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Michigan Department of Treasury 
3421 (Rev. 01-20) 

Sales Tax Return for Special Events 
Issued under authority of Public Act 167 of 1933 and P.A. 122 of 1941, as amended. Filing is mandatory. 

Generally, retail sales of food, drink, auction items and other items made by an organization during a fundraising event 
are subject to Michigan sales tax. Michigan’s General Sales Tax Act (MCL 205.52(1)) provides that anyone making retail 
sales  is  subject  to  a  6  percent  sales  tax  on  gross  proceeds.  The  act  specifically  includes  nonprofit  organizations  as 
subject to the tax. However, see the Special Rules for Nonprofit Organizations on page 2 of this form. 
Generally, a sales tax license is required if an organization has more than two fundraising events in one calendar year.                                                                    
To  register  for  a  sales  tax  license,  visit  the  New  Business  Registration  page  at                                                    www.michigan.gov/bustax  or  call 
517-636-6925. Persons currently holding a sales tax license must pay the tax with their current sales tax return and not 
with this  form.  Write  the  sales  tax  license  number  in  the  space  provided  in  Part  1  of  this  form.  If  a  person  does  not 
have a sales tax license, use this form to report and pay the sales tax due from an event.
A person/organization holding an event at which food, drink, or other property is sold must submit this return, even if no 
sales tax is due. If no tax is due, complete only Part 1 and include an explanation of why no tax is due. This return and 
payment are due 30 days after the fundraising event. Make checks payable to “State of Michigan.” 
Mail the return and payment to: 
     Michigan Department of Treasury 
     Discovery & Tax Enforcement Division 
     PO Box 30140 
     Lansing MI 48909 

Direct questions to the Discovery & Tax Enforcement Division, 517-636-4120. 
PART  1:  ORGANIZATION  INFORMATION 
Organization Name                                                           Telephone Number                                                              Nonprofit, IRS Organization Code 

Street Address                                        City                                                                                          State      ZIP Code 

Temporary Liquor License Number            Federal Employer ID Number (If applicable) Sales Tax License Number (If applicable) 

Event Description                                     Event Location (City)                                                                         Event Date 

PART  2:  SALES  TAX  CALCULATION 

1. Gross Sales. Enter your total gross sales from this event ................................................................                    1. 

2. Enter your total sales of exempt items (prepackaged foods, cans of soda, bottled water, etc.)  ......                                         2. 

3. Subtract line 2 from line 1 ................................................................................................................. 3. 

4. If tax is included in gross sales from line 1, divide line 3 by 17.6667 ...............................................                       4. 

5. Taxable Sales. Subtract line 4 from line 3 ........................................................................................           5. 

6.   Sales Tax Due. Multiply line 5 by 6% (0.06) Pay this amount  .........................................................                      6. 

PART 3:  CERTIFICATION 
Authorized Signature                                                                  Date 

Authorized Signer’s Name                                                              Title 

See page 2 of this form for instructions. 

