Sellers

Even though you never touch inventory, you can still trigger economic nexus. If your total sales into a state exceed $100,000 (or 200 transactions in some states), you have an obligation to register and collect there.

Income Tax

Sales tax exemption on production costs is separate from income tax. All profit from your POD business is reportable on your federal and state income tax returns. The tax you save on production goes to your bottom line, which means slightly higher income tax. But the net benefit is overwhelmingly positive.

Common POD Seller Tax Mistakes

Mistake 1: Never Submitting a Certificate

This is by far the most common mistake. Sellers set up their Printify or Printful store, start selling, and never think about the sales tax being charged on every production order. Over months and years, the wasted money accumulates.

Mistake 2: Submitting for Only One State

If your POD provider has facilities in five states and you only submit a certificate for your home state, you are only exempt on orders fulfilled from your home state. Submit certificates for every relevant state.

Mistake 3: Using the Certificate for Personal Orders

If you order a shirt for yourself, that is personal use, not resale. Do not claim tax exemption on items you keep. Order personal items through a separate, non-exempt account.

Mistake 4: Forgetting to Renew

Some states have expiration dates on resale certificates. If your certificate expires and you do not renew it, your POD provider will start charging tax again. Set a calendar reminder to check your certificates annually.

Mistake 5: Not Collecting Sales Tax on Your Own Store

Your resale certificate exempts your purchases. It does not exempt your customers from paying sales tax. If you run a Shopify store, you still need to collect tax on sales to states where you have nexus.

Calculating Your Potential Savings

Use this formula to estimate your annual savings:

Monthly units sold x Average production cost x Average tax rate x 12 = Annual savings

Even at 100 units per month, you save over $1,000 per year. That covers the cost of getting your business properly registered many times over.

Getting Started Checklist

1. Register your business with your state (if not already done)
2. Apply for a sales tax permit and resale certificate
3. Identify which states your POD providers fulfill from
4. Submit your certificate to Printify, Printful, Gelato, or whichever providers you use
5. Submit certificates for multiple states to maximize coverage
6. Place a test order to verify tax exemption is active
7. Set calendar reminders to check certificate expiration dates
8. Track your savings to quantify the impact

Stop paying unnecessary sales tax on your print-on-demand production costs. The setup takes less than an hour, and the savings continue on every order for as long as you are in business.

Get Your Resale Certificate

Questions about print-on-demand tax compliance? Contact us for help.

Related Articles

• Resale Certificate for Shopify Store Owners
• Dropshipping and Resale Certificates
• How to Calculate Sales Tax for E-Commerce