Wis. Admin. Code § Tax 11.29
(1) Definitions.
(a) “Lease or rental,” as defined in s. 77.51 (7) (a), Stats., means any transfer of possession or control of tangible personal property or items, property, or goods under s. 77.52 (1) (b), (c), or (d), Stats., for a fixed or indeterminate term and for consideration and includes:
(b) “Lease or rental,” as defined in s. 77.51 (7) (a), Stats., does not include:
(e) “Transportation equipment” as provided in s. 77.522 (1) (a) 2., Stats., means any of the following:
(2) General rules.
(a) The sales price from the lease, license, or rental of tangible personal property or items, property, or goods under s. 77.52 (1) (b), (c), or (d), Stats., shall be subject to the sales and use taxes to the same extent that the sales price from the sale of the same property, item, or good would be subject to the tax. A lease is a continuing sale in Wisconsin under s. 77.51 (14) (j), Stats., and a lessor or licensor shall pay tax on the lease, license, or rental receipts sourced to Wisconsin under s. 77.522, Stats., even though the property, item, or good may have been acquired, used, or both previously by the lessee or licensee in another state.
Note: See s. Tax 11.32 for information explaining what is included in the “sales price.”
(b)
(c)
2. The retailer may exclude from the sales price, as provided in s. 77.51 (15b) (b) 2., Stats., the interest and financing charges if they are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document that the retailer gives to the purchaser.
Example: Company A purchases a piece of equipment for $10,000. On October 1, 2009, Company A enters into an agreement with Company B, whereas Company B will make 24 monthly payments of $625 each, for a total of $15,000, relating to the equipment. Company B receives the equipment on November 10, 2009. Once Company B makes the last payment, title to the equipment will transfer from Company A to Company B. Since title to the equipment transfers as soon as Company B makes the last payment, the transaction is not treated as a lease, but instead is treated as a sale. Therefore, Company A’s purchase of the equipment may be made without any Wisconsin sales or use tax because it is for resale. Company A’s charges to Company B ($15,000) are subject to Wisconsin sales or use tax at the time Company B first receives the piece of equipment (November 10, 2009). Company A may exclude from tax that portion of the $15,000 that is related to interest or financing charges if the amount of the interest or financing charges are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document provided by Company A to Company B.
3. If the retailer in a transaction described under subd. 1., has properly reported and paid to Wisconsin the tax due on its sales price from the transaction and the retailer has not excluded from the sales price an amount for interest or financing as described in subd. 2., if the retailer subsequently allows a reduction in the payments that must be made because the purchaser pays off the balance early, the retailer may claim a deduction on its sales and use tax return for this reduction in the sales price. The deduction is limited to the amount of the sales price that the retailer previously remitted tax on to Wisconsin.
Example: Company X enters into an agreement with Company Y that is not a lease or rental because it meets the requirements provided in subd. 1. The agreement provides that Company Y will provide 12 monthly payments of $1,000. Based on this agreement, Company X reported and paid the 5% Wisconsin sales tax on the $12,000. Company X did not separately state any amounts for interest or financing to Company Y and did not claim a deduction from the sales price related to that. After seven payments of $1,000 have been made to Company X, Company Y decides that it is going to pay off the remaining amounts due. Company X indicates to Company Y that if it pays off the entire balance by a particular date, Company Y only needs to pay an additional $4,700, instead of the full $5,000 that is still due based on the agreement. Company Y pays the $4,700 by the date required. Since Company X had previously reported the tax due based on the full $12,000 at the time the agreement was entered into, Company X may claim the $300 difference between the amount it previously reported as the taxable sales price on this transaction ($12,000) and the discounted sales price of the transaction ($11,700, made up of the $7,000 in monthly payments and the $4,700 early payoff amount). Company X would claim the deduction as a discount allowed.
(d)
2. The retailer may exclude from the sales price, as provided in s. 77.51 (15b) (b) 2., Stats., the interest and financing charges if they are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document that the retailer gives to the purchaser.
Example: Company C purchases a piece of equipment for $20,000. On October 25, 2009, Company C enters into an agreement with Company D, whereas Company D will make 12 monthly payments of $2,000 each, for a total of $24,000, relating to the equipment. In addition, the agreement provides that after all of the $2,000 payments have been made, Company D may pay an option price of $200 and title to the equipment will be transferred to Company D. Company D receives the equipment on November 10, 2009. Since the agreement provides that title to the equipment will transfer to Company D if company D makes all the required payments and then pays an option price of $200 (which is less than 1% of the total amount of the payments), the transaction is not treated as a lease, but instead is treated as a sale. Therefore, Company C’s purchase of the equipment may be made without any Wisconsin sales or use tax because it is for resale. Company C’s charges to Company D ($24,200) are subject to Wisconsin sales or use tax at the time Company D first receives the piece of equipment (November 10, 2009). Company C may exclude from tax that portion of the $24,200 that is related to interest or financing charges if the amount of the interest or financing charges are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document provided by Company C to Company D.
(e) If a transaction constitutes a sale-leaseback transaction, the original sale of the property, item, or good to a purchaser may be made without tax for resale if that purchaser makes no taxable storage, use, or other consumption in Wisconsin of the property, item, or good prior to selling it. The sale of the property, item, or good from the first purchaser to a second purchaser (i.e., the person who will lease the equipment back to the first purchaser), may also be made without tax for resale if the second purchaser makes no taxable storage, use, or other consumption in Wisconsin of the property, item, or good prior to selling, leasing, licensing, or renting the property, item, or good back to the first purchaser. If the transfer of that property, item, or good from the second purchaser back to the first purchaser meets the definition of lease or rental in s. 77.51 (7) (a), Stats., the tax will