The Minnesota Department of Revenue offers a Sales Tax Application Program Interface (hereafter “Sales Tax API”) that provides sales tax rate information upon receipt of a nine-digit ZIP code. The Sales Tax API is used to find the general state and local sales tax rate for any location in Minnesota. The results do not include special local taxes—such as admissions, entertainment, liquor, lodging, and restaurant taxes—that may also apply. This document covers the terms of service and technical documentation pertaining to the Sales Tax API.
Registration and Limits
Subscriber and Registration
A subscriber is a person or organization registered with the department to gain access to the Sales Tax API.
To access the Sales Tax API as a subscriber, you must provide certain information (such as identification or contact details) as part of the registration process for the Sales Tax API, or as part of your continued use of the Sales Tax API. Any registration information you give to the department must always be accurate and kept up-to-date. You will inform us promptly of any updates.
Permitted Access
Once you have registered, the department will give you a subscriber ID and password. You may not share the subscriber ID with others outside your organization, nor may you package, distribute, or sell it to any other person or entity. Your subscriber ID is for you or your company to use in accordance with the transaction limit of 100 transaction per 15 minutes. The counter is reset every 15 minutes. After the reset, the system will respond to new requests.
Note to software distributors and developers: If you plan to distribute software with the Sales Tax API embedded, please be aware of the transaction limit set for each subscriber.
Service Terms
Any subscriber choosing to use the Sales Tax API should have the tools and staff available to support their process. The department does not provide training or implementation services related to the Sales Tax API.
Availability and Downtime
The Sales Tax API is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except during monthly system patching or downtime as part of application updates. Subscribers can sign up to receive email updates about alerts and details regarding downtime.
Modification
Modifications to Sales Tax API are available in the test region for 30 days before a production release with exception to urgent issues. Subscribers can sign up to receive email updates about changes.
The department may modify the terms or any portion of the terms; for example, to reflect changes to the law or changes to the Sales Tax API. You should look at the terms regularly. We'll post notice of modifications to the terms within the documentation of Sales Tax API through email. Changes will not apply retroactively and will become effective no sooner than 30 days after they are posted. But changes addressing new functions for the Sales Tax API or changes made for legal reasons will be effective immediately. If you do not agree to the modified terms for the Sales Tax API, you should discontinue your use of the Sales Tax API. Your continued use of the Sales Tax API constitutes your acceptance of the modified terms.
Customer Support
If you suspect a problem or have a question about the Sales Tax API, email Sales Tax Support at LocalGovernmentServices.mdor@state.mn.us.
Prohibitions
Sales Tax API Prohibitions
When using the Sales Tax APIs, you and those acting on your behalf may not:
- Sublicense a Sales Tax API for use by a third party. Consequently, you will not create a Sales Tax API client that functions substantially the same as the Sales Tax API and offer it for use by third parties.
- Perform an action with the intent of introducing to any viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses, malware, or any items of a destructive nature.
- Interfere with or disrupt the Sales Tax API or the servers or networks providing the Sales Tax API.
- Reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code from the Sales Tax API or any related software, except to the extent that this restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law.
Prohibitions on Content
Unless expressly permitted by applicable law, Sales Tax API subscribers or software developers and distributors working on your behalf are prohibited from doing the following with content returned from the Sales Tax APIs:
- Scrape, build databases, or create permanent copies of such content, or keep cached copies longer than permitted by the cache header.
- Copy, translate, modify, create a derivative work of, sell, lease, lend, convey, distribute, publicly display, or sublicense to any third party.
- Misrepresent the source or ownership.
Liability for the Sales Tax API
Warranties
Except as expressly set out in the terms, the Minnesota Department of Revenue does not make any specific promises about the Sales Tax API. For example, the department does not make any commitments about the content accessed through the Sales Tax API, or its reliability, availability, or ability to meet your needs. The department provides the Sales Tax API “as is.” Except as expressly provided for in the terms, to the extent permitted by law, the department excludes all warranties, guarantees, conditions, representations, and undertakings.
Limitation of Liability
To the extent permitted by law, the department will not be responsible for lost profits, revenues, or data; financial losses; or indirect, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages. In all cases, the department will not be liable for any expense, loss, or damage that is not reasonably foreseeable.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Minnesota Department of Revenue and its officers, directors, and employees from and against any and all third-party claims, including attorney’s fees, asserted against any or all of them, which third-party claims arise out of or relate to your use of the Sales Tax API in violation of this agreement to the extent caused by your intentional, willful, or negligent acts or omissions; or actions that give rise to strict liability; or breach of contract or warranty.
