Section 35.01.02.012 - CONTRACTORS IMPROVING REAL PROPERTYSections 63-3609(a), 63-3621, 63-3615(b), 63-3622B, Idaho Code
01.In General. This rule applies to contractors who construct, alter, repair, or improve real property. Contractors are defined as consumers of materials they use, whether or not they resell the material. All sales of tangible personal property to contractors are taxable. a. A contractor is any person acting as a general contractor, subcontractor, contractee, subcontractee, or speculative builder who uses material and equipment to perform any written or verbal contract to improve, alter, or repair real property.b. Contractors include bricklayers, plumbers, heating specialists, painters, sheet metal workers, carpet layers, electricians, land levelers, well drillers, landscapers, and all others who do contract work on real property. Unless these persons are employees of a contractor, they are acting as contractors and are consumers just as other contractors.c. Persons doing residential repairs, such as plumbers and electricians, as well as those who both sell and install carpet, also are contractors improving real property. Such contractors are defined as the consumers of the materials they install and are required to pay sales or use tax on their cost for the materials. They do not charge sales tax to their customers unless they make a sale of materials only, with no installation.d. The terms "contractor" and "subcontractor" are not applicable to persons who merely sell tangible personal property in the form of building materials, supplies, or equipment to construction contractors for delivery at the job site without any requirement that they install such tangible personal property.02.Contract. A contract to improve real property may be in any of the following forms. a. Lump Sum Contract. A lump sum contract is an agreement to furnish materials and services for a lump sum.b. Cost-plus Contract. A cost-plus contract is an agreement to furnish materials and services at the contractor's cost plus a fixed sum or percentage of the cost.c. Guaranteed Price Contract. A guaranteed price contract is an agreement to furnish materials and services with a guaranteed price which may not be exceeded.d. Time and Material Contract. A time and material contract is an agreement to sell a specific list of materials and supplies at retail or an agreed price and to complete the work for an additional agreed price or hourly rate for services rendered.e. The contractor or repairman who affixes or installs the personal property into real property is the consumer of tangible personal property regardless of the type of contract entered into, whether it is a lump sum, time and material, or a cost-plus contract.03.Use. As used in this rule, the term use includes exercising any right or power over tangible personal property in performing a contract to improve real property, regardless of who owns the material or if the material is leased.04.Real Property. See Rules 010 and 067 of these rules.05.Use Tax Reporting Number. Contractors need a use tax number if they make purchases on which sales tax has not been charged. In this case, they are required to report and pay the Idaho use tax to the state. If a contractor pays sales tax to his vendors on ALL purchases, he does not have to obtain a use tax number.06.Purchases by Contractors. Contractors are consumers of equipment they use in their business such as trucks, tractors, road graders, scaffolding, pipe cutters, trowels, wrenches, tools in general, oxygen, acetylene, oil, and similar items. They pay sales or use tax on their purchase of equipment, tools, and supplies. They also pay tax on their purchase of building materials and fixtures. Fixtures include items such as lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, furnaces, boilers, heating units, air-conditioning units, refrigeration units, elevators, hoists, conveying units, awnings, blinds, vaults, cabinets, counters, and lockers.07.Fuels. A contractor pays tax on fuels used in off-road equipment unless on-road fuels excise taxes have been paid.08.Custom-Made Goods. Sales tax applies to the entire price charged for custom-made goods sold by the maker. If a contractor orders fabricated steel from a steel company, he pays sales tax on the entire price of the fabricated item, including the cost of the labor involved. On the other hand, if the contractor buys the steel and fabricates it himself for the job, he pays a tax only on the materials he buys.09.Value. The contractor owes use tax on the value of the job materials at the time he exercises right or power over them. Value, as used in Section 63-3621, Idaho Code, means: a. When a contractor fabricates and installs tangible personal property into Idaho real property, the value is the cost of materials and parts he uses. If a contractor, with a contract to furnish and install goods, fabricates the goods and hires a subcontractor