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Laws of North Carolina (Last Updated: May 12, 2015) |
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Chapter105. Taxation. |
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SubchapterI. LEVY OF TAXES |
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Article5. Sales and Use Tax |
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Part3. Exemptions and Exclusions |
§105-164.13. Retail sales and use tax
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The sale at retail and the use, storage, or consumption in this State of the following tangible personal property, digital property, and services are specifically exempted from the tax imposed by this Article:
Agricultural Group.
(1) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.3(b), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(1a), (1b) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.3(b), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(2) Repealed by Session Laws 2001, c. 514, s. 1, effective February 1, 2002.
(2a) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.3(b), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(3) Products of forests and mines in their original or unmanufactured state when such sales are made by the producer in the capacity of producer.
(4) Cotton, tobacco, peanuts or other farm products sold to manufacturers for further manufacturing or processing.
(4a) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.3(b), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(4b) Products of a farm sold in their original state by the producer of the products if the producer is not primarily a retail merchant and ice used to preserve agriculture, aquaculture and commercial fishery products until the products are sold at retail.
(4c), (4d) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.3(b), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(4e) Repealed by Session Laws 2006-162, s. 8(b), effective July 24, 2006.
(4f) Sales of the following to a person who is engaged in the commercial logging business:
a. Logging machinery. - Logging machinery is machinery used to harvest raw forest products for transport to first market.
b. Attachments and repair parts for logging machinery.
c. Lubricants applied to logging machinery.
d. Fuel used to operate logging machinery.
Industrial Group.
(4g) A wood chipper that meets all of the following requirements:
a. It is designed to be towed by a motor vehicle.
b. It is assigned a 17-digit vehicle identification number by the National Highway Transportation Safety Association.
c. It is sold to a person who purchases a motor vehicle in this State that is to be registered in another state and who uses the purchased motor vehicle to tow the wood chipper to the state in which the purchased motor vehicle is to be registered.
(5) Manufactured products produced and sold by manufacturers or producers to other manufacturers, producers, or registered retailers or wholesale merchants, for the purpose of resale except as modified by G.S. 105-164.3(51). This exemption does not extend to or include retail sales to users or consumers not for resale.
(5a) Products that are subject to tax under Article 5F of this Chapter.
(5b) Sales to a telephone company regularly engaged in providing telecommunications service to subscribers on a commercial basis of central office equipment, switchboard equipment, private branch exchange equipment, terminal equipment other than public pay telephone terminal equipment, and parts and accessories attached to the equipment.
(5c) Sales of towers, broadcasting equipment, and parts and accessories attached to the equipment to a radio or television company licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
(5d) Sales of broadcasting equipment and parts and accessories attached to the equipment to a cable service provider. For the purposes of this subdivision, "broadcasting equipment" does not include cable.
(6) Repealed by Session Laws 1989 (Regular Session, 1990), c. 1068, s. 1.
(7) Sales of products of waters in their original or unmanufactured state when such sales are made by the producer in the capacity of producer. Fish and seafoods are likewise exempt when sold by the fisherman in that capacity.
(8) Sales to a manufacturer of tangible personal property that enters into or becomes an ingredient or component part of tangible personal property that is manufactured. This exemption does not apply to sales of electricity.
(8a) Sales to a small power production facility, as defined in 16 U.S.C. § 796(17)(A), of fuel used by the facility to generate electricity.
(9) Boats, fuel oil, lubricating oils, machinery, equipment, nets, rigging, paints, parts, accessories, and supplies sold to any of the following:
a. The holder of a standard commercial fishing license issued under G.S. 113-168.2 for principal use in commercial fishing operations.
b. The holder of a shellfish license issued under G.S. 113-169.2 for principal use in commercial shellfishing operations.
c. The operator of a for-hire boat, as defined in G.S. 113-174, for principal use in the commercial use of the boat.
(10) Sales of the following to commercial laundries or to pressing and dry cleaning establishments:
a. Articles or materials used for the identification of garments being laundered or dry cleaned, wrapping paper, bags, hangers, starch, soaps, detergents, cleaning fluids and other compounds or chemicals applied directly to the garments in the direct performance of the laundering or the pressing and cleaning service.
b. Laundry and dry-cleaning machinery, parts and accessories attached to the machinery, and lubricants applied to the machinery.
c. Fuel, other than electricity, used in the direct performance of the laundering or the pressing and cleaning service.
Motor Fuels Group.
