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Solid Waste Management Tax Information
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The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Tax applies to services for both mixed municipal solid waste and non-mixed municipal solid waste.
The tax rate depends on the type of waste and who generated it, as detailed below.
Note: The Solid Waste Management Tax is reported in the Sales and Use Tax return in e-Services.
Who collects the tax?
A waste management service provider is responsible for collecting and remitting the SWM Tax to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. A provider is anyone who directly bills a waste generator (customer) for waste management services. Examples include
- waste haulers
- waste management facilities, such as incinerators (waste-to-energy facilities), transfer stations, and landfills
- local and county governments, or other political subdivisions
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MMSW is garbage, refuse, and other solid waste from residential, commercial, and community activities. For MMSW, the tax is based on the sales price charged by the provider and the type of waste generator (customer).
| Generator of MMSW (see descriptions) |
SWM Tax Rate |
| Residential |
9.75% of sales price |
| Commercial |
17% of sale price |
| Self-hauler |
17% of sale price |
“Sales price” is the total of all charges and fees for the service, whether billed separately or together. Examples include: collection, transportation, processing, disposal, and administrative fees; fuel surcharges; and any fee for garbage bags or stickers provided to the customer.
Non-MMSW waste is construction, demolition, industrial, infectious, and pathological waste material that’s collected, processed, and disposed of separately from mixed waste. The tax is based on the actual volume, container capacity, or weight of the waste. The provider must calculate the tax in the same way as they bill the customer. For example, if the provider bills by the cubic yard, they must calculate the tax using the cubic yard rate.
| Type of Non-MMSW (see definitions) |
SWM Tax Rate |
| Construction and demolition debris |
debris 60 cents per cubic yard or $2 per ton*
|
| Industrial waste (“per ton” rate is subject to change) |
60 cents per cubic yard or 46.2 cents per ton
|
| Infectious and pathological waste |
60 cents per cubic yard or .004 cents per pound |
*The commissioner of Revenue, after consultation with the commissioner of Pollution Control Agency, shall determine and may publish by notice a conversion schedule for construction debris.
The following types of waste or fees are exempt from SWM Tax:
Waste management charges for recyclable materials are exempt from SWM Tax if all of the following conditions are met:
- The customer (generator) separates recyclables from other garbage.
- The recyclables are collected separately from other garbage and delivered to a facility where they are recycled.
- The charge for managing the recyclables is itemized on the customer’s bill.
“Recyclable materials” include paper, glass, plastics, metals, source-separated organics, automobile oil, batteries, and other materials that are separated from solid waste for the purpose of recycling.
Note: Incinerating waste to create energy is not considered recycling.
