(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Bunkhouse--A house trailer designed to be used
as sleeping accommodations for multiple persons, such as a work crew,
but not as a single-family residence.
(2) Farm or ranch--One or more tracts of land used,
either wholly or in part, in the production of crops, livestock, and/or
other agricultural products held for sale in the regular course of
business. The term includes feed lots, dairy farms, poultry farms,
commercial orchards, commercial nurseries, and similar commercial
agricultural operations that are original producers of agricultural
products. The term does not include, among other operations, home
gardens, wildlife management, and timber operations.
(3) Farm machine--A self-propelled motor vehicle specially
adapted for, and whose primary use is in, the production of crops
or rearing of livestock, including poultry or use in feedlots. The
term includes a self-propelled motor vehicle specially adapted for
distributing and applying plant-food materials, agricultural chemicals,
or feed for livestock. The term does not include pickup trucks or
any self-propelled motor vehicle specifically designed, or specially
adapted, to transport property other than the property being applied
or for the sole purpose of transporting or setting in place agricultural
products, plant-food materials, agricultural chemicals, or feed for
livestock. Examples of farm machines include, but are not limited
to, a truck cab chassis with a tank and equipment designed to apply
liquid fertilizer, a truck cab chassis with a hopper and auger designed
to distribute feed in a feedlot, and a truck modified with a flat
bed, feed distributor, and hay bale roll-out distribution device.
A flat bed truck modified solely with a hay spear/spike, hay bale
roll-out distribution device, or cube feeder of a size allowing the
truck bed to be used for general purposes is an example of a vehicle
that does not qualify as a farm machine.
(4) Farm trailer--A trailer or semitrailer designed
and whose primary use is as a farm or ranch vehicle. The term does
not include a motor vehicle designed for human habitation, including,
but not limited to, any vehicle designed for sleeping, dressing, lounging,
restroom use, or meal preparation, even though the vehicle may also
be used to transport livestock or agricultural products.
(5) House trailer--This term has the meaning given
in §3.481 of this title (relating to Imposition and Collection
of Manufactured Housing Tax) referring to Subchapter T of this chapter
(relating to Manufactured Housing Sales and Use Tax).
(6) Installation or set-up--Activities associated with
the sale of a trailer, as defined in this section, including, but
not limited to, spotting the trailer; preparing the foundation; placing,
leveling, blocking, and anchoring the trailer; connecting sewer, water,
electricity, and other utilities; and installing under skirting, awnings,
and steps.
(7) Mobile office--This term has the meaning given
in §3.306 of this title (relating to Sales of Mobile Offices,
Oilfield Portable Units, Portable Buildings, Prefabricated Buildings,
and Ready-Built Homes).
(8) Oilfield portable unit--This term has the meaning
given in §3.306 of this title.
(9) Park model--This term has the meaning given in §3.481
of this title.
(10) Primary use--Use of at least 80% of a motor vehicle's
operating time.
(11) Timber machine--A self-propelled motor vehicle
specially adapted to perform a specialized function for use primarily
in timber operations, such as land preparation, planting, maintenance,
and harvesting of trees. The term does not include any self-propelled
motor vehicle specifically designed or adapted for the primary use
of transporting timber or timber products, including a self-propelled
motor vehicle designed to transport cargo and adapted with a cargo-loading
device. The term also does not include field service vehicles, such
as those used to fuel or maintain other vehicles or crew vehicles.
(12) Timber operations--The production of timber, meaning
the activities to prepare the production site or to plant, cultivate,
or harvest commercial timber that will be sold in the regular course
of business.
(13) Timber trailer--A trailer designed for and used
primarily in a timber operation.
(14) Trailer--A vehicle without automotive power that
is designed for human habitation or for carrying property upon a permanent
chassis with wheels, axles, and a towing device, and that is designed
to be drawn by a self-propelled motor vehicle. The term includes,
but is not limited to, semitrailers, vans, flatbeds, tanks, dumpsters,
trailers sold unassembled in a kit, dollies, jeeps, stingers, auxiliary
axles, converter gears, bunkhouses, travel trailers, park models,
and house trailers. The term does not include a unit designed to be
towed by a self-propelled vehicle that meets the definition of moveable
specialized equipment in §3.88 of this title (relating to Moveable
Specialized Equipment and Off-Road Vehicles); mobile offices, as defined
in this section; manufactured homes, as defined by Tax Code, §158.002;
oilfield portable units, as defined in this section; or portable buildings,
prefabricated buildings, and ready-built homes, as defined in §3.306
of this title.
(15) Travel trailer or recreational trailer--A trailer
designed for human habitation as temporary living quarters in connection
with recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use that:
(A) is not designed to be used as a permanent dwelling;
(B) is less than eight feet six inches in width and
45 feet in length in the traveling mode and contains plumbing, heating,
and electrical systems that may be operated without connection to
outside utilities; and
(C) is not a utility trailer, enclosed trailer, or
other trailer that is not designed for human habitation as its primary
function.
(b) Loss of identity as a motor vehicle.
(1) A trailer is presumed to be permanently affixed
to realty, and therefore an improvement to real property that loses
its identity as a motor vehicle, if:
(A) it is attached so that it cannot be reasonably
reconstructed and made operational for highway use; or
(B) it is attached or installed in a manner that meets
all governmental standards (if any) for the installation, including
zoning regulations, building codes, federal regulations, and other
requirements applicable to the land on which it is located; and it
is either:
(i) installed on land owned by the purchaser, if the
purchaser intends to incorporate the trailer as a permanent fixture
to the land; or
(ii) installed on land leased to the purchaser, if
the lease contract provides that improvements to the land become the
property of the lessor.
(2) A trailer is presumed to be temporarily affixed
to the real property, and remains a motor vehicle, if:
(A) the owner of the trailer only has permission to
use the land but no contractual right to do so; or
(B) the owner of the trailer has a contractual right
to use the land and also has the right to remove the trailer at any
time or upon the termination of the contract.
(c) Application of motor vehicle sales and gross rental
receipts tax.
(1) A retail sale of a trailer is a taxable sale of
a motor vehicle. Motor vehicle sales or use tax is due on the total
sales price including charges for all accessories attached at the
time of sale and for transportation prior to the sale. The rental
of a trailer is also a taxable transaction. Gross rental receipts
tax is due on the gross receipts charged on the rental of a motor
vehicle, including a trailer. Charges for transportation after the
sale (transportation from the place of sale to the delivery or set-up
site) and charges for installation or set-up after the sale are not
subject to tax.
(2) A retail sale, use, or rental of a farm machine
or a farm trailer is not subject to the motor vehicle sales and use
tax or gross rental receipts tax if the primary use of the machine
or trailer is for an exempt purpose. For the purposes of this subsection,
use for an exempt purpose means use on a farm or ranch in the production
of food for human consumption, grass, feed for any form of animal
life or other livestock, or agricultural products to be sold in the
regular course of business. The use of a farm machine or farm trailer
to transport persons or property to or from competitions, shows, or
rodeos, or for any other similar use, is not use for an exempt purpose.
Cont'd... |