How to register and file Minnesota sales tax for a restaurant

A new restaurant needs a state tax account before it makes its first sale, and the account decides how often the owner files and pays. Minnesota keeps the steps in one place, the Department of Revenue's online system, but a few details trip up first-time owners: the account is tied to an expected schedule, the department may not send a reminder and the payment rules change as the business grows. This guide, checked in November 2026, reads the department's registration, filing and payment pages. It is general information, not legal advice, and the department's pages are the authority.

What do you have to register for?

The department says you must register for a Minnesota Tax ID Number and a Sales and Use Tax account before making taxable sales in Minnesota. You can register online through the business tax registration link on its site, or by phone at 651-282-5225 or 1-800-657-3605. When you register for the ID number, you may also open a Sales and Use Tax account. The page does not mention a registration fee. If you are also hiring, the same registration process is where employer taxes are handled, so ask the department how to add withholding.

What does the registration form ask for?

You will be asked for your expected filing schedule, monthly, quarterly or annual, your accounting method, cash or accrual, and any local or special local taxes that may apply. For a restaurant in Minneapolis, say so, because special local taxes may apply. Our guides on the state and local layers and on Minneapolis restaurant taxes explain them. If you are not sure of your schedule, estimate your sales for the first months and use the thresholds below.

How does the department assign filing frequency?

The department bases frequency on monthly sales and use tax liability, including local taxes it administers. Under $100 a month, you file annually. From $100 to $500 a month, you file quarterly. Over $500 a month, you file monthly. A restaurant that sells $20,000 a month collects well over $500 in tax and should expect to file monthly. Because the filing frequency can change as your sales change, check your account every January.

When are returns due?

Annual returns are due February 5 of the following year. Quarterly returns are due April 20, July 20, October 20 and January 20. Monthly returns are due the 20th day of the following month. The department's list of 2026 due dates includes dates that move with weekends, such as June 22 and September 21, so use the list for the exact day. The department warns that you may not receive a notice to remind you to file or pay, so the calendar is your reminder.

How do you file and pay?

You must file your Sales and Use Tax return online through the department's e-Services system. Payment rules add a further step. Businesses generally must pay electronically once they have paid more than $10,000 of any one tax during the state's previous fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. The department sends a notice the first year this applies. If electronic payment is required and you pay by check instead, the department may assess a 5 percent penalty even when the check arrives by the due date.

What if you owe back taxes?

The department says that if you have past-due sales tax, you cannot open a new Sales Tax account until it is paid. For a buyer of an existing restaurant, that matters: ask the seller for a statement of the account, and ask your accountant how the sale should be structured. Do not open a second restaurant on an account that has unpaid tax.

What records should you keep?

The department says good records are needed to determine the correct tax, and it lists bills, receipts, invoices, exemption certificates, shipping documents and tax return worksheets. For a restaurant, add daily sales reports by tax type, comp and void logs, the monthly sales summary and the return you filed. It does not state a retention period on the page read, so ask your accountant how long to keep each item.

How do you keep the tax money safe between returns?

Sales tax is collected from guests and held for the state, so keep it apart from operating cash. Open a separate savings account, move the tax you collected into it each week and pay the return from it. Many first-year owners spend the money on payroll in a slow week and then find the return due. A weekly transfer, matched to your register's tax report, makes the return a simple payment and not a scramble. Ask your bookkeeper to reconcile the account to the return each period.

What should you do next?

Estimate your first six months of sales and use the thresholds to guess your schedule. Register before the first taxable sale. Put the due dates for your schedule in your calendar, with a reminder a week before. Then read how Minnesota treats mandatory gratuities, so that your register and your return agree.

More guides for your business:

• Minnesota sales tax on restaurant meals: the state and local layers
• Minneapolis restaurant taxes: city sales, downtown and entertainment
• Minnesota food license and plan review for a new restaurant

More in the US guides for food businesses.