An extension to file is not an extension to pay tax.
State sales and use tax works differently from income tax, and that difference is exactly why extensions are uncommon: sales tax is a trust-fund tax. The seller collects it from the customer at the time of sale and holds it for the state - it was never the seller's own money in the first place. Every one of the 45 sales-tax-imposing states plus DC was checked this session against a live primary source. Most report no general extension mechanism; 13 jurisdictions grant one, almost always short, discretionary, request-based, and filing-only (it rarely extends the payment date).
| State | Extension available? | Detail | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No provision located | The Department's extension FAQ addresses only the individual income tax automatic six-month extension (to October 15); it makes no mention of sales tax. | Alabama Department of Revenue, Extension FAQ |
| Arizona | No provision located | Arizona's late-filing and extensions guidance addresses individual income tax (Form 204) only; no TPT (transaction privilege/sales tax) extension provision was found. | Arizona Department of Revenue, Making Payments, Late Payments, and Filing Extensions |
| Arkansas | Yes - general authority | The Secretary of DFA may grant a reasonable extension of time to file "any return required under any state tax law," capped at 180 days except for corporate income tax. The statute is not sales-tax-specific, but its own text extends to every state tax return, sales tax included. | Ark. Code Ann. §26-18-505 |
| California | No general extension | CDTFA states a filing is required by the due date "even if there are no sales to report"; only a weekend/holiday due-date shift is automatic. A discretionary "Request an Extension or Relief" service exists for hardship cases, not as a standing right. | CDTFA, Filing Dates for Sales & Use Tax Returns |
| Colorado | No provision located | Colorado's sales tax filing-information page states fixed due dates with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension provision was found. | Colorado Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Filing Information |
| Connecticut | No provision located | DRS's extension guidance describes Form CT-1040 EXT for individual income tax only; the sales and use tax section (Form OS-114) gives filing instructions with no mention of a due date extension. | Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, Revenue Topic - Sales and Use Tax |
| Florida | No provision located for sales tax specifically | Florida does have an extension regulation, but it governs the corporate income/franchise tax and partnership information return only, not the sales tax return. | Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 12C-1.0222 (corporate income tax, not sales tax) |
| Georgia | No provision located | Georgia's extension-request page (Form IT-303) covers income tax only; it makes no mention of sales tax. | Georgia Department of Revenue, Requesting an Extension |
| Hawaii | Yes | Form GEW-TA-RV-6 grants a 3-month extension to file the general excise/use tax annual return, renewable once for a maximum of 6 months. Filing only, not payment - the form states directly "this extension of time to file is not an extension of time to pay." A valid, compelling reason (e.g. hospitalization) is required, and all periodic returns and payments for the year must already be filed and paid for the extension to remain valid. | Hawaii Department of Taxation, Form GEW-TA-RV-6 |
| Idaho | No provision located | The State Tax Commission's sales tax filing page states fixed due dates by filing frequency (monthly, quarterly, semiannual, annual) with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension provision was found. | Idaho State Tax Commission, Sales Tax: Filing and Paying |
| Illinois | No provision located | The ST-1 instructions state the return and payment are due "on or before the 20th day of the month following the end of your reporting period," with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension provision is mentioned. | Illinois Department of Revenue, Form ST-1 Instructions |
| Indiana | No provision located | Indiana's extension guidance (Form IT-9) is for individual income tax only; no sales tax extension provision was found. | Indiana Department of Revenue guidance |
| Iowa | No provision located | The Department's filing-frequency and due-date guidance gives only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no sales tax extension provision was found. | Iowa Department of Revenue, Filing Frequency & Return Due Dates |
| Kansas | Yes | A permanent extension of not more than 60 days may be granted by the Director of Taxation, for good cause, for filing sales or compensating use tax returns and for payment of the tax due, on written request explaining why an accurate return cannot reasonably be filed on time. The extension may be conditioned on the taxpayer accepting a payment plan for additional interest. | Kan. Admin. Regs. §92-19-33 |