(10a) Sales of the following to a major recycling facility:
a. Lubricants and other additives for motor vehicles or machinery and equipment used at the facility.
b. Materials, supplies, parts, and accessories, other than machinery and equipment, that are not capitalized by the taxpayer and are used or consumed in the manufacturing and material handling processes at the facility.
c. Electricity used at the facility.
(10b) Recodified as G.S. 105-164.13(10a)c. by Session Laws 2005-276, s. 33.9, effective January 1, 2006.
(11) Any of the following fuel:
a. Motor fuel, as taxed in Article 36C of this Chapter, except motor fuel for which a refund of the per gallon excise tax is allowed under G.S. 105-449.105A or G.S. 105-449.107.
b. Alternative fuel taxed under Article 36D of this Chapter, unless a refund of that tax is allowed under G.S. 105-449.107.
(11a) Sales of diesel fuel to railroad companies for use in rolling stock other than motor vehicles. The definitions in G.S. 105-333 apply in this subdivision.
Medical Group.
(12) Sales of any of the following items:
a. Prosthetic devices for human use.
b. Mobility enhancing equipment sold on a prescription.
c. Durable medical equipment sold on prescription.
d. Durable medical supplies sold on prescription.
(13) All of the following drugs, including their packaging materials and any instructions or information about the drugs included in the package with them:
a. Drugs required by federal law to be dispensed only on prescription.
b. Over-the-counter drugs sold on prescription.
c. Insulin.
(13a) Repealed by Session Laws 1996, Second Extra Session, c. 14, s. 16.
(13b) Repealed by Session Laws 1999, c. 438, s. 7, effective October 1, 1999.
(13c) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.2(a), effective January 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
Printed Materials Group.
(14) Public school books on the adopted list, the selling price of which is fixed by State contract.
(14a) Recodified as subdivision (33a) by Session Laws 2000-120, s. 5, effective July 14, 2000.
Transactions Group.
(15) Accounts of purchasers, representing taxable sales, on which the tax imposed by this Article has been paid, that are found to be worthless and actually charged off for income tax purposes may, at corresponding periods, be deducted from gross sales. In the case of a municipality that sells electricity, the account may be deducted if it meets all the conditions for charge-off that would apply if the municipality were subject to income tax. Any accounts deducted pursuant to this subdivision must be added to gross sales if afterwards collected.
(16) Sales of an article repossessed by the vendor if tax was paid on the sales price of the article.
Exempt Status Group.
(17) Sales which a state would be without power to tax under the limitations of the Constitution or laws of the United States or under the Constitution of this State.
Unclassified Group.
(18) Repealed by Session Laws 2005-276, s. 33.9, effective January 1, 2006.
(19) Repealed by Session Laws 1991, c. 618, s. 1.
(20) Sales by blind merchants operating under supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(21) The lease or rental of motion picture films used for exhibition purposes where the lease or rental of such property is an established business or part of an established business or the same is incidental or germane to said business of the lessee.
(22) The lease or rental of films, motion picture films, transcriptions and recordings to radio stations and television stations operating under a certificate from the Federal Communications Commission.
(22a) Sales of audiovisual masters made or used by a production company in making visual and audio images for first generation reproduction. For the purpose of this subdivision, an "audiovisual master" is an audio or video film, tape, or disk or another audio or video storage device from which all other copies are made.
(23) Sales of the following packaging items:
a. Wrapping paper, labels, wrapping twine, paper, cloth, plastic bags, cartons, packages and containers, cores, cones or spools, wooden boxes, baskets, coops and barrels, including paper cups, napkins and drinking straws and like articles sold to manufacturers, producers and retailers, when such materials are used for packaging, shipment or delivery of tangible personal property which is sold either at wholesale or retail and when such articles constitute a part of the sale of such tangible personal property and are delivered with it to the customer.
b. A container that is used as packaging by the owner of the container or another person to enclose tangible personal property for delivery to a purchaser of the property and is required to be returned to its owner for reuse.
(24) Sales of fuel and other items of tangible personal property for use or consumption by or on ocean-going vessels which ply the high seas in interstate or foreign commerce in the transport of freight and/or passengers for hire exclusively, when delivered to an officer or agent of such vessel for the use of such vessel; provided, however, that sales of fuel and other items of tangible personal property made to officers, agents, members of the crew or passengers of such vessels for their personal use shall not be exempted from payment of the sales tax.
(25) Sales by merchants on the Cherokee Indian Reservation when such merchants are authorized to do business on the Reservation and are paying the tribal gross receipts levy to the Tribal Council.
