Hello, rubster-ga!
I have found nothing in the Florida Statutes that indicates an
exemption for "temporary flooring" from state sales tax.
The following documents concerning the application of Florida State
Sales tax to flooring contractors and dealers should further help you
define the parameters under which you should charge sales tax. If
anything is unclear after you read through this material, please let
me know and I will be happy to work with you further. Your question is
very general and I am not able to pinpoint the exact parameters under
which you are operating.
General Overview
=================
Please read "Sales and Use Tax on Building Contractors."
http://www.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/contractor.html
Excerpt:
Purchase of Construction Materials and Supplies:
"The purchase of materials and supplies used to improve, alter, or
repair land, buildings, homes, or other real property is subject to
tax. The taxability of purchases and sales by real property
contractors is determined by the pricing arrangement in the contract."
"Contractors who perform lump sum, cost plus, fixed fee, guaranteed
price, or time-and-materials real property contracts do not resell
tangible personal property to the real property owner, but instead use
the property to provide the real property improvement. Contractors
should pay sales tax to their suppliers on all purchases for these
types of contracts. Tax should also be paid on all materials
fabricated for the contractor's own use in performing such contracts.
Contractors should not charge tax to their customers, because they are
not engaged in selling tangible personal property. This is regardless
of whether charges for materials and labor in the proposals or
invoices are itemized. These contractors should not register as
dealers unless they are required to remit tax on the cost of items
fabricated for use in fulfilling contracts. However, a dual operator
who performs real property contracts and sells tangible personal
property at retail must register as a dealer."
"Contractors are the ultimate consumers of materials and supplies used
to perform real property contracts and must pay tax on the costs of
those materials and supplies, unless the contractor has entered into a
retail sale plus installation contract. Contractors who perform
taxable fabrication can either pay tax to their suppliers when
purchasing materials for fabrication or pay use tax when the materials
are incorporated into a fabricated item."
Read further....
Items Exempt from Florida Sales Tax
====================================
Chapter 212 of the Florida Statutes deals with "TAX ON SALES, USE, AND
OTHER TRANSACTIONS."
* Items which are exempt from Florida sales tax may be found on the
following link (Please note that temporary flooring products are not
among these items (although construction items for a rehabilitation
project in an enterprise zone are mentioned in Section G)
See "212.08 Sales, rental, use, consumption, distribution, and
storage tax; specified exemptions." Florida Administrative Code.
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0212/SEC08.HTM&Title=->2005->Ch0212->Section%2008#0212.08
Application of Sales Tax to Flooring contractors and dealers
=============================================================
Read "FLOORING CONTRACTORS AND DEALERS - APPLICATION OF SALES AND USE
TAX - SALES AND INSTALLATION."
http://taxlaw.state.fl.us/search_out.asp?r=03A01%2D03+%7BVIC+%23%5B%7D&filename=SUT%5FTIP%2EASK&orireg=%2Aflooring&banner=Tax+Information+Publication%0D%0A&files=SUT
=
Also read "12A-1.051 Sales to or by Contractors Who Repair, Alter,
Improve and Construct Real Property."
http://taxlaw.state.fl.us/sut_out.asp?r=%5B12A%2D1%2E051+Sales+to+or+by+Contractors+Who+Repair%2C+Alter%2C+Improve+and+Construct+Real+Property%2E%5D+%7BVic+%3AA+T%5B%7D+&file=sut_fc.ask
Note this section in particula:
(4) General rule of taxability of real property contractors.
Contractors are the ultimate consumers of materials and supplies they
use to perform real property contracts and must pay tax on their costs
of those materials and supplies, unless the contractor has entered a
retail sale plus installation contract. Contractors performing only
contracts described in paragraphs (3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) do not
resell the tangible personal property used to the real property owner
but instead use the property themselves to provide the completed real
property improvement. Such contractors should pay tax to
their suppliers on all purchases. They should also pay tax on all
materials they fabricate for their own use in performing such
contracts, as discussed in subsection (10). They should charge no tax
to their customers, regardless of whether they itemize charges for
materials and labor in their proposals or invoices, because they are
not engaged in selling tangible personal property. Such contractors
should not register as dealers unless they are required to remit tax
on the fabricated cost of items they fabricate to use in performing
contracts.
