Sales Tax in Nebraska: A Complete Guide for Ecommerce Sellers

Nebraska is an SST member state with a 5.5% state rate and city-only additions, counties do not levy sales tax in Nebraska. Combined rates top out at 7%–7.5% in Omaha and Lincoln. Nebraska’s rate structure is simpler than most states: identify whether the ship-to address is within a city that has adopted a local rate, and add that city rate. No county layer to track.

Quick reference

Economic nexus

Nebraska’s OR threshold: $100,000 in gross sales OR 200 or more separate transactions into Nebraska in the current or prior calendar year. Either condition alone triggers registration.

Nebraska enacted its economic nexus rules effective January 1, 2019.

Physical nexus

Physical presence in Nebraska creates nexus without any threshold:

• Warehouse, office, or storage facility in Nebraska
• Amazon FBA inventory in Nebraska fulfillment centers
• Employees, agents, or independent contractors in Nebraska
• Sales representatives in Nebraska

Registration

Nebraska is an SST member state. Register through a Certified Service Provider for simultaneous registration in Nebraska and all other SST states at no charge.

Sellers can also register directly with the Nebraska Department of Revenue through its Nebraska Taxpayer Access Point (tap.revenue.nebraska.gov). Registration is free.

Tax rates

State rate: 5.5%

City additions: Nebraska cities with populations over 10,000 may adopt a local option sales tax of up to 2%. Nebraska counties do not levy sales taxes.

Major city combined rates:

• Omaha: 5.5% state + 1.5% city = 7% combined
• Lincoln: 5.5% state + 1.75% city = 7.25% combined
• Bellevue: 5.5% + 1.5% = 7% combined
• Grand Island: 5.5% + 1.5% = 7% combined
• Kearney: 5.5% + 1.5% = 7% combined
• Rural areas with no city tax: 5.5% state rate only

What’s taxable

Generally taxable: Electronics, clothing, furniture, sporting goods, toys, most tangible personal property.

Generally exempt:

• Prescription medications
• Food for human consumption (groceries — Nebraska broadly exempts food for home consumption)
• Agricultural equipment and supplies
• Manufacturing equipment

Notable Nebraska rules:

• Clothing: Taxable in Nebraska, no clothing exemption
• Digital products: Nebraska taxes specified digital products, including downloaded software and digital audio/audiovisual works
• SaaS: Nebraska taxes remotely accessed software (SaaS) as a taxable service
• Food: Nebraska broadly exempts food for home consumption. Prepared food, candy, and soft drinks are taxable

Shipping taxability

Nebraska taxes delivery charges when the shipped goods are taxable. When all goods in a shipment are exempt, the delivery charge is also exempt.

Marketplace facilitator rules

Nebraska enacted marketplace facilitator legislation effective April 1, 2019. Qualifying marketplace facilitators collect and remit Nebraska sales tax on marketplace-facilitated sales.

Remote sellers with no Nebraska physical nexus whose only Nebraska sales are through marketplace facilitators may not need to separately register. Sellers with Nebraska physical nexus must register regardless.

State-specific notes

County-free rate structure: Nebraska counties do not levy sales tax, only the state and cities do. This simplifies rate lookup: determine if the delivery address is within a city that has adopted a local rate, and apply that city-plus-state combined rate. For rural addresses, only the 5.5% state rate applies.

SaaS taxable: Nebraska taxes remotely accessed software. Software and technology companies with Nebraska customers above the nexus threshold should confirm Nebraska collects on their product.

SST membership: Nebraska’s SST membership enables efficient multi-state registration for sellers with SST-state nexus.