Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 280 - Department of Revenue
Chapter 20 - Division of Taxation
Subchapter 70 - Sales and Use Tax
Part 54 - Contractors and Subcontractors (280-RICR-20-70-54)
Section 280-RICR-20-70-54.6 - Contractors and Subcontractors - In General

Universal Citation: 280 RI Code of Rules 20 70 54.6

Current through September 18, 2024

A. Taxability of Sales to or by Construction Contractors

1. A contractor shall pay the tax as a consumer on the purchase of all materials, supplies, tools and equipment, including rentals thereof and all replacement parts used by him in fulfilling either a lump-sum contract, a cost-plus contract, a time and material contract with an upset or guaranteed price which may not be exceeded, or any other kind of construction contract except:
a. where the contractor contracts to sell materials or supplies at an agreed price and to render service in connection therewith, either for an additional agreed price or on the basis of time consumed, or:

b. where such contractor is engaged in the business of selling such materials or supplies at retail.

2. In the case of either §§ 54.6(A)(1)(a) or (b) of this Part, the contractor is a RETAILER and must have a permit to make sales at retail and the contractor shall give the person selling such materials or supplies a resale certificate bearing his/her permit number and collect the tax from the person to whom he/she sells the same. When such use is made of a resale certificate by a contractor, it shall be limited to the exceptions included in §§ 54.6(A)(1)(a) or (b) of this Part above and the contractor shall be held strictly and solely accountable for the collection of the sales tax involved and the payment to the state of all taxes due thereon based upon gross receipts from such retail sales and such contractor shall further be held strictly accountable for the payment of the use tax to this state in the event he/she shall make any use of such property other than retention, demonstration or display while holding it for resale or in the event the contractor shall make out-of-state purchases subject to the use tax.

B. Tangible Personal Property Fabricated by Contractors. A contractor may in certain instances fabricate part or all of the articles which he/she uses in construction work. For example, a sheet metal contractor may partly or wholly manufacture roofing, cornices, gutter pipe, furnace pipe, furnaces, ventilation or air conditioning ducts or other items from sheet metal which he or she purchases, and use these articles, pursuant to a contract for the construction or improvement of real property. In such a contract the partly or wholly manufactured articles are not made for resale as tangible personal property but for incorporation into the work to be performed. In this instance the sale of sheet metal to such contractor constitutes a sale at retail by the contractor's supplier within the meaning of the law and the contractor pays the tax as a consumer when he/she buys the same. This is so whether the articles so fabricated are used in the alteration, repair or reconstruction of an old building, or are used in new construction work.

C. Contractors Who sell Complete Units of Standard Equipment at Retail and Install Same. This regulation is not applicable to contracts whereby the contractor or subcontractor acts as a retailer selling tangible personal property in the same manner as other retailers and is required to install a complete unit of standard equipment, requiring no further fabrication but simply installation, assembling, applying or connecting services. In such instances the contract will not be regarded as one for improving, altering or repairing real property. For example, the retailer of an awning or blind agrees not only to sell it but to hang it; an electrical shop sells electrical fixtures and agrees to install them. A person performing such contracts is primarily a RETAILER of tangible personal property and must have a permit to make sales at retail and should segregate the full retail selling price of such property from the charge for installation, as the tax applies only to the retail price of the property.

D. Modular Homes

1. The following provisions of this regulation relating to modular homes, effective January 1, 1992, were issued in response to major changes in the prevalent business practices by out-of-state manufacturers in the modular home industry and set forth the Division of Taxation's sales and use tax treatment of the various methods of doing business within that industry.

2. For the purposes of this regulation, a manufacturer of modular homes in making sales of such property to builder dealers will be treated as a contractor who will owe use tax on the cost of the materials only if the following conditions are met:
a. The actual placement is accomplished solely by employees of the manufacturer or a subcontractor working under the direct supervision and control of the manufacturer. The manufacturer completes delivery and installation by affixing the modules to the foundation, by aligning the modules, bolting them together, installing support columns, and making the building weather-tight.

b. Employees or agents of the builder-dealer do not participate in transporting, transferring, attaching, erecting, or weather-proofing the building.

c. If the transaction between the manufacturer and the builder-dealer is not as enumerated above then such transaction will be considered a retail sale of tangible personal property and sales or use tax must be charged on the full retail selling price including charges for transportation which occur prior to the passage of title.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Rhode Island may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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