011-2 Wyo. Code R. §§ 2-12 - Specific Taxability Issues

(a) Admission Charges.

(i) Persons or firms who sell tickets for admission to a place of amusement, entertainment, recreation, games, or athletic events shall be responsible for licensing and collecting and remitting sales tax on the admission charges. Admission charges shall include charges commonly referred to as "cover charges" when these charges are paid for entrance into a place of amusement, entertainment, recreation, games or athletic events. Public schools are not municipally or county-owned facilities and shall collect sales tax on admissions unless exempted under W.S. 39-15-105.

(ii) To ensure the collection of the tax on admissions when the place of amusement, entertainment, recreation, games, or athletic events has been leased or rented, the lessor may collect and remit the tax on the admissions to the Department. The lessee's name shall appear on the record of remittance. In the event the lessor chooses not to assume the responsibility of collecting the tax, the lessee shall register with the Department and collect all applicable taxes as required under Wyoming law and these rules.

(b) Advertising. Printed advertising material to be used or distributed in direct mail advertising within Wyoming shall be taxable to the purchaser. Printed advertising material to be used or distributed in direct mail advertising outside Wyoming shall not be taxable as interstate sales, provided the purchaser does not take possession in Wyoming of the publication from the printer or vendor. When the printer retains possession of the publication and mails the publication for the purchaser, he/she shall retain evidence establishing the number of addresses outside Wyoming in the total mailing. This evidence shall be in the form of an affidavit specifically identifying the number of addresses outside Wyoming.

(c) Auctioneers and Selling Agents. Auctioneers and selling agents shall be considered vendors. As agents for unknown or undisclosed principals, auctioneers, or selling agents are required to have a sales tax license to conduct sales upon which the tax has been imposed and are responsible for the correct collection and remittance of the tax on the sales.

(d) Computer Hardware and Software.

(i) The sale of prewritten computer software is taxable regardless of whether sold on tangible storage media or delivered by the seller electronically.

(ii) The service of repairing, altering, or improving computer hardware, computer software, or canned software shall be subject to the sales tax. Charges for installation of software packages shall also be subject to the tax.

(A) The service of creating custom software for a person shall not be subject to the sales tax. The person performing the service shall be considered the consumer of all tangible personal property or services purchased to perform the service.

(e) Concessions. The operator of any business or concession operating as a vendor shall collect and remit any taxes to the Department, regardless of location. The Department may ask event organizers for a list of vendors operating at concession events with multiple vendors in an effort to reduce administrative time and burden to the vendors.

(f) Credit, Contract, or Conditional Sales. Sales and use tax shall be collected at the time of the sale or purchase transaction of tangible personal property or taxable services sold on a credit basis if title or possession of the property pass at the time of the transaction. If title passes at a future date, the vendor shall collect sales tax on each payment that portion of the total tax bears to the purchase price.

(g) Demurrage. Demurrage charges made by vendors selling acetylene, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, helium, and similar gaseous products in returnable containers shall not be subject to the sales tax.

(h) Detailing. Vehicle detailing services shall be subject to the sales tax. This includes washing, drying, vacuuming, waxing, polishing, and other similar services provided by the vendor. The purchase of supplies to be used to perform the services shall be considered wholesale purchases and not subject to the sales or use tax.

(i) Drop Shipments/Third Party Sales. Drop Shipments will be considered two separate transactions. This supply chain technique is generally between a supplier, a vendor, and an end customer. The first transaction is between the supplier and the vendor, even if the vendor does not directly receive the product. This first transaction is considered a wholesale for resale transaction, and the vendor may provide an exemption certificate to the supplier. The second transaction is between the vendor and the end consumer. This transaction shall be subject to any applicable taxes if shipped to a Wyoming customer.

(j) Exterminators. Services performed for the extermination of plant, insect, or animal life shall not be subject to the sales tax. Purchases of equipment, materials, supplies, and services shall be subject to the sales or use tax when purchased by the person providing the extermination service.

(k) Financial Institutions.

(i) Banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, finance and loan companies, and other similar companies shall be subject to the sales and use tax on tangible personal property purchased or leased and used to conduct their business. The institutions shall collect and remit sales tax on their retail sales of tangible personal property.

(ii) Federally-chartered credit unions and federal land banks shall be exempt from the sales or use tax on purchases and services used to conduct their business. The institutions shall collect and remit sales tax on their retail sales of tangible personal property or services which are subject to the sales tax.

(l) Garages and Service Stations. The sales price for all services performed upon tangible personal property by garages and service stations shall be subject to sales tax. Purchases of consumable materials and supplies such as solvents, lubricants and parts, which are necessary in performing taxable services provided by garages and service stations, shall be exempted from the tax as wholesale for resale purchases.

