Who qualified for Nebraska's temporary 2019 penalty-and-interest waiver for remote-seller sales-tax noncompliance?

Plain-English summary

Nebraska offered a temporary waiver of penalty and interest to certain remote sellers and multivendor marketplace platforms that had not complied with the state's new economic-nexus rules. To receive it, they had to complete every required step by January 20, 2020. That deadline has passed.

Who could qualify

The seller or platform could not have been engaged in business in Nebraska before April 1, 2019 and could not be physically present in the state. It had to cross one of the statutory thresholds during 2018 or 2019 and still be out of compliance with LB 284.

The thresholds were more than $100,000 in gross Nebraska retail sales or at least 200 separate Nebraska retail transactions in the prior or current calendar year. Sales through a marketplace counted.

Steps required by January 20, 2020

The remote seller or platform had to:

1. Obtain a Nebraska sales-tax permit using Form 20.
2. Report and remit all Nebraska and local sales tax due since April 1, 2019.
3. Submit Form 21 for penalty abatement and Form 21A for interest abatement, writing a reference to this GIL across the top of both forms.

Failure to meet the deadline meant penalties and interest applied for all periods back to April 1, 2019. Otherwise-eligible sellers that had already registered and paid penalty or interest could also seek the relief by following the requirements.

Common questions

Q: Is this waiver still available?

A: No. The stated deadline was January 20, 2020.

Q: Did it apply to a seller physically present in Nebraska?

A: No. The GIL expressly excluded physically present sellers.

Q: Did the seller still have to pay the underlying sales tax?

A: Yes. All state and local tax due since April 1, 2019 had to be reported and remitted.

Q: What happened if one required step was late?

A: The seller or platform was subject to penalty and interest for periods dating back to April 1, 2019.

Citations and references

• South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018)
• Laws 2019, LB 284 — Nebraska remote-seller and marketplace requirements
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2701.13(2)-(3) — economic-nexus thresholds
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2705(3)(c) — collection start after crossing a threshold
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2711(15) — penalty and interest waiver authority
• Nebraska GIL 1-19-2 — temporary compliance relief ending January 20, 2020

Source

• Landing page: https://revenue.nebraska.gov/about/legal-information/general-information-letters-gils
• Original PDF: https://revenue.nebraska.gov/sites/revenue.nebraska.gov/files/doc/legal/gil/GIL01-19-2_Remote_Sellers.pdf

Original ruling text

GIL 1-19-2 Sales and Use Tax: Temporary Penalty and Interest Relief for
Certain Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators
This guidance document is advisory in nature but is binding on the Nebraska Department of Revenue
(DOR) until amended. A guidance document does not include internal procedural documents that
only affect the internal operations of DOR and does not impose additional requirements or penalties
on regulated parties or include confidential information or rules and regulations made in accordance
with the Administrative Procedure Act. If you believe that this guidance document imposes additional
requirements or penalties on regulated parties, you may request a review of the document.
This guidance document may change with updated information or added examples. DOR recommends
you do not print this document. Instead, sign up for the subscription service at revenue.nebraska.gov
to get updates on your topics of interest.

November 8, 2019

Dear XXXX,
Guidance has been requested about whether DOR would provide interest and penalty relief to remote
sellers that were required to, but have not yet complied with LB 284 (2019). Because of the nature of
the inquiry, we are providing this General Information Letter (GIL) in response.
GILs address general questions; provide analysis of issues; and direct taxpayers to the Nebraska
statutes, DOR regulations, revenue rulings, or other sources of information to help answer a question.
A GIL is a statement of current DOR policy, and taxpayers may rely on DOR to follow the principles or
procedures described in a GIL until it is rescinded or superseded. You may also find current regulations,
revenue rulings, information guides, taxpayer rulings, and other GILs that may be helpful to you at
revenue.nebraska.gov.
On June 21, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.,
138 S. Ct. 2080 (2018). Before Wayfair, Nebraska could not require a retailer without a physical
presence in Nebraska to collect sales tax on sales delivered or sourced to a Nebraska address. After
Wayfair and the later passage of LB 284 (2019), many remote sellers now have a sales tax collection
responsibility in Nebraska. For purposes of this GIL, and the penalty and interest relief that it grants,
a remote seller is a seller that was not engaged in business in Nebraska as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat.
§ 77-2701.13 prior to the enactment of LB 284.
Operative April 1, 2019, LB 284 requires remote sellers to obtain a sales tax permit and collect Nebraska
and local sales taxes on sales delivered or sourced to a Nebraska address, provided the remote seller
meets one of the following thresholds:
•

The remote seller made more than $100,000 in gross Nebraska retail sales, including sales
through a marketplace facilitator or Multivendor Marketplace Platform (MMP), in the prior or
current calendar year; or

•

The remote seller made 200 or more separate retail sales transactions in Nebraska, including
sales made through an MMP, in the prior or current calendar year.

See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2701.13(2)-(3). An MMP is a website or service where customers can buy
goods or services from many different vendors. The same requirements and thresholds apply to MMPs.

GIL 1-19-2

Page 2 of 2

On July 11, 2019, DOR issued the following guidance to assist remote sellers in complying with LB 284:
•

Remote sellers who were engaged in business in Nebraska prior to the passage of LB 284
who met either threshold were required to obtain a sales tax permit immediately, and to begin
collecting and remitting sales tax on sales delivered or sourced to a Nebraska address effective
January 1, 2019. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions.

•

Remote sellers that exceeded either threshold during 2018 or by the end of February 2019,
were required to obtain a sales tax permit and begin collecting sales tax on April 1, 2019. See
the Notice for Remote Sellers and Marketplace Facilitators.

•

Remote sellers that exceeded either threshold after the end of February 2019 were required
to obtain a sales tax permit and begin collecting and remitting sales tax on or before the
first day of the second calendar month after the threshold was exceeded. See Neb. Rev. Stat.
§ 77‑2705(3)(c).

DOR acknowledges many other states have also passed laws similar to LB 284 that became operative
after Wayfair. Moreover, DOR also acknowledges that remote sellers and MMPs may have faced
difficulty in timely complying with all of these laws.
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-2711(15), the Tax Commissioner has discretion to waive penalties and
interest imposed on unpaid sales tax. Subject to the following requirements, the Tax Commissioner
has decided to grant a temporary penalty and interest waiver to remote sellers and MMPs that were not
engaged in business prior to April 1, 2019; met one of the thresholds during 2018 or 2019; and have not
yet complied with the requirements of LB 284. This relief does not apply to sellers who are physically
present in Nebraska.
To qualify for the temporary penalty and interest waiver, the remote seller or MMP must, by
January 20, 2020: (1) obtain a sales tax permit, Nebraska Tax Application, Form 20; (2) report and
remit all sales tax and local sales tax due since April 1, 2019; and (3) submit a Request for Abatement
of Penalty, Form 21, and a Request for Abatement of Interest, Form 21A, with a reference to this GIL
written across the top of both forms. Remote sellers and MMPs that fail to meet the January 20, 2020
deadline will be assessed penalties and interest for all periods dating back to and including April 1,
2019. Remote sellers and MMPs who would otherwise be eligible for this relief, but who have already
obtained a permit and paid penalty or interest for late periods since April 1, 2019, are also eligible for
this relief by complying with these requirements.
Remote sellers that are unsure if they may have been engaged in business as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat.
§ 77-2701.13 prior to the enactment of LB 284 (2019), may contact DOR at 402‑471‑5418 to determine
if they are eligible for the relief as provided by this GIL or by a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement.
For the Tax Commissioner

George Kilpatrick
Manager, Policy Section
Nebraska Department of Revenue