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TITLE 34PUBLIC FINANCE
PART 1COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
CHAPTER 3TAX ADMINISTRATION
SUBCHAPTER OSTATE AND LOCAL SALES AND USE TAXES
RULE §3.285Resale Certificate; Sales for Resale

(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

  (1) Equipment--Any apparatus, device, or simple machine used to perform a service.

  (2) Federal government--The government of the United States of America and its unincorporated agencies and instrumentalities, including all parts of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches and all independent boards, commissions, and agencies of the United States government unless otherwise designated in this section.

  (3) Integral part--An essential element without which the whole would not be complete. One taxable item is an integral part of a second item if the taxable item is necessary, as opposed to desirable, for the completion of the second item, and if the second item could not be provided as a whole without the taxable item.

  (4) Internet hosting service--The provision to an unrelated user of access over the Internet to computer services using property that is owned or leased and managed by the service provider and on which the unrelated user may store or process the user's own data or use software that is owned, licensed, or leased by the unrelated user or service provider. The term does not include telecommunications services as defined in §3.344 of this title (relating to Telecommunications Services).

  (5) Machinery--All power-operated machines.

  (6) Mexico--Within the geographical limits of the United Mexican States.

  (7) Purchaser--A person who is in the business of selling, leasing, or renting taxable items.

  (8) Seller--Every retailer, wholesaler, distributor, manufacturer, marketplace provider, or any other person who sells, leases, rents, or transfers ownership of tangible personal property or performs taxable services for consideration. Specific types of sellers, such as direct sales organizations, pawnbrokers, marketplace providers, and auctioneers, are further defined in §3.286 of this title (relating to Seller's and Purchaser's Responsibilities).

  (9) Taxable item--Tangible personal property and taxable services. Except as otherwise provided by Tax Code, Chapter 151, the sale or use of a taxable item in an electronic form instead of on physical media does not alter the item's tax status.

  (10) Tax-free inventory--A stock of tangible personal property purchased tax-free for resale, whether from out-of-state or by issuing a properly completed resale certificate, by a purchaser who, at the time of purchase:

    (A) holds a valid Texas sales and use tax permit;

    (B) makes sales of taxable items in the regular course of business; and

    (C) does not know whether the tangible personal property will be resold in the normal course of business or used in the performance of a service.

  (11) United States--Within the geographical limits of the United States of America or within the territories and possessions of the United States of America.

(b) Sale for resale.

  (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (3) - (6) of this subsection, each of the following is a sale for resale:

    (A) the sale of a taxable item to a purchaser who acquires the taxable item for the purpose of reselling it as a taxable item in the United States or Mexico in the normal course of business:

      (i) in the form or condition in which it is acquired; or

      (ii) as an attachment to or as an integral part of another taxable item;

    (B) the sale of tangible personal property to a purchaser who acquires the property for the sole purpose of leasing or renting it in the United States or Mexico in the normal course of business to another person, but not if incidental to the leasing or renting of real estate, as described in §3.294(k) of this title (relating to Rental and Lease of Tangible Personal Property);

    (C) the sale of tangible personal property to a purchaser who acquires the property for the purpose of transferring the property to a customer in the United States or Mexico as an integral part of a taxable service;

    (D) the sale of a taxable service performed on tangible personal property that the purchaser of the service holds for sale, lease, or rental;

    (E) the sale of tangible personal property or a taxable service to a purchaser who acquires the tangible personal property or service for the purpose of transferring it as an integral part of performing a contract, or a subcontract of a contract, for the sale, other than the lease or rental, of tangible personal property with an entity or organization exempted from the taxes imposed by this chapter under Tax Code, §151.309 (Governmental Entities) or Tax Code, §151.310 (Religious, Educational, and Public Service Organizations) only if the purchaser:

      (i) allocates and bills to the contract the cost of the tangible personal property or service as a direct or indirect cost; and

      (ii) transfers title to the tangible personal property to the exempt entity or organization under the contract or subcontract and any applicable acquisition regulations;

    (F) the sale of a wireless voice communication device, such as a cellular telephone, to a purchaser who acquires the device for the purpose of transferring the device as an integral part of a taxable telecommunication service when the purchase of the service is a condition for receiving the device, regardless of whether there is a separate charge for the device or whether the purchaser is the provider of the taxable service. See §3.344 of this title for information about telecommunication services; and

    (G) the sale of a computer program to a provider of Internet hosting services who acquires the computer program from an unrelated vendor for the purpose of selling the right to use the computer program to an unrelated user of the provider's Internet hosting services in the normal course of business and in the form or condition in which the provider acquired the computer program, without regard to whether the provider transfers care, custody, and control of the computer program to the unrelated user. The performance by the provider of routine maintenance of the computer program that is recommended or required by the unrelated vendor of the computer program does not affect the application of this subsection. For purposes of this subsection, the purchase of the computer program by the provider qualifies as a sale for resale only if:

      (i) the provider offers the unrelated user a selection of computer programs that are available to the public for purchase directly from an unrelated vendor;

      (ii) the provider executes a written contract with the unrelated user that specifies the name of the computer program sold to the unrelated user and includes a charge to the unrelated user for computing hardware;

      (iii) the unrelated user purchases the right to use the computer program from the provider through the acquisition of a license; and

      (iv) the provider does not retain the right to use the computer program under that license.

