Buy a gas station in Ohio

Most buyers use an SBA loan. An SBA 7(a) loan (up to $5M — up to $5.5M only for qualifying manufacturing and energy projects) can cover the business, the property, equipment and working capital. An SBA 504 loan is built for the real estate: roughly 50% from the bank, 40% from an SBA-backed lender and 10% from you — often 15%, because lenders treat gas stations as special-purpose property. Plan on about 10 to 20% down overall, plus inventory at closing, and have proof of funds ready for your offer: you’ll show it with your Letter of Intent, not before.

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SBA 7(a) loans ↗ · SBA 504 loans ↗

In Ohio, underground storage tanks are registered and inspected by the State Fire Marshal’s Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR) — the tank program sits with the Fire Marshal, not the EPA. Owners also have to show financial responsibility for a possible leak, which most station owners meet through the state’s Petroleum UST Release Compensation Board fund.

What to verify before you sign, and what lands on you at closing:

• Ask the seller for the BUSTR registration (renewed annually, $100 per tank, due June 30), the latest inspection and leak-detection records — BUSTR inspects at least every three years — tank install dates, and any past release with its closure (No Further Action) letter. Your lender will order a Phase I environmental review either way.
• The Fund’s Certificate of Coverage must be in force. Coverage only responds to a release discovered while a valid certificate exists. The deductible is $55,000 per release — or $11,000 if the owner holds six or fewer tanks and elected the reduced deductible — and the Fund reimburses eligible cleanup costs up to $1 million per release minus that deductible. Ask which deductible the seller carries; it becomes yours.
• At closing, two 30-day clocks start. You file the transfer of UST registration with BUSTR within 30 days of the transfer ($100 per tank — the seller is required by law to tell you this at the time of transfer), and you transfer the Fund certificate by notifying the Board within 30 days with the sale documents and a $500 per-facility transfer fee.
• Unpaid tank fees follow the tanks, not the seller. Any outstanding per-tank fees, late fees or collection costs become the new owner’s problem before a certificate issues. Get the seller’s Fund account status in writing during due diligence — this is the Ohio surprise that costs buyers real money.

Ohio BUSTR (State Fire Marshal) ↗ · EPA underground storage tanks ↗

• Beer and wine (Ohio Division of Liquor Control). Carryout beer runs on a C-1 permit, wine and certain prepackaged mixed beverages on a C-2, and Sunday sales need a D-6. Permits are issued under a population quota, so in most station deals the buyer transfers the seller’s existing permits instead of applying new. A transfer needs the Division’s approval: the Division notifies the local legislative authority and the chief peace officer, local officials can object and be heard, and no permit can issue sooner than 15 days after filing — in practice, allow weeks to a few months, and file the day the contract is signed. Permit purchase money is normally held in escrow until the Division approves, and the seller’s unpaid taxes or unresolved violations can block the transfer, so check the permit’s standing early.
• Lottery (Ohio Lottery). The license does not transfer. You apply for your own sales agent license through the Lottery’s eApplication as the purchaser of an existing retailer’s business; every owner of 10% or more is background-checked, and bonding or a liability deposit is arranged before you can sell. Processing usually runs 4 to 6 weeks — and the seller is required to notify the Lottery at least 60 days before selling, so a cooperative seller will already have started.
• Cigarettes and sales tax (county auditor). Your own retail cigarette dealer’s license costs $125 per location per year (June to June). Your own vendor’s license — required to collect Ohio sales tax — costs $50 per location, one time, and never transfers from the seller. Both come from the county auditor (the vendor’s license is also available through the Ohio Business Gateway). Plan the transfers early so they don’t hold up closing.

Ohio Division of Liquor Control ↗ · Ohio Lottery ↗

• You must hold back money for the seller’s sales taxes. Under Ohio Revised Code §5739.14, when a business is sold, the seller’s sales taxes come due immediately and the seller files a final return within 15 days. Until the seller produces a receipt from the Tax Commissioner showing the taxes are paid — or a certificate that none are due — the buyer has to withhold enough of the purchase price to cover them. Skip the withholding and you are personally liable for the seller’s unpaid sales tax. Every Ohio purchase contract should name the holdback amount and the release trigger.
• The conveyance fee is the seller’s — by law. Recording the deed costs a conveyance fee: $1 per $1,000 of price to the state plus up to $3 per $1,000 to the county — $4 per $1,000 (0.4%) in most Ohio counties, filed on Form DTE 100 with the county auditor. The law charges it to the seller, but it’s a contract term like any other: know which side of it you’re on before you compare deals, especially on the larger portfolio purchases.

Match tax returns to P&Ls, monthly fuel gallons to supplier statements, and inside sales to POS reports. Read the fuel supply agreement for term, gallons owed, assignment rules and any payback of incentives, and if the land is leased, confirm the years left. Our guide on fuel supply contracts explains what to look for.

Offers go in as a Letter of Intent with price, deposit, a 30 to 60 day due diligence period, financing terms and inventory at cost — with your proof of funds attached, the first and only time we ask for it. Then come the Phase I, lender approval, the BUSTR and Fund transfers, the liquor permit transfer, the supplier’s consent, the sales-tax holdback, an inventory count and the keys. With financing and a permit transfer running in parallel, most Ohio station purchases close 60 to 90 days after the LOI is accepted. The full path is in how to buy a business.