(5) Rule for (3)(d) contractors. Contractors who perform retail sale
plus installation contracts described in paragraph (3)(d) do sell
tangible personal property. They should register as dealers and
provide a copy of their Annual Resale Certificate (form DR-13) to the
selling dealer to purchase tax exempt materials that are itemized and
resold under paragraph (3)(d) contracts. They should not provide the
certificate to purchase tax exempt items that they use themselves
rather than reselling, such as hand tools, shop equipment, or office
supplies. They must charge their customers tax on the price paid for
tangible personal property but not on the charges for installation
labor. See Rule 12A-1.038, F.A.C., for tax exempt sales made to
entities that hold a valid Consumer's Certificate of Exemption.
(6) Sales of tangible personal property. Contractors, manufacturers,
or dealers who sell and install items of tangible personal property,
including those enumerated in Rule 12A-1.016, F.A.C., must collect tax
on the full selling price, including any installation or other
charges, even though such charges may be separately stated. The items
listed in Rule 12A-1.016, F.A.C., are tangible personal property even
after installation, and their sale with installation is not classified
as a real property contract. Contractors, manufacturers, or dealers
who sell property over-the-counter without performing installation
services must collect tax on the full sales price of such items, even
though those items will become improvements to real property upon
installation by the purchaser. At the point at which they are sold in
over-the-counter transactions, those items are tangible personal
property.
Additional References
=====================
Obligations to collect sales tax:
212.05 Sales, storage, use tax
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0212/SEC05.HTM&Title=->2005->Ch0212->Section%2005#0212.05
=
Dealers:
212.06 Sales, storage, use tax; collectible from dealers; "dealer"
defined; dealers to collect from purchasers; legislative intent as to
scope of tax.--
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0212/SEC06.HTM&Title=->2005->Ch0212->Section%2006#0212.06
==
212.07 Sales, storage, use tax; tax added to purchase price; dealer
not to absorb; liability of purchasers who cannot prove payment of the
tax; penalties; general exemptions.--
http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0212/SEC07.HTM&Title=->2005->Ch0212->Section%2007#0212.07
==
For further discussion on this matter, see:
01A071 - Nov 30, 2001 Installation of Flooring Materials
http://taxlaw.state.fl.us/search_out.asp?r=01A071+%7BVIC+%23%5B%7D&filename=SUT%5FTAA1%2EASK&orireg=%2Aflooring&banner=2000%2DTo+Date+Technical+Assistance+Advisements%0D%0A&files=SUT
98A1007 - Feb 27, 1998 Sale and Installation of Floor Coverings
http://taxlaw.state.fl.us/search_out.asp?r=98A1007+%7BVIC+%23%5B%7D&filename=SUT%5FTAA0%2EASK&orireg=%2Aflooring&banner=1999%2D1995+Technical+Assistance+Advisements%0D%0A&files=SUT
===
Again, if anything is unclear, please let me know. It would be
interesting to know the reasoning behind the customers' statements
that they should not have to pay sales tax on temporary flooring. If
you have neglected to mention some special circumstances which impacts
your particular situation, please don't hesitate to ask for
clarification and I will try to help further. Please keep in mind,
however, that GA is not a substitute for professional tax advice!
If you prefer to consult the Florida State Dept. of Revenue yourself
to gain further clarification on a specific sales tax question, look
up your local contact number on the following link:
http://www.myflorida.com/dor/contact.html
http://www.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/servicecenters.html
Sincerely,
umiat
Search Strategy
Florida sales tax
Florida sales tax and exemptions
non-permanent flooring exempt from Florida sales tax |