  (2) To qualify as a sale for resale, the taxable item must be acquired for the purpose of selling, leasing, or renting it in the regular course of business or for the purpose of transferring it as an integral part of a taxable service performed in the regular course of business.

  (3) A sale for resale does not include the sale of internal or external wrapping, packing, or packaging supplies to a purchaser who acquires the supplies for use in wrapping, packing, or packaging tangible personal property, or in the performance of a service, for the purpose of furthering the sale of the tangible personal property or the service. See §3.314 of this title (relating to Wrapping, Packing, Packaging Supplies, Containers, Labels, Tags, Export Packers, and Stevedoring Materials and Supplies).

  (4) A sale for resale does not include the sale of tangible personal property or a taxable service to a purchaser who acquires the property or service for the purpose of performing a service not listed as a taxable service under Tax Code, §151.0101 ("Taxable Services"), regardless of whether title transfers to the service provider's customer, unless the tangible personal property or taxable service is purchased for the purpose of performing a contract, or a subcontract of a contract, for a service, including a taxable service under Tax Code, §151.0101, with any branch of the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or National Reconnaissance Office to the extent allocated and billed to the contract with the federal government.

  (5) A sale for resale does not include the sale of a taxable item to a purchaser who acquires the taxable item for the purpose of reselling or transferring the taxable item outside the territorial limits of the United States or Mexico. Refer to §3.323 of this title (relating to Imports and Exports).

  (6) Tangible personal property used to perform a taxable service is not considered resold unless the care, custody, and control of the tangible personal property is transferred to the purchaser of the service. The care, custody, and control of tangible personal property is transferred to the purchaser of the service when the purchaser has primary possession of the tangible personal property.

    (A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph, to have primary possession, the purchaser or the purchaser's designee must have:

      (i) physical possession of the tangible personal property off of the premises of the service provider;

      (ii) a contractual duty to care for the tangible personal property. At a minimum, the contract must prohibit the purchaser from damaging the tangible personal property or impose liability if the purchaser damages the tangible personal property; and

      (iii) a superior right to use the tangible personal property for a contractually specified period of time.

    (B) The purchaser may have primary possession of tangible personal property if the purchaser or the purchaser's designee has physical possession of the tangible personal property and directly consumes the tangible personal property during the provision of the taxable service. Property is considered consumed if it can no longer be used for its intended purpose in the normal course of business or is not retained or reusable by the service provider.

    (C) A purchaser may have primary possession of a computer program if the purchaser acquires a license to use the computer program from the service provider and the service provider does not retain the right to use the computer program under that license.

  (7) A person performing services taxable under Tax Code, Chapter 151 is the consumer of machinery and equipment used by the person in performing the services. A person performing a taxable service is not using the machinery or equipment in performing the service if the person has transferred primary possession, as that term is described in paragraph (6) of this subsection, of the machinery or equipment to the purchaser of the service.

  (8) Aircraft. See §3.280 of this title (relating to Aircraft) for the definition of "sale for resale" as it applies to aircraft.

  (9) A sale for resale does not include the sale of tangible personal property to a purchaser who acquires the property for the purpose of using, consuming, or expending it in, or incorporating it into, an oil or gas well in the performance of an oil well service taxable under Tax Code, Chapter 191 (Miscellaneous Occupation Taxes).

(c) Issuance and acceptance of resale certificates.

  (1) A sale for resale as defined in subsection (b) of this section is not taxable.

  (2) Who may issue a resale certificate.

    (A) In general, a purchaser who holds a Texas sales and use tax permit may issue a resale certificate instead of paying tax at the time of purchase of a taxable item that the purchaser intends to resell, lease, rent, or transfer as an integral part of a taxable service in the normal course of business. A purchaser may also issue a resale certificate instead of paying tax at the time of purchase of a taxable item that the purchaser intends to maintain in a valid tax-free inventory, if the purchaser does not know at the time of purchase whether the item will be resold or used in the performance of a service. The purchaser must collect, report, and remit tax to the comptroller as required by §3.286 of this title when the purchaser sells, leases, or rents taxable items.

    (B) A purchaser may not issue a resale certificate in lieu of paying tax on the purchase of a taxable item, including tangible personal property to maintain in a valid tax-free inventory, that the purchaser knows, at the time of purchase, will be used or consumed by the purchaser.

  (3) Accepting a resale certificate.

    (A) All gross receipts of a seller are presumed subject to sales or use tax unless a properly completed resale or exemption certificate is accepted by the seller. A properly completed resale certificate contains the information required by subsection (g) of this section. See also §3.287 of this title (relating to Exemption Certificates).

Cont'd...

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