Idaho Admin. Code r. 35.01.02.012 - CONTRACTORS IMPROVING REAL PROPERTY
Sections 63-3609(a), 63-3621, 63-3615(b), 63-3622B, Idaho Code
01.
In General. This rule
applies to contractors who construct, alter, repair, or improve real property.
Contractors are defined as consumers of materials they use, whether or not they
resell the material. All sales of tangible personal property to contractors are
taxable. (3-31-22)
a. A contractor is any
person acting as a general contractor, subcontractor, contractee,
subcontractee, or speculative builder who uses material and equipment to
perform any written or verbal contract to improve, alter, or repair real
property. (3-31-22)
b. Contractors
include bricklayers, plumbers, heating specialists, painters, sheet metal
workers, carpet layers, electricians, land levelers, well drillers,
landscapers, and all others who do contract work on real property. Unless these
persons are employees of a contractor, they are acting as contractors and are
consumers just as other contractors. (3-31-22)
c. Persons doing residential repairs, such as
plumbers and electricians, as well as those who both sell and install carpet,
also are contractors improving real property. Such contractors are defined as
the consumers of the materials they install and are required to pay sales or
use tax on their cost for the materials. They do not charge sales tax to their
customers unless they make a sale of materials only, with no installation.
(3-31-22)
d. The terms "contractor"
and "subcontractor' are not applicable to persons who merely sell tangible
personal property in the form of building materials, supplies, or equipment to
construction contractors for delivery at the job site without any requirement
that they install such tangible personal property.
(3-31-22)
02.
Contract. A contract to improve real property may be in any of the
following forms. (3-31-22)
a. Lump Sum
Contract. A lump sum contract is an agreement to furnish materials and services
for a lump sum. (3-31-22)
b.
Cost-plus Contract. A cost-plus contract is an agreement to furnish materials
and services at the contractor's cost plus a fixed sum or percentage of the
cost. (3-31-22)
c. Guaranteed Price
Contract. A guaranteed price contract is an agreement to furnish materials and
services with a guaranteed price which may not be exceeded. (3-31-22)
d. Time and Material Contract. A time and
material contract is an agreement to sell a specific list of materials and
supplies at retail or an agreed price and to complete the work for an
additional agreed price or hourly rate for services rendered.
(3-31-22)
e. The contractor or
repairman who affixes or installs the personal property into real property is
the consumer of tangible personal property regardless of the type of contract
entered into, whether it is a lump sum, time and material, or a cost-plus
contract. (3-31-22)
03.
Use. As used in this rule, the term use includes exercising any
right or power over tangible personal property in performing a contract to
improve real property, regardless of who owns the material or if the material
is leased. (3-31-22)
05.
Use Tax
Reporting Number. Contractors need a use tax number if they make
purchases on which sales tax has not been charged. In this case, they are
required to report and pay the Idaho use tax to the state. If a contractor pays
sales tax to his vendors on ALL purchases, he does not have to obtain a use tax
number. (3-31-22)
06.
Purchases by Contractors. Contractors are consumers of equipment
they use in their business such as trucks, tractors, road graders, scaffolding,
pipe cutters, trowels, wrenches, tools in general, oxygen, acetylene, oil, and
similar items. They pay sales or use tax on their purchase of equipment, tools,
and supplies. They also pay tax on their purchase of building materials and
fixtures. Fixtures include items such as lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures,
furnaces, boilers, heating units, air-conditioning units, refrigeration units,
elevators, hoists, conveying units, awnings, blinds, vaults, cabinets,
counters, and lockers. (3-31-22)
07.
Fuels. A contractor pays tax
on fuels used in off-road equipment unless on-road fuels excise taxes have been
paid. (3-31-22)
08.
Custom-Made Goods. Sales tax applies to the entire price charged
for custom-made goods sold by the maker. If a contractor orders fabricated
steel from a steel company, he pays sales tax on the entire price of the
fabricated item, including the cost of the labor involved. On the other hand,
if the contractor buys the steel and fabricates it himself for the job, he pays
a tax only on the materials he buys. (3-31-22)
09.