| Kentucky | No provision located | The Department's Sales & Use Tax page covers the 6% rate, required forms, and payment methods, with no mention of a filing extension or a stated due-date accommodation beyond the standard monthly/quarterly schedule. | Kentucky Department of Revenue, Sales & Use Tax |
| Louisiana | Yes | On written request made on or before the due date, the Secretary may grant an extension of up to 30 days from the due date of the sales tax return. Interest still accrues on tax paid after the original due date even if the extension is granted. | La. Rev. Stat. §47:306(A)(4) |
| Maine | Yes | Retailers may apply to the State Tax Assessor to extend the due date for filing a sales and use tax return by 30 days, for good cause. | Maine Revenue Services, Rule 304 |
| Maryland | No provision located | Business Tax Tip #22 states the return is "due on the 20th day of the month following the month in which the period ends," with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension provision is discussed. | Comptroller of Maryland, Business Tax Tip #22 |
| Massachusetts | No provision located | The state's "Tax Due Dates and Extensions" page details extension procedures for income, fiduciary, partnership, corporate, estate, and financial institution returns, but sales and use tax (Form ST-9) is listed only with its original due dates - annually, quarterly, or monthly depending on filer volume - with no extension provision. | Mass.gov, Tax Due Dates and Extensions |
| Michigan | No provision located | Michigan's Form 4 (Application for Extension of Time to File Michigan Tax Returns) expressly covers only individual income tax, fiduciary tax, composite income tax, corporate income tax, and the Michigan Business Tax; sales, use, and withholding (SUW) tax is not among the checkbox categories on the form, and no separate SUW extension provision was found. | Michigan Department of Treasury, Form 4 Instructions |
| Minnesota | No provision located | The Department's "Filing After the Due Date" extension guidance is scoped to individual income tax and the property tax refund; it does not address sales tax, which is filed separately by businesses with no extension mechanism identified. | Minnesota Department of Revenue, Filing After the Due Date |
| Mississippi | Yes - discretionary | The Commissioner of Revenue is authorized to grant an extension of time to file the sales tax return for good cause, such as a natural disaster creating a hardship for on-time filing. Tax remains due on the original date and interest may still apply for late payment. | Mississippi Department of Revenue, Business Tax FAQ |
| Missouri | No provision located | Missouri's sales tax FAQ states fixed monthly/quarterly due dates with only a postmark accommodation for weekends and holidays; no extension provision was found. | Missouri Department of Revenue, Sales Tax FAQs |
| Nebraska | No provision located | The Department's Sales and Use Tax FAQ states returns and payments are due on the 20th of the month following the tax period, with a stated late-filing penalty; no extension procedure is discussed. | Nebraska Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax FAQs |
| Nevada | No provision located | The Department's return and payment guidance states the due date (the 20th of the month) with no discussion of an extension mechanism for sales and use tax. | Nevada Department of Taxation guidance |
| New Jersey | No provision located | The Division of Taxation's sales tax filing guidance states a fixed due date (the 20th of the following month, or next business day if a weekend/holiday) with no extension mechanism mentioned. | NJ Division of Taxation, Filing and Remitting Sales and Use Tax |
| New Mexico | Yes - general authority | Form RPD-41096, Application for Extension of Time to File, is available for business tax returns broadly, including gross receipts tax (New Mexico's sales tax equivalent) - the form and guidance are not limited to income tax types. | New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, Form RPD-41096 |
| New York | No provision located | No sales tax filing extension provision was found; New York's well-known extension forms (IT-370, CT-5) are for income and corporate tax only. | New York State Department of Taxation and Finance guidance |
| North Carolina | No provision located | NCDOR's sales tax filing-frequency page states fixed due dates with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension provision was found. | NCDOR, Filing Frequency and Due Dates |
| North Dakota | No provision located | The Tax Commissioner's "Filing an Extension" page is expressly scoped to individual, corporation, S corporation, partnership, and fiduciary income tax returns via federal Forms 4868 and 7004; sales tax is not addressed. | North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner, Filing an Extension |
| Ohio | No provision located | No extension provision for the vendor's sales tax return was found in the sections checked. | Ohio Dept. of Taxation guidance; Ohio Rev. Code ch. 5739 |
