Who collects Maine sales tax on dropshipped orders?

You do, as the retailer. Your dropshipper invoices you at wholesale; you invoice the customer at retail. Collection duty follows the retail transaction — that's you.

Will my dropshipper charge me Maine sales tax on the wholesale?

Only if your dropshipper has Maine nexus AND you can't provide a valid ME resale certificate. Obtain resale certificates for every state where your dropshipper operates.

Does dropshipping trigger economic nexus in Maine?

Yes, your retail revenue into Maine still counts toward the $100,000 threshold, independent of how fulfillment happens.

Can I use an out-of-state resale certificate for a dropshipper in Maine?

Usually yes — most states accept the Streamlined (SST form F0003) or MTC multijurisdiction resale certificate, so your ME dropshipper can take it instead of charging you tax on the wholesale invoice. But California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts reject an out-of-state certificate from the true retailer in a drop shipment and effectively require in-state registration (Florida also wants a transaction authorization number). Confirm Maine's current rule with its Department of Revenue. Verified 2026-06-27.

Maine Dropshipping Sales Tax Guide — 2026

Updated 2026-08-16

Reviewed by Nexus by State research team using official state tax sources. Last reviewed 2026-08-16.

Guide content last reviewed: 2026-08-16

A drop-shipped order into Maine carries two taxable relationships, not one: your sale to the customer and your supplier’s sale to you. This guide covers which of them Maine taxes in 2026, and whether the state accepts an out-of-state resale certificate for the other.

Dropshipping sales tax in Maine

As of June 2026, a Maine drop shipment is a three-party sale: you collect Maine sales tax from your customer on the retail price once your sales into the state pass $100,000, while your supplier charges you tax on the wholesale invoice only when it has Maine nexus and you can’t give it a valid resale certificate.

Dropshipping into Maine raises three distinct tax questions. First, you (the retailer) have to collect and remit Maine sales tax on your retail sales if you exceed $100,000. Second, your dropship supplier may charge YOU sales tax on the wholesale invoice if they have Maine nexus and you can't present a valid resale certificate. Third, the marketplace (if any) handles its own tax on facilitated transactions.

Maine applies 5.50% as the base state rate; no local add-ons apply.

Resale certificates: which document each state accepts

If you hold a Maine sales tax permit, you can usually issue your dropshipper a ME resale certificate so it does not charge you sales tax on the wholesale invoice.
No Maine permit yet? Two multistate forms cover most states: the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption (SST form F0003), honored by all 24 SST member states, and the MTC Uniform Sales & Use Tax Resale Certificate, accepted by roughly 36 states.
A handful of states reject an out-of-state resale certificate from the true retailer in a drop shipment and effectively require in-state registration or extra paperwork — notably California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Florida also requires the supplier to obtain a transaction authorization number before honoring an MTC certificate. In those states a home-state certificate alone may not protect your supplier, so confirm the rule with that state’s Department of Revenue.

Sources: MTC Uniform Sales & Use Tax Resale Certificate (multijurisdiction) and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. date_retrieved: 2026-06-27. State acceptance changes — verify with the relevant state DOR before relying on a multistate certificate.

Common dropshipping mistakes in Maine

Treating your dropshipper's nexus as if it obligates them to collect from the end customer — no, they invoice you at wholesale; you invoice the customer at retail. Only the retail transaction is subject to collection duty.
Forgetting that your retail revenue into Maine still counts toward the economic nexus threshold, independent of the dropshipping arrangement.
Not keeping resale certificates on file — your supplier will charge you tax (and you'll have already collected from the customer), eroding margin.

Maine nexus note

Maine sales tax nexus and economic nexus threshold: Maine’s remote-seller trigger is sales-only. Under 36 M.R.S. §1754-B(1-B)(B), a person must register and collect Maine sales tax if its gross sales from delivery of tangible personal property or taxable services into Maine "in the previous calendar year or current calendar year exceeds $100,000" — there is no transaction-count prong. Read the 200-transaction figure you will find elsewhere with care: it comes from two provisions Maine has repealed. 36 M.R.S. §1951-B ("Collection of tax by remote sellers"), which set the original "$100,000 or at least 200 separate transactions" test, is repealed (PL 2019, c. 401, Pt. B, §21; PL 2019, c. 441, §7), and §1754-B(1-A) ("Persons presumptively required to register"), which carried the transaction presumption, is repealed by PL 2021, c. 181, Pt. B, §4 — the same chapter that replaced paragraph (B) with the sales-only test (PL 2021, c. 181, Pt. B, §5). Two widely used references had not caught up when this record was verified on 2026-08-10: Maine Revenue Services’ own "Guidance for Remote Sellers" page still describes the repealed §1951-B test, and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board’s multistate remote-seller table still lists Maine at "$100,000 or at least 200 separate transactions." A small seller with many low-value Maine orders should not register on the transaction count alone. Marketplace facilitators are covered separately by §1754-B(1-B)(K): a facilitator registers once its Maine gross sales exceed $100,000, and that figure includes sales it facilitates for marketplace sellers as well as its own. Maine imposes a 5.5% state sales tax with no local sales tax. Maine Revised Statutes and Maine Revenue Services source data last retrieved 2026-08-10.

What to do next

Read the full Maine overview for thresholds, filing frequency, marketplace facilitator rules, and registration links. Use the nexus calculator to check whether you have crossed the threshold. For background on the post-Wayfair economic nexus framework, see the pillar guide.

Dropshipping sales tax in other states

Compare Maine's dropshipping rules with nearby and similar states' dropshipping sales tax guides:

Frequently asked questions

Who collects Maine sales tax on dropshipped orders?: You do, as the retailer. Your dropshipper invoices you at wholesale; you invoice the customer at retail. Collection duty follows the retail transaction — that's you.
Will my dropshipper charge me Maine sales tax on the wholesale?: Only if your dropshipper has Maine nexus AND you can't provide a valid ME resale certificate. Obtain resale certificates for every state where your dropshipper operates.
Does dropshipping trigger economic nexus in Maine?: Yes, your retail revenue into Maine still counts toward the $100,000 threshold, independent of how fulfillment happens.
Can I use an out-of-state resale certificate for a dropshipper in Maine?: Usually yes — most states accept the Streamlined (SST form F0003) or MTC multijurisdiction resale certificate, so your ME dropshipper can take it instead of charging you tax on the wholesale invoice. But California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts reject an out-of-state certificate from the true retailer in a drop shipment and effectively require in-state registration (Florida also wants a transaction authorization number). Confirm Maine's current rule with its Department of Revenue. Verified 2026-06-27.

Sources

date_retrieved: 2026-08-10