(m) Garbage and Chemical Toilets or Sanitary Services. Charges made for garbage hauling, latrine or sanitary services, and similar services shall not be subject to the sales tax. The person providing the container, latrine, or similar container for use in the sanitary or latrine service shall pay the sales or use tax on the purchase of the container.

(n) Goods Damaged in Transit. Where title to or possession of tangible personal property subject to sales tax has passed to the purchaser and is damaged in transit, the vendor shall collect the sales tax from the purchaser on the full sales price. Where title to or possession of tangible personal property shipped by a vendor to a purchaser has not passed to the purchaser and the goods are damaged or destroyed during transit, the taxability of the vendor's reimbursement shall depend upon whether the reimbursement for the damages or destruction allows title or possession to the property to pass to the carrier or the carrier's insurance firm. If title or possession to the tangible personal property passes to the carrier or the carrier's insurance firm as in a retail sale as defined by W.S. 39-15-101(a)(vi), the transfer shall be subject to the tax. The amount of the reimbursement shall establish the tax base of the transaction. If title to the tangible personal property passes to the carrier or the carrier's insurance firm in a wholesale sale, the transfer shall be exempt from sales tax.

(o) Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Pressing, and Dyeing. The total charge made for performing the service of laundering, dry cleaning, or pressing, and dyeing shall be subject to the sales tax. Sales of materials and supplies which are necessary in performing the taxable service such as detergents, starch, and cleaning solvent shall be considered wholesale purchases or sales.

(p) Lodging.

(i) The total amount charged to transient guests for board or room or both is subject to the sales tax and any applicable lodging tax. The taxable sales price shall include all charges made for all services and supplies furnished in connection with the lodging service. This charge shall include charges for such services as room service meals.

(ii) Charges made to use facilities other than for lodging services, such as meeting rooms, sample rooms, and ballrooms, shall not be subject to the sales tax.

(iii) The provider of a lodging service shall be considered to be the end consumer of electricity, fuel, linens, cleaning supplies, towels, furniture, and other items of tangible personal property necessary for the maintenance of the establishment. Purchases of these items shall be subject to the sales or use tax.

(iv) Paper cups, hand soap, toilet tissue, paper towels, and similar items furnished to transient guests without additional charge shall be considered to be purchases for resale and shall not be subject to sales or use tax. Beverages, food, and other convenience items provided to transient guests shall be considered purchases for resale and not subject to the sales or use tax if the cost of the items is part of the overall charge for lodging services.

(v) Purchases of intrastate telephone services by the provider of a lodging service shall be subject to the sales tax. The vendor shall pay tax on the difference between the cost of intrastate telephone service and the total fees collected from customers for intrastate telephone calls.

(vi) Where a guest (individual or corporate) contracts for or leases a room for a term of thirty (30) continuous days, or more, there is no sales tax due. In this arrangement, the first twenty-nine (29) days are not taxable because of the intent to lease for thirty (30) or more continuous days. If, for example, a corporation were to rent a room for a term of thirty (30) continuous days or more and rotate employees during the term, it qualifies as nontaxable because the corporation is considered the guest. The contract, lease, or correspondence should clearly indicate this arrangement. If the lodging service ends before the thirtieth (30^th) day, the sales tax and applicable lodging tax is due.

(vii) When a transient guest books a lodging service through an online travel company, the online travel company shall be responsible for reporting any applicable taxes on the entire cost of the lodging stay.

(viii) Travel agents, tour bus operators, and similar service providers shall be considered the end consumers of any taxable services provided by the travel industry and shall be charged any applicable taxes as long as they are not considered a marketplace facilitator.

(ix) Sales of lodging services by guides and outfitters are exempt from excise tax imposed by W.S. 39-15-204(a)(ii).

(q) Meals Not Regularly Served to the Public. Meals sold or furnished by hospitals to patients and staff, by schools to students and staff, and nursing homes to occupants and staff shall not be subject to the sales tax if the establishments do not hold themselves out as selling to the public at large. The establishments shall be considered to be purchasers of the food and shall pay sales or use tax on those purchases, unless otherwise exempt. Meals sold by senior citizen centers shall not be subject to the sales tax.

(i) All establishments of any nature which sell and serve food and meals to the general public shall collect tax on the amount charged for all meals sold. Tax shall not be collected on food or meals furnished without charge to employees. Napkins, disposable food containers, and similar consumable items sold with the food at no additional charge to the customer shall be considered to be wholesale for resale purchases.

(r) Meat Cutting and Butchering Services. Meat cutting and butchering services shall be considered to be services performed upon tangible personal property and subject to the sales tax.

(s) Nicotine Products. Retail sales of all nicotine products shall be subject to the sales tax in addition to the tax imposed by W.S. 39-18-103.

(t) Oil and Gas Services.

(i) All seismographic and geophysical surveying, stratagraphic testing, coring, logging, and testing calculated to reveal the existence of geologic conditions favorable to the accumulation of oil or gas are not taxable.

