A wide-band, compact size, long-range surface-tolerant ultrahigh frequency (UHF) radiofrequency identification (RFID) sensor is proposed for internet of things (IOT) applications. The proposed sensor is designed and fabricated on a rigid FR4 substrate. The equivalent circuit analysis is performed to validate the performance of the sensor. The RFID tag exhibits a wide bandwidth of 455 MHz, long reading range with a compact size (931 mm$^2$) in comparison to the existing designs. The maximum reading range is found to be 11 m in free space. The long reading range, good surface tolerance and compact size make the design fit for potential RF identification applications. The performance of the designed RFID sensor is experimentally verified by mounting it on different types of surfaces.