Current through September 17, 2024
002.01 Use Tax in General
Use tax is not a duplication of the sales tax. The sales tax
and the use tax complement each other and together provide a uniform tax upon
the sale, lease, rental, storage, use, distribution, or other consumption of
tangible personal property and certain specified labor and services. The
tangible personal property, labor, and services which are included in the sales
and use tax base are described in Reg-1-001.01, Nature of the Sales
Tax.
002.02 Use Tax Imposed
The use tax is imposed upon the storage, use, distribution,
or other consumption of tangible personal property and certain specified labor
and services when the purchase of the tangible personal property, labor, or
services would be subject to sales tax under Reg-1-001.01, Nature of the Sales
Tax. Use tax applies whenever the sales tax has not been paid.
002.02A Any property, as defined in
Reg-1-001
sold, leased, or rented by any person for delivery in Nebraska is presumed to
be sold, leased, or rented for storage, use, distribution, or other consumption
in Nebraska, until the contrary is proven. The burden of proving that any
property delivered in Nebraska is delivered for a purpose other than storage,
use, distribution, or other consumption in Nebraska is on the person who
purchases, leases, or rents the property .
002.02B If sales tax has been properly paid
on the sale, purchase, use, or other consumption of property or services in
another state at a rate equal to or greater than the rate in Nebraska, or if
sales tax has been properly paid in Nebraska, no use tax is due. (
Reg-1-071,
Credit for Tax Paid to Another State)
002.03 Remittances
Use tax is paid directly to the Nebraska Department of
Revenue (Department) by the purchaser. A permit is not
required.
002.04 Exemptions
Use tax does not apply to the following transactions:
002.04A Transactions where the proper amount
of Nebraska and local sales taxes have been paid, including sales tax remitted
directly to the Department by a purchaser who holds a direct pay permit (
Reg-1-097,
Direct Pay Permit) or certificate of exemption for direct mail (
Reg-1-105,
Direct Mail);
002.04B Purchasing,
leasing, renting, storing, using, distributing, or consuming property where the
transaction is exempt from sales tax;
002.04C Transactions where the property has
been used for its intended purpose in another state before it was brought into
Nebraska. This subsection does not apply to motor vehicles, motorboats, or
airplanes (
Reg-1-020,
Motor Vehicles, and
Reg-1-067,
Aircraft and Related Services);
002.04D Transactions where the property: was
purchased from a seller not engaged in business in Nebraska, nor licensed to
collect Nebraska sales tax; is only stored temporarily in Nebraska; and is
subsequently taken to another state or processed, fabricated, or manufactured
to be used for its intended purpose in another state;
002.04E Removing building materials from
inventory for a construction project in another state, when the building
materials were purchased from a seller not doing business in Nebraska, nor
licensed to collect Nebraska sales taxes (
Reg-1-017,
Contractors); and
002.04F
Purchases made from commissaries, base exchanges, ships' stores, or voluntary,
unincorporated organizations of personnel of any branch of the Armed Forces of
the U. S. by any person authorized to make these purchases.
002.05 Use tax is due on the
following transactions:
002.05A Purchases for
delivery in Nebraska from out-of-state retailers when the applicable state and
local sales taxes have not been paid;
002.05B Retail purchases made in this state
when the applicable state and local sales taxes have not been paid;
002.05C Purchases at retail from federal
government agencies and instrumentalities not required to collect Nebraska
sales taxes, except as provided in Reg-1-002.04F;
002.05D Purchases where an exempt sale
certificate was originally given, but the property is subsequently put to a
taxable use;
002.05E Use of
property which was originally purchased tax-exempt using a resale certificate,
but is later used for personal or business purposes;
002.05F Purchases from out-of-state retailers
of property that is delivered or used in Nebraska and would be taxable if
purchased in Nebraska, even if the purchase of the property is exempt in the
other state; and
002.05G Purchases
of property in Nebraska that is manufactured, processed, or fabricated in
another state and that is not used for its intended purposes in the other state
after its manufacture, processing, or fabrication.