(26) Food and prepared food sold within the school building during the regular school day. For purposes of this exemption, the term "school" is an entity regulated under Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.
(26a) Food and prepared food sold not for profit by a public school cafeteria to a child care center that participates in the Child and Adult Care Food Program of the Department of Health and Human Services.
(27) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.2(a), effective January 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(27a) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.4(a), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to purchases made on or after that date.
(28) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 3.2(a), effective January 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(29) Repealed by Session Laws 2005-435, s. 30, effective September 27, 2005.
(29a) Repealed by Session Laws 1995 (Regular Session, 1996), c. 646, s. 5.
(30) Repealed by Session Laws 2014-3, s. 8.3(a), effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(31) Sales of meals not for profit to elderly and incapacitated persons by charitable or religious organizations not operated for profit which are entitled to the refunds provided by G.S. 105-164.14(b), when such meals are delivered to the purchasers at their places of abode.
(31a) Food and prepared food sold by a church or religious organization not operated for profit when the proceeds of the sales are actually used for religious activities.
(31b) Repealed by Session Laws 1996, Second Extra Session, c. 14, s. 16.
(32) Sales of motor vehicles, the sale of a motor vehicle body to be mounted on a motor vehicle chassis when a certificate of title has not been issued for the chassis, and the sale of a motor vehicle body mounted on a motor vehicle chassis that temporarily enters the State so the manufacturer of the body can mount the body on the chassis.
(33) Tangible personal property purchased solely for the purpose of export to a foreign country for exclusive use or consumption in that or some other foreign country, either in the direct performance or rendition of professional or commercial services, or in the direct conduct or operation of a trade or business, all of which purposes are actually consummated, or purchased by the government of a foreign country for export which purpose is actually consummated. "Export" shall include the acts of possessing and marshalling such property, by either the seller or the purchaser, for transportation to a foreign country, but shall not include devoting such property to any other use in North Carolina or the United States. "Foreign country" shall not include any territory or possession of the United States.
In order to qualify for this exemption, an affidavit of export indicating compliance with the terms and conditions of this exemption, as prescribed by the Secretary of Revenue, must be submitted by the purchaser to the seller, and retained by the seller to evidence qualification for the exemption.
If the purposes qualifying the property for exemption are not consummated, the purchaser shall be liable for the tax which was avoided by the execution of the aforesaid affidavit as well as for applicable penalties and interest and the affidavit shall contain express provision that the purchaser has recognized and assumed such liability.
The principal purpose of this exemption is to encourage the flow of commerce through North Carolina ports that is now moving through out-of-state ports. However, it is not intended that property acquired for personal use or consumption by the purchaser, including gifts, shall be exempt hereunder.
(33a) Tangible personal property sold by a retailer to a purchaser inside or outside this State, when the property is delivered by the retailer in this State to a common carrier or to the United States Postal Service for delivery to the purchaser or the purchaser's designees outside this State and the purchaser does not subsequently use the property in this State. This exemption includes printed material sold by a retailer to a purchaser inside or outside this State when the printed material is delivered directly to a mailing house, to a common carrier, or to the United States Postal Service for delivery to a mailing house in this State that will preaddress and presort the material and deliver it to a common carrier or to the United States Postal Service for delivery to recipients outside this State designated by the purchaser.
(34) Sales of items by a nonprofit civic, charitable, educational, scientific or literary organization when the net proceeds of the sales will be given or contributed to the State of North Carolina or to one or more of its agencies or instrumentalities, or to one or more nonprofit charitable organizations, one of whose purposes is to serve as a conduit through which such net proceeds will flow to the State or to one or more of its agencies or instrumentalities. This exemption does not apply to gross receipts derived from an admission charge to an entertainment activity.
(35) Sales by a nonprofit civic, charitable, educational, scientific, literary, or fraternal organization when all of the conditions listed in this subdivision are met. This exemption does not apply to gross receipts derived from an admission charge to an entertainment activity.
a. The sales are conducted only upon an annual basis for the purpose of raising funds for the organization's activities.
b. The proceeds of the sale are actually used for the organization's activities.
c. The products sold are delivered to the purchaser within 60 days after the first solicitation of any sale made during the organization's annual sales period.
(36) Advertising supplements and any other printed matter ultimately to be distributed with or as part of a newspaper.
(37) Repealed by Session Laws 2001-424, s. 34.23(a), effective December 1, 2001, and applicable to sales made on or after that date.
(38) Food and other items lawfully purchased under the Food Stamp Program, 7 U.S.C. § 2011, and supplemental foods lawfully purchased with a food instrument issued under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program, 42 U.S.C. § 1786, and supplemental foods purchased for direct distribution by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program.