(ii) Invoices billing for oil and gas field services shall indicate if the billed services are performed before or after setting and cementing of production casing, or if production casing is not set as in the case of an open hole completion, after the completion of the underreaming, or the attaining of total depth of the oil or gas well. The invoices shall also state if the billed services are performed within the boundaries of the well site. The invoice shall separately state the taxable and nontaxable services or the entire invoice shall be subject to the sales tax.

(iii) Any person engaged in the business of selling oil or gas services within the well site is a vendor and shall license and report their taxable and non-taxable services to the Department. The tax associated with taxable services shall be collected and remitted to the Department unless the vendor receives the proper information required a direct pay permit holder.

(iv) The Department may use the date that production casing was installed or the total depth date as found on the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission website if the date of the taxable phase cannot be determined using documentation provided by the vendor.

(u) Photography, Photo Developing, and Enlarging. The sales price paid for photographs, photo equipment and supplies, photography and photo developing, and printing shall be subject to the sales tax. Materials and supplies such as paper and chemicals consumed in the process of producing photographs intended for resale shall be exempt from the sales tax.

(v) Printers. Printers produce tangible personal property. The printer's retail sale shall be subject to the sales tax. Printers shall not deduct labor or service charges from the tax base of the sale. When printers purchase cards or envelopes that are stamped with postage, the printers shall collect and remit sales tax on the total sales price less the amount of the postage. All charges made for copying or reproduction services shall be subject to the sales tax.

(w) Purchases by Businesses. Purchases by businesses and professional persons of equipment, tools, and supplies for use in conducting their businesses or professions are the end consumer and shall be subject to the sales or use tax.

(x) Rentals or Leases. The gross rental paid for a lease or contract where possession of tangible personal property transfers, and the transfer would be taxable if a sale occurred, shall be subject to the sales tax. The owner of the property shall be considered the vendor and shall charge, collect, and remit the sales tax on each rental or lease payment. The purchase of tangible personal property which shall be exclusively held for rental, lease, or sale shall be considered a wholesale purchase and shall be exempt from the sales tax.

(y) Repairs, Alterations, and Improvements. Labor or service charges for the repair, alteration, or improvement of tangible personal property as well as charges for materials, supplies, and fabrication used in rendering services, shall be subject to the sales tax. The purchase of materials, supplies, and fabrication which become an ingredient of the repair, alteration, or improvement of tangible personal property shall be considered wholesale sales.

(z) Specified Digital Products. The sale of specified digital products is subject to sales tax when the product is transferred for permanent use to the taxpayer. The sale of digital code shall be taxed as the sale of a specified digital product. For the purpose of this rule, "digital code" means a code which provides the purchaser with a right to obtain one or more specified digital products. Digital code may be obtained by any means, including email or the sale of a coded card regardless of its designation as "song code", "video code", or "book code".

(aa) State and Subdivisions Furnishing Copies of Official Documents. State of Wyoming agencies or political subdivisions furnishing copies of laws, rules and regulations, official documents, or other records in the custody of the agencies for a charge shall not collect sales tax on the same.

(bb) Telephone Services. All rentals of equipment or services incidental to intrastate telephone services including but not limited to, the lease or rental of tangible personal property and access to a telephone transmission system, shall be subject to the sales tax.

(cc) Prepaid calling cards, telephone debit cards, or other similar items which entitle the purchaser to receive telephone services shall be considered tangible personal property. The retail sale or purchase of cards shall be subject to the sales and use tax.

(dd) Vending Machines. Vending machine sales of tangible personal property, except postage stamps and food for domestic home consumption, shall be subject to the sales tax. Prepared food sold in a vending machine shall remain taxable.

(i) Complete records shall be kept by the vending machine vendor showing the location of each machine operated by the vendor during each monthly period, its serial number, and the amount of revenue taken from the machine during each monthly period.

(ee) Warranties.

(i) Standard or mandatory warranties and maintenance contracts provided with the purchase of tangible personal property by the manufacturer or vendor shall be included in the taxable sales price of the tangible personal property.

(A) Repairs, alterations, or improvements performed upon tangible personal property under a standard warranty shall not be subject to the sales tax.

(ii) Extended warranties, service and maintenance contracts, or similar agreements which are sold for an additional and separate cost and provide additional services or extend the timeframe of service coverage shall not be subject to the sales tax.

(A) Repairs, alterations, or improvements performed upon tangible personal property under an extended warranty, service contract, or similar agreement shall be subject to the sales tax.

(I) The consumer shall be liable for the tax on repair services not covered by the agreement. The issuer of the agreement shall be liable for the sales tax on the repair charges covered by the extended warranty.

(II) A contract that obligates a vendor of computer software to provide a customer with future updates or upgrades to computer software, support services with respect to computer software, or both shall be subject to the sales tax.

Notes

011-2 Wyo. Code R. §§ 2-12

Amended, Eff. 8/31/2023.