to do the installation, the taxable amount is the cost of material to the contractor who fabricated the goods.b. When a contractor who is also a retailer fabricates tangible personal property, puts it in his resale inventory, and later withdraws it for a job, tax applies to the fully fabricated value. This is true regardless of whether the fabricator installs the property himself or through an agent or subcontractor.10.Materials Provided by Project Owner.a. If a project owner who is not exempt from tax buys materials for a job and hires a contractor to install them, he pays sales or use tax when he buys the material. If the owner does not pay tax on the materials, the contractor may be held liable for the tax.b. If material needed for a contract is purchased or supplied by an owner who is exempt from sales and use taxes, then the use by the contractor is taxable. This is true even if the property is owned by an exempt entity such as the federal government or a state government agency. For example, if a contractor has a public works contract to build a structure using materials owned and supplied by the government, whether federal, state, or local, he is the consumer of the materials and is subject to a use tax on their value. This tax falls directly upon the contractor and not the owner of the property.c. A contractor who buys tangible goods cannot avoid tax just because the goods will be built into a structure which will belong to, or be used by an exempt entity. Contractors and subcontractors may not avoid paying sales or use tax due to a contract which allows invoices to be made out in the name of the exempt entity, such as the U.S. Government, and designate the contractor or subcontractor as an agent of the exempt entity. In this case, the contractor or subcontractor is the user or consumer of the material and its use, while it is in his possession and subject to his labor, is taxable.11.Subcontractor. In general, a subcontractor is treated the same as a general contractor. Whether his contract is with the owner or the general contractor, the subcontractor pays tax on materials he buys to improve real property. Like any contractor, the subcontractor could be employed to work on or with material purchased by the general contractor or the owner, with one or the other paying tax on the material purchased. These services rendered by the subcontractor are not taxable. His relationship with the owner or general contractor is no different than the relationship between the contractor and owner. However, the provisions of Subsection 011.10 of this rule apply equally to a subcontractor.12.Land Leveling.a. Persons who contract to level land are improving real property and are contractors under this rule. Accordingly, they pay tax on equipment, material, and supplies purchased for land leveling.b. Notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 013 of these rules, contractors who crush rock are performing a nontaxable service if the rock is obtained on a construction site, and the crushed rock is used on the same site, for such purposes as backfill, land leveling, site preparation. or site cleanup. The use of such rock, backfill, or other related materials is not taxable; however, such a contractor is not primarily devoted to mining and his use of rock crushing equipment, or other equipment and supplies, does not qualify for exemption under Section 63-3622D, Idaho Code.c. The sale or use of crushed rock that is removed from a construction site and used elsewhere is taxable. See Rule 013 of these rules.13.Exempt Purchases by Contractors. A contractor can buy materials tax exempt, provided that he will install them into real property in a state that does not have a sales tax, such as Oregon, Montana, or Alaska, or in a state where the materials would not be subject to a use tax or other similar excise tax in that state. For example, this exemption applies to a contractor improving real property on certain projects in Washington where he will not owe a use tax on materials incorporated into realty, even though a sales or use tax may be owed by a third party. This exemption only applies to materials incorporated into real estate in a nontaxing state. Tools, supplies, equipment, or any other tangible personal property purchased in Idaho that are not incorporated into realty are taxable when purchased in Idaho. In order to grant this exemption the retailer must have a properly completed exemption certificate on file. See Rule 128 of these rules. Idaho tax applies to materials purchased or withdrawn from inventory for use in a contract to improve real property in states where use tax applies to materials incorporated into realty, such as Nevada or Wyoming.14.Cross-References.a. Road and paving contractors, see Rule 013 of these rules.b. Contractor/retailers, see Rule 014 of these rules.c. Well drillers/pump installers, see Rule 015 of these rules.Idaho Admin. Code r. 35.01.02.012