(39) Sales of paper, ink, and other tangible personal property to commercial printers and commercial publishers for use as ingredients or component parts of free distribution periodicals and sales by printers of free distribution periodicals to the publishers of these periodicals. As used in this subdivision, the term "free distribution periodical" means a publication that is continuously published on a periodic basis monthly or more frequently, is provided without charge to the recipient, and is distributed in any manner other than by mail.
(40) Sales to the Department of Transportation.
(41) Sales of mobile classrooms to local boards of education or to local boards of trustees of community colleges.
(42) Tangible personal property that is purchased by a retailer for resale or is manufactured or purchased by a wholesale merchant for resale and then withdrawn from inventory and donated by the retailer or wholesale merchant to either a governmental entity or a nonprofit organization, contributions to which are deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
(43) Custom computer software. - Custom computer software and the portion of prewritten computer software that is modified or enhanced if the modification or enhancement is designed and developed to the specifications of a specific purchaser and the charges for the modification or enhancement are separately stated.
(43a) Computer software that meets any of the following descriptions:
a. It is purchased to run on an enterprise server operating system. The exemption includes a purchase or license of computer software for high-volume, simultaneous use on multiple computers that is housed or maintained on an enterprise server or end users' computers. The exemption includes software designed to run a computer system, an operating program, or application software.
b. It is sold to a person who operates a datacenter and is used within the datacenter.
c. It is sold to a person who provides cable service, telecommunications service, or video programming and is used to provide ancillary service, cable service, Internet access service, telecommunications service, or video programming.
(43b) Computer software or digital property that becomes a component part of other computer software or digital property that is offered for sale or of a service that is offered for sale.
(44) Repealed by Session Laws 2013-316, s. 4.1(d), effective July 1, 2014, and applicable to gross receipts billed on or after that date.
(45) Sales of aircraft lubricants, aircraft repair parts, and aircraft accessories to an interstate passenger air carrier for use at its hub.
(45a) Sales to an interstate air business of tangible personal property that becomes a component part of or is dispensed as a lubricant into commercial aircraft during its maintenance, repair, or overhaul. For the purpose of this subdivision, commercial aircraft includes only aircraft that has a certified maximum take-off weight of more than 12,500 pounds and is regularly used to carry for compensation passengers, commercial freight, or individually addressed letters and packages.
(45b) Sales of the following items to an interstate air courier for use at its hub:
a. Aircraft lubricants, aircraft repair parts, and aircraft accessories.
b. Materials handling equipment, racking systems, and related parts and accessories for the storage or handling and movement of tangible personal property at an airport or in a warehouse or distribution facility.
(45c) Sales of aircraft simulators to a company for flight crew training and maintenance training.
(46) Sales of electricity by a municipality whose only wholesale supplier of electric power is a federal agency and who is required by a contract with that federal agency to make payments in lieu of taxes.
(47) An amount charged as a deposit on a beverage container that is returnable to the vendor for reuse when the amount is refundable or creditable to the vendee, whether or not the deposit is separately charged.
(48) An amount charged as a deposit on an aeronautic, automotive, industrial, marine, or farm replacement part that is returnable to the vendor for rebuilding or remanufacturing when the amount is refundable or creditable to the vendee, whether or not the deposit is separately charged. This exemption does not include tires or batteries.
(49) Installation charges when the charges are separately stated on an invoice or similar billing document given to the purchaser at the time of sale.
(49a) Delivery charges for delivery of direct mail if the charges are separately stated on an invoice or similar billing document given to the purchaser at the time of sale.
(50) Fifty percent (50%) of the sales price of tangible personal property sold through a coin-operated vending machine, other than tobacco and newspapers.
(51) Water delivered by or through main lines or pipes for either commercial or domestic use or consumption.
(52) Items subject to sales and use tax under G.S. 105-164.4, other than electricity, telecommunications service, and ancillary service as defined in G.S. 105-164.4, if all of the following conditions are met:
a. The items are purchased by a State agency for its own use and in accordance with G.S. 105-164.29A.
b. The items are purchased pursuant to a valid purchase order issued by the State agency that contains the exemption number of the agency and a description of the property purchased, or the items purchased are paid for with a State-issued check, electronic deposit, credit card, procurement card, or credit account of the State agency.
c. For all purchases other than by an agency-issued purchase order, the agency must provide to or have on file with the retailer the agency's exemption number.