002.06 Use of Property Purchased Using a
Resale Certificate
If a purchaser who gives a resale certificate makes any use
of the property other than retention, demonstration, or display while holding
it for sale, lease, or rental in the regular course of business, the use is
taxable to that purchaser as of the time when the property is first used in
Nebraska. Except for aircraft as provided in
Reg-1-067,
Aircraft and Related Services, the sales price of that property is the measure
of the use tax. The tax rate is the rate in effect at the time of first use. (
Reg-1-035,
Consumption of Untaxed Property.)
002.07 Calculating Use Tax
The amount of use tax is computed by multiplying the sales
price of the property by the applicable tax rate in effect at the time of first
use. The rate applicable for use tax is the same as the rate for state and
local sales taxes. Sales price means the total amount of consideration for the
property received and includes cash, credit, property, and services rendered
without any deduction for the cost or other expenses of the seller, charges for
delivery, installation, or any other amounts charged by the seller to complete
the sale.
002.08 Persons
holding a sales tax permit may report and pay all use tax due on the Nebraska
and Local Sales and Use Tax Return, Form 10, or a Nebraska and Local Business
Use Tax Return, Form 2.
002.09
Persons who are not required to hold a sales tax permit, but who are liable for
use tax, must pay the tax directly to the Department using a Nebraska and Local
Business Use Tax Return, Form 2, or a Nebraska and Local Individual Use Tax
Return, Form 3. Unless otherwise required by the Department, these persons must
file returns annually if the expected annual amount of tax will not exceed
$900. If the expected annual amount of tax is between $900 and $3,000, the
returns must be filed quarterly. Those with expected annual amounts of tax
greater than $3,000 must file monthly.
002.09A
Persons who are registered under the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement
(SSUTA) may follow the filing frequency guidelines outlined in the
SSUTA.
002.09B Persons who are not
required to hold a sales tax permit may also pay use tax on a Nebraska
Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040N.
002.10 Returns that are not filed
electronically must be properly signed. The return and the remittance are
timely filed if mailed, postage prepaid, on or before the
20th day of the month following the close of the
reporting period.
002.10A When the
20th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or an approved
holiday, a return or remittance is timely filed if mailed, postage prepaid, on
the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or an approved
holiday. A U.S. Postal Service postmark will be conclusive evidence of the date
of mailing for the purpose of timely filing a return or remittance.
002.10B A private postage meter date or a
date stamped by a private delivery service will be considered the date of
filing if the date of the stamp is no more than four days before the date the
return is received by the Department, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, or approved
holidays. If the date of the stamp is more than four days before the date the
return is received by the Department, the return is considered filed on the
date received.
002.10C The
Department will accept filing and payment methods pursuant to the SSUTA for
Model 1, 2, or 3 sellers.
002.11 Unless there are amounts, words,
statements, numbers, zeros, or figures shown on the use tax lines of a Nebraska
and Local Sales and Use Tax Return, Form 10, submitting the form to the
Department does not constitute the filing of a use tax return.
002.11A If the person files a return, the
statute of limitations for issuing a deficiency determination is three years
after the last day of the month following the reporting period, or three years
after the return was filed, whichever is later. If the person fails to file a
return, the statute of limitations for issuing a deficiency determination is
six years after the last day of the month following the reporting
period.
002.11B If the person does
not enter amounts, words, statements, numbers, zeros, or figures on the
appropriate line of a Nebraska and Local Sales and Use Tax Return, Form 10, the
statute of limitations for issuing a deficiency determination for that
reporting period is extended to six years after the last day of the month
following the reporting period.
002.11C Statements by the person that no use
tax is due, or entries made by the Department that did not come from a filed
return, do not constitute the filing of a return and do not limit the statute
of limitations to three years.
002.12 Remittances must be made to the
Department in the form of electronic funds transfer, check, credit card, draft,
money order, or other payment method as approved by the Tax Commissioner.
Checks, drafts, or money orders should be made payable to the Nebraska
Department of Revenue. Cash, post-dated checks, or postage stamps cannot be
sent as payment. Cash may be used only when payment is made in person at an
office of the Department .
002.13
Any person who fails to file the return or remit the tax due by the due date
will be subject to a penalty equal to 10% of the unpaid tax, or $25, whichever
is greater. If the failure to file a return or remit the use tax is a result of
fraud, or an intent to evade the tax, a penalty of 25% of the amount of the
understatement, or $50, whichever is greater, may be assessed. Interest is
imposed at the rate specified in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-104.02 from the due
date to the date payment is received.