Value. The contractor owes
use tax on the value of the job materials at the time he exercises right or
power over them. Value, as used in Section
63-3621, Idaho Code, means:
(3-31-22)
a. When a contractor fabricates and
installs tangible personal property into Idaho real property, the value is the
cost of materials and parts he uses. If a contractor, with a contract to
furnish and install goods, fabricates the goods and hires a subcontractor to do
the installation, the taxable amount is the cost of material to the contractor
who fabricated the goods. (3-31-22)
b. When a contractor who is also a retailer
fabricates tangible personal property, puts it in his resale inventory, and
later withdraws it for a job, tax applies to the fully fabricated value. This
is true regardless of whether the fabricator installs the property himself or
through an agent or subcontractor. (3-31-22)
10.
Materials Provided by Project
Owner. (3-31-22)
a. If a project owner
who is not exempt from tax buys materials for a job and hires a contractor to
install them, he pays sales or use tax when he buys the material. If the owner
does not pay tax on the materials, the contractor may be held liable for the
tax. (3-31-22)
b. If material
needed for a contract is purchased or supplied by an owner who is exempt from
sales and use taxes, then the use by the contractor is taxable. This is true
even if the property is owned by an exempt entity such as the federal
government or a state government agency. For example, if a contractor has a
public works contract to build a structure using materials owned and supplied
by the government, whether federal, state, or local, he is the consumer of the
materials and is subject to a use tax on their value. This tax falls directly
upon the contractor and not the owner of the property. (3-31-22)
c. A contractor who buys tangible goods
cannot avoid tax just because the goods will be built into a structure which
will belong to, or be used by an exempt entity. Contractors and subcontractors
may not avoid paying sales or use tax due to a contract which allows invoices
to be made out in the name of the exempt entity, such as the U.S. Government,
and designate the contractor or subcontractor as an agent of the exempt entity.
In this case, the contractor or subcontractor is the user or consumer of the
material and its use, while it is in his possession and subject to his labor,
is taxable. (3-31-22)
11.
Subcontractor. In general, a subcontractor is treated the same as
a general contractor. Whether his contract is with the owner or the general
contractor, the subcontractor pays tax on materials he buys to improve real
property. Like any contractor, the subcontractor could be employed to work on
or with material purchased by the general contractor or the owner, with one or
the other paying tax on the material purchased. These services rendered by the
subcontractor are not taxable. His relationship with the owner or general
contractor is no different than the relationship between the contractor and
owner. However, the provisions of Subsection
011.10 of this rule apply
equally to a subcontractor. (3-31-22)
12.
Land Leveling. (3-31-22)
a. Persons who contract to level land are
improving real property and are contractors under this rule. Accordingly, they
pay tax on equipment, material, and supplies purchased for land leveling.
(3-31-22)
b. Notwithstanding the
provisions of Rule 013 of these
rules, contractors who crush rock are performing a nontaxable service if the
rock is obtained on a construction site, and the crushed rock is used on the
same site, for such purposes as backfill, land leveling, site preparation. or
site cleanup. The use of such rock, backfill, or other related materials is not
taxable; however, such a contractor is not primarily devoted to mining and his
use of rock crushing equipment, or other equipment and supplies, does not
qualify for exemption under Section
63-3622D, Idaho Code.
(3-31-22)
c. The sale or use of
crushed rock that is removed from a construction site and used elsewhere is
taxable. See Rule 013 of these
rules. (3-31-22)
13.
Exempt Purchases by Contractors. A contractor can buy materials
tax exempt, provided that he will install them into real property in a state
that does not have a sales tax, such as Oregon, Montana, or Alaska, or in a
state where the materials would not be subject to a use tax or other similar
excise tax in that state. For example, this exemption applies to a contractor
improving real property on certain projects in Washington where he will not owe
a use tax on materials incorporated into realty, even though a sales or use tax
may be owed by a third party. This exemption only applies to materials
incorporated into real estate in a nontaxing state. Tools, supplies, equipment,
or any other tangible personal property purchased in Idaho that are not
incorporated into realty are taxable when purchased in Idaho. In order to grant
this exemption the retailer must have a properly completed exemption
certificate on file. See Rule
128 of these rules. Idaho tax
applies to materials purchased or withdrawn from inventory for use in a
contract to improve real property in states where use tax applies to materials
incorporated into realty, such as Nevada or Wyoming. (3-31-22)
Notes
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