3421, Page 2 

   SALES TAX  GENERAL  GUIDELINES  FOR SPECIAL  EVENTS,  MAJOR CATEGORIES 
             PREPARED  FOOD               ALCOHOLIC  BEVERAGES                     CONCESSIONS 
•  If purchased from a caterer or      •  If sales tax is paid to a supplier    •  Food sold at concessions at 
   other preparer and sales tax is        and there is no separate or              special events and entertainment  
   paid on that purchase, there is no     additional charge to attendees for       facilities (including, but not limited 
   further tax obligation on the food.    alcohol at the event (such as an         to, theaters, fairs, recreation 
•  If purchased from a caterer or         “open bar”), then no tax is due on       centers, athletic events, parks and 
   other preparer under a resale          the alcohol provided at the event.       zoos) that is “prepared food”*** 
   exemption,* the organization        •  If there is a “cash bar” or any          is taxable. This includes, for 
   must pay the sales tax for its         separate or additional charge for        example, popcorn or nuts sold 
   sale of food. If sold separately,      alcohol, sales tax is due on the         hot, sandwiches made by the 
   tax is based on the selling price.     selling price. If sales tax was paid     seller, soda pop in a cup, a dish of 
   If included in the donation/           to the supplier, the nonprofit may       ice cream with a spoon provided 
   admission fee, tax is based on         request a refund from that supplier      by the seller, a slice of pizza sold 
   the fair market value (FMV) of the     under a resale exemption or              hot, or a hot dog heated by the 
   food sold.                             from Treasury using Form 5633.           seller. 
•  If prepared by members of the          A credit cannot be taken on a         •  Food sold at such concessions 
   organization or donated, the           sales tax return (if the nonprofit is    that is not “prepared food” is 
   organization must pay sales tax        registered) for the tax paid to the      not taxable. This includes, for 
   based on the FMV of the food           supplier.                                example, fresh fruit, prepackaged 
   sold.                               •  If sales tax was not paid for the        items (e.g., candy bars, chips, 
•  FMV is the price of admission          organization’s purchase of alcohol       nuts, or cans or bottles of soda 
   or a donation paid to attend the       and the alcohol is included in           pop) not heated by the seller 
   event, or, if that amount exceeds      the donation/admission fee, use          and sold without eating utensils 
   the FMV, the cost to purchase and      tax is due on the organization’s         provided by the seller, and 
   prepare the food.**                    purchase price. If the alcohol was       cookies, doughnuts or muffins 
                                          donated, use its FMV.                    sold without eating utensils.**** 

* The organization needs to furnish to the caterer or other supplier an exemption claim and a sales tax license number, if the 
organization has one, to qualify for a resale exemption. 
** The Michigan Department of Treasury may use any other reasonable method to determine the appropriate fair market value 
of the prepared food. 
*** “Prepared food” is defined in MCL 205.54g and further explained in Michigan Administrative Code Rule 86 (MAC R 205.136). 
**** If eating utensils are “provided by the seller,” the item is taxable. Eating utensils include knives, forks, spoons, glasses, 
cups, napkins, straws, or plates. They do not include a container or packaging used to transport food. For a seller with a 
prepared  food  sales  percentage  greater  than  75  percent,  eating  utensils  are  “provided  by  the  seller”  when  the  utensils  are  made  
available to purchasers and the utensils would not necessarily have to be handed to the customer by the seller. R 205.136. 
More information can be found at www.michigan.gov/taxes. 

Special Rules for Nonprofit Organizations 
2018 P.A. 249 exempts the first $10,000 of sales at retail made by an organization exempt from federal income tax under 
IRC 501(c)(3) or (4) or that has an exemption letter ruling from the Michigan Department of Treasury issued prior to 1998, if 
the organization has aggregate annual sales less than $25,000. 
Sales  at  retail  at  a  fundraising  event  for  the  benefit  of  an  active  duty  service  member  or  veteran,  made  by  a  veterans’ 
organization exempt from federal income tax under IRC 501(c)(19), are exempt from sales tax.  This exemption is limited to 
$25,000 per event. 
CAUTION:     Any sales tax collected by a nonprofit organization must be remitted to Treasury (or returned to the customer) 
even if collected for exempt sales and the entity has aggregate retail sales for the calendar year fit the above criteria. 

Auctioned Items 
A  sale  at  auction  by  a  nonprofit  is  subject  to  sales  tax  based  on  the  sales  price  of  the  property.  However,  a  nonprofit 
organization exempt from federal income tax under IRC 501(c)(3) or (4) that paid sales tax on an item auctioned at a price in 
excess of its fair market value may seek a refund or claim a credit (reduce the tax for that item) equal to 6% of that portion 
of the sales price that exceeded the item’s fair market value. If the nonprofit collected sales tax from the purchaser, it must 
demonstrate to Treasury that it refunded the sales tax to the purchaser prior to claiming a refund or credit for the tax.  The 
nonprofit organization must also obtain and retain in its records a certification of the fair market value of the auctioned item, 
supplied by the donor.