| Oklahoma | Yes - general authority | The Tax Commission, for good cause and on written request, "may grant a reasonable extension for the filing of any return required under any state tax law." The provision is general rather than sales-tax-specific, and by its own terms never extends the payment due date. | 68 Okla. Stat. §216 |
| Pennsylvania | No provision located | No sales tax filing extension provision was found; Pennsylvania's extension guidance (61 Pa. Code §117.14, Form REV-276) is for personal income tax only. | Pennsylvania Department of Revenue guidance |
| Rhode Island | No provision located | 280-RICR-20-55-2.6, the state's governing extension regulation, is scoped by its own terms to individual, partnership, and fiduciary income tax returns (Forms RI-4868, RI-8736); sales and use tax is not mentioned. | 280 R.I. Code R. §20-55-2.6 |
| South Carolina | No provision located | South Carolina's extension guidance explicitly scopes to "Chapter 6 of Title 12 (the Income Tax Act)" and lists only income tax forms; no sales tax extension provision was found. | SCDOR, Income Tax Extensions guidance |
| South Dakota | No provision located | The state's Sales and Use Tax Guide states fixed due dates for electronic and paper returns, with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension provision is discussed. | South Dakota Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Guide |
| Tennessee | No provision located | Only a weekend/holiday due-date accommodation was found; no general filing extension for the sales and use tax return. | Tennessee Department of Revenue, SUT-9 guidance |
| Texas | No | Comptroller guidance states directly: no extension to file the sales tax return "unless a disaster has been declared in your area." | Texas Comptroller, Sales and Use Tax FAQ |
| Utah | No provision located | The Tax Commission's sales tax filing guidance states fixed due dates (last day of the month after the filing period), with only a weekend/holiday accommodation; no extension procedure is discussed. | Utah State Tax Commission, Sales Tax guidance |
| Vermont | No provision located | The Department's "File an Extension" page is expressly limited to business income tax and corporate income tax; the sales and use tax pages give only filing-frequency due dates with no extension mentioned. | Vermont Department of Taxes, File an Extension |
| Virginia | Yes | A dealer may apply in writing for an extension of both filing and payment, running to the end of the calendar month in which the return is due, or up to 30 days. The dealer's discount is preserved if the return is filed and tax paid before the extension expires; interest applies only if the extension runs past the end of that calendar month. | 23 Va. Admin. Code §10-210-550 |
| Washington | Yes | Washington grants discretionary extensions on its Combined Excise Tax Return (which includes state sales tax) if requested before the due date. Most approved extensions run under 30 days; a longer extension requires paying an estimated liability up front. Granted only for specific hardship reasons (destroyed records, medical emergency, natural disaster, computer failure) - not for ordinary cash-flow problems. Extending the filing date does not extend the payment date. | Washington Department of Revenue, Excise Tax Return Extensions |
| West Virginia | Yes | The Tax Commissioner, for good cause shown, may on written application of a taxpayer extend the time for making any return required under the consumers sales and service tax article. No maximum length is specified in the statute. | W. Va. Code §11-15-21 |
| Wisconsin | Yes | The due date for a Wisconsin state, county, or city sales/use tax return may be extended to one month after the original due date, on request by the original due date, on a showing of good cause. Does not extend time to pay - interest accrues at 1% monthly on unpaid tax during the extension, though the retailer's discount is preserved if tax is paid by the extension deadline. | Wisconsin Department of Revenue, Publication 401 |
| Wyoming | Yes | The Department may grant extensions of the filing due date if extenuating circumstances exist which prevent the filer from filing in a timely manner, on written request to the Excise Tax Division Administrator with a thorough explanation of the reason. | 011-2 Wyo. Code R. §§2-5 |
| District of Columbia | No provision located | OTR's Sales and Use Tax FAQ gives the standard due date (the 20th of the month following the period) with no extension provision for general filers; street vendors are explicitly told "there is no extension on the time to file or pay." | DC Office of Tax and Revenue, Sales and Use Tax FAQs |
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no general state sales tax to extend in the first place, so they are not listed above. (Alaska permits local-option sales taxes administered by individual municipalities, which are outside the scope of this page.)