(53) Sales to a professional land surveyor of tangible personal property on which custom aerial survey data is stored in digital form or is depicted in graphic form. Data is custom if it was created to the specifications of the professional land surveyor purchasing the property. A professional land surveyor is a person licensed as a surveyor under Chapter 89C of the General Statutes.
(54) The following telecommunications services and charges:
a. Telecommunications service that is a component part of or is integrated into a telecommunications service that is resold. This exemption does not apply to service purchased by a pay telephone provider who uses the service to provide pay telephone service. Examples of services that are resold include carrier charges for access to an intrastate or interstate interexchange network, interconnection charges paid by a provider of mobile telecommunications service, and charges for the sale of unbundled network elements. An unbundled network element is a network element, as defined in 47 U.S.C. § 153(29), to which access is provided on an unbundled basis pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 251(c)(3).
b. Pay telephone service.
c. 911 charges imposed under G.S. 62A-43 and remitted to the 911 Fund under that section.
d. Charges for telecommunications service made by a hotel, motel, or another entity whose gross receipts are taxable under G.S. 105-164.4(a)(3) when the charges are incidental to the occupancy of the entity's accommodations.
e. Telecommunications service purchased or provided by a State agency or a unit of local government for the State Network or another data network owned or leased by the State or unit of local government.
(55) Sales of electricity for use at an eligible Internet datacenter and eligible business property to be located and used at an eligible Internet datacenter. As used in this subdivision, "eligible business property" is property that is capitalized for tax purposes under the Code and is used either:
a. For the provision of a service included in the business of the primary user of the datacenter, including equipment cooling systems for managing the performance of the property.
b. For the generation, transformation, transmission, distribution, or management of electricity, including exterior substations and other business personal property used for these purposes.
c. To provide related computer engineering or computer science research.
If the level of investment required by G.S. 105-164.3(8e)d. is not timely made, then the exemption provided under this subdivision is forfeited. If the level of investment required by G.S. 105-164.3(8e)d. is timely made but any specific eligible business property is not located and used at an eligible Internet datacenter, then the exemption provided for such eligible business property under this subdivision is forfeited. If the level of investment required by G.S. 105-164.3(8e)d. is timely made but any portion of the electricity is not used at an eligible Internet datacenter, then the exemption provided for such electricity under this subdivision is forfeited. A taxpayer that forfeits an exemption under this subdivision is liable for all past taxes avoided as a result of the forfeited exemption, computed from the date the taxes would have been due if the exemption had not been allowed, plus interest at the rate established under G.S. 105-241.21. If the forfeiture is triggered due to the lack of a timely investment required by G.S. 105-164.3(8e)d., then interest is computed from the date the taxes would have been due if the exemption had not been allowed. For all other forfeitures, interest is computed from the time as of which the eligible business property or electricity was put to a disqualifying use. The past taxes and interest are due 30 days after the date the exemption is forfeited. A taxpayer that fails to pay the past taxes and interest by the due date is subject to the provisions of G.S. 105-236.
(56) Sales to the owner or lessee of an eligible railroad intermodal facility of intermodal cranes, intermodal hostler trucks, and railroad locomotives that reside on the premises of the facility and are used at the facility.
(57) Fuel and electricity sold to a manufacturer for use in connection with the operation of a manufacturing facility. The exemption does not apply to electricity used at a facility at which the primary activity is not manufacturing.
(58) Tangible personal property purchased with a client assistance debit card issued for disaster assistance relief by a State agency or a federal agency or instrumentality.
(59) Interior design services provided in conjunction with the sale of tangible personal property.
(60) Gross receipts derived from an admission charge to an entertainment activity are exempt as provided in G.S. 105-164.4G.
(61) A service contract for tangible personal property may be exempt as provided in G.S. 105-164.4I.
(62) An item used to maintain or repair tangible personal property or a motor vehicle pursuant to a service contract if the purchaser of the contract is not charged for the item. This exemption does not apply to an item used to maintain or repair tangible personal property pursuant to a service contract exempt from tax under G.S. 105-164.4I(b). For purposes of this exemption, the term "item" does not include a tool, equipment, supply, or similar tangible personal property used to complete the maintenance or repair and that is not deemed to be a component or repair part of the tangible personal property or motor vehicle for which a service contract is sold to a purchaser.
(63) Food and prepared food to be provided to a person entitled to the food and prepared food under a prepaid meal plan subject to tax under G.S. 105-164.4(a)(12).
(64) Fifty percent (50%) of the sales price of a modular home or a manufactured home, including all accessories attached when delivered to the purchaser.