| (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Application for Texas Title and/or Registration--Form
130-U, its electronic equivalent, or a successor form, promulgated
jointly by the comptroller and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles,
which is used by a person to apply for a title and registration and
to pay any motor vehicle sales or use tax due. The Application for
Texas Title and/or Registration is available at comptroller.texas.gov.
(2) Lease--An agreement, other than a rental, by an
owner of a motor vehicle to give for longer than 180 days exclusive
use of a motor vehicle to another for consideration. For more information
on motor vehicle leases, see §3.70 of this title (relating to
Motor Vehicle Leases and Sales).
(3) Motor vehicle--A vehicle described by Tax Code, §152.001(3)
(Definitions). In general, a motor vehicle includes a self-propelled
vehicle designed to transport persons or property upon the public
highway and a vehicle designed to be towed by a self-propelled vehicle
while carrying property. The term includes, but is not limited to:
automobiles; buses; vans; motor homes; motorcycles; trucks; truck
tractors; truck cab/chassis; semitrailers; trailers and travel trailers,
as defined by §3.72 of this title (relating to Trailers, Farm
Machines, and Timber Machines). The term does not include a vehicle
to which the certificate of title has been surrendered in exchange
for a salvage vehicle title or a nonrepairable vehicle title issued
pursuant to Transportation Code, Chapter 501 (Certificate of Title
Act).
(4) Open-enrollment charter school--A school that
has been granted a charter under Education Code, Chapter 12, Subchapter
D (Open-Enrollment Charter School).
(5) Public agency--A department, commission, board,
office, institution, or other agency of this state or of a county,
city, town, school district, hospital district, water district, or
other special district or authority or political subdivision created
by or under the constitution or the statutes of this state, or an
unincorporated agency or instrumentality of the United States. The
term includes:
(A) any college or university created or authorized
by the Texas constitution or Texas statutes;
(B) all independent boards, commissions, agencies,
or corporations that are instrumentalities of the United States and
are wholly owned by the United States or by another corporation wholly
owned by the United States, including organizations specifically exempted
as an instrumentality of the United States by federal statute, such
as a federal credit union, federal reserve bank, or federal home loan
bank; and
(C) effective September 1, 2017, an open-enrollment
charter school.
(b) Motor vehicles purchased or leased by a public
agency or an entity exempted by another statute.
(1) The sale or use of a motor vehicle is exempt from
the taxes imposed by Tax Code, Chapter 152 (Taxes on the Sale, Rental,
and Use of Motor Vehicles), when the motor vehicle is:
(A) purchased and used by a public agency and operated
with an exempt license plate issued under Transportation Code, §502.451
(Exempt Vehicles);
(B) purchased and used by a public agency and exempted
from inscription requirements as provided by Transportation Code, §721.003
(Exemption from Inscription Requirement for Certain State-Owned Motor
Vehicles) or §721.005 (Exemption from Inscription Requirement
for Certain Municipal and County-Owned Motor Vehicles), regardless
of whether the vehicle is operated with an exempt or regularly designed
license plate;
(C) purchased and used by a public agency and issued
a regularly designed license plate, pursuant to Transportation Code, §502.451(f),
because the motor vehicle is dedicated to law enforcement activities;
(D) purchased by the federal government, its agencies,
and its instrumentalities, regardless of whether the vehicle is operated
with an exempt or regularly designed license plate; or
(E) purchased and used by an entity who is exempted
from the taxes imposed by Tax Code, Chapter 152 or by another Texas
or federal statute, regardless of whether the vehicle is operated
with an exempt or regularly designated license plate.
(2) The sale or use of a motor vehicle is exempt from
taxes imposed by Tax Code, Chapter 152, when the motor vehicle is
purchased to be leased to a public agency, including the federal government,
its agencies, and its instrumentalities; and operated with an exempt
license plate issued under Transportation Code, §502.451.
(3) To claim an exemption under this section, a Texas
seller and purchaser must complete and sign an Application for Texas
Title and/or Registration and any other documents required by the
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to apply for title or register
the motor vehicle in Texas. The purchaser must indicate the reason
an exemption is claimed on the Application for Texas Title and/or
Registration at the time of purchase. For example, when a motor vehicle
is purchased by public agency, the purchaser may write "exempt as
a public agency," or "exempt as a public agency, as provided by §152.082
Sale of Motor Vehicle to or Use of Motor Vehicle by Public Agency."
When a motor vehicle is purchased to be leased to a public agency,
the purchaser may write, for example, "leased to a public agency"
or "exempt as a lease to a public agency, as provided by §152.083
Lease of Motor Vehicle to Public Agency." The Application for Texas
Title and/or Registration is submitted to the county tax assessor-collector.
(4) When a motor vehicle purchased tax-free and leased
to a public agency ceases to be leased to a public agency, and is
not held for sale, the owner must remit motor vehicle tax directly
to the comptroller by completing Motor Vehicle Sales/Use Tax Payment,
Form 14-112, its electronic equivalent, or a successor form, promulgated
by the comptroller. The amount of motor vehicle tax due is based on
the owner's book value of the motor vehicle at that time. For more
information concerning lease vehicles, see §3.70 of this title
(relating to Motor Vehicle Leases and Sales).
(c) Sale, use, or lease of a motor vehicle by a commercial
transportation company.
(1) The sale or use of a motor vehicle is exempt from
taxes imposed by Tax Code, Chapter 152 (Taxes on Sale, Rental, and
Use of Motor Vehicles), when the motor vehicle is operated with an
exempt license plate issued under Transportation Code, §502.451
and purchased by a commercial transportation company to provide transportation
services under a contract with:
(A) a board of county school trustees or school district
board of trustees under Education Code, §34.008 (Contract with
Transit Authority, Commercial Transportation Company, or Juvenile
Board); or
(B) the governing body of an open-enrollment charter
school.
(2) To claim an exemption under this section, a Texas
seller and purchaser must complete and sign an Application for Texas
Title and/or Registration and any other documents required by the
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to apply for title or register
the motor vehicle in Texas. The purchaser must indicate the reason
an exemption is claimed on the Application for Texas Title and/or
Registration at the time of purchase. For example, a commercial transportation
company agency may write "exempt as a commercial transportation company,
as provided by §152.082." The Application for Texas Title and/or
Registration is submitted to the county tax assessor-collector.
(3) This exemption under this section does not apply
to a motor vehicle leased to a commercial transportation company,
or a motor vehicle purchased by a third party to be leased to a commercial
transportation company, even if the commercial transportation company
uses the motor vehicle to provide transportation services under a
contract with the board of county school trustees, the school district
board of trustees, or the governing body of an open-enrollment charter
school. For more information concerning lease vehicles, see §3.70
of this title.
|
