Guidance on Maryland’s Multiple Points of Use Certificate for New “Tech Tax”

Long-awaited guidance on Maryland’s Multiple Points of Use (MPU) certificate is here. This is paramount for businesses that purchase or use digital, data, IT and cloud services both in Maryland and other states. The MPU certificate will help businesses minimize their tax liability under new state laws.

The MPU certificate originates from the new tax framework under the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act (BRFA) of 2025, effective July 1, 2025. This law expands Maryland’s sales tax to include various digital, data, IT and cloud services.

You can learn more about the BRFA changes by watching this webinar recording.

On June 30, the Comptroller of Maryland released Technical Bulletin No. 54, which explains how to administer the certificate for both sellers of services and buyers looking to use the certificate. The bulletin was released along with draft emergency regulations that were concurrently posted online by the Comptroller's office.

What Is the MPU Certificate?

For background, the MPU certificate is a tool Maryland introduced in draft regulations to provide a way for companies to apportion the use of data and IT services both in and outside of Maryland, so they are not unfairly taxed on services used outside of the state. It’s a certificate of exemption that a purchaser provides to the seller when the purchased services or digital goods will be used in and outside the state.

The certificate shows the state use apportionment of the service or license. It is provided to the seller of the data or IT services, which gives them authority to not charge the 3% data and IT sales tax on their bill. Instead, the buyer is required to pay and remit the use tax on the Maryland apportioned use of the services or licenses.

How Do Buyers Request a Certificate?

To request an MPU certificate a buyer must:

1. Register with the Comptroller of Maryland for a sales and use tax account.
   
   Go to mdtaxconnect.gov and complete a “Central Registration Application” and open an account for sales and use tax. It may take 7-10 days to receive your account number.
   
   
2. Make a request to enable yourself, as a buyer, to submit applications for MPU certificates.
   
   Email MPUrequest@marylandtaxes.gov and request that your account be enabled with the feature to submit these applications. Provide your business’s name and central registration number obtained in Step 1.
   
   

3. Submit a request to issue an MPU certificate.
   
   With the feature enabled, you should be able to submit the MPU certificates online at mdtaxconnect.gov. For every contract or sale that you want to apportion, you must submit a separate MPU certificate.
   
   Subscription payments are seen as a separate sale for each subscription payment; however, when you submit the MPU certificate for a subscription, ensure that “subscription” is indicated in the description of the service being purchased. This will allow the purchaser to use the same MPU certificate for the subscription until the apportionment of the subscription changes.
   
   

Note: If you incorrectly paid the digital data and IT tax on services that were used in other states, you can request a refund from Maryland by submitting a Form SUT 205 Sales and Use Tax Refund Application.

What Are the Seller’s Duties?

The seller’s duties in relation to an MPU certificate are as follows:

1. The seller must verify by the time of the sale that the purchaser has a valid MPU certificate. The seller can use mdtaxconnect.gov to search for the buyer’s combined registration number to determine whether a valid MPU certificate has been submitted.
2. The seller should not accept an MPU certificate if the seller knows that the services or product are not for digital or IT services.
3. The seller should not accept an MPU certificate if the seller knows that services or products being purchased will only be used in the state of Maryland.
4. The seller should retain a copy of the buyer’s MPU certificate for at least four years from the date of the sale.

Need Help?

If you need assistance with the MPU certificate or the BRFA tax laws, contact us online or call 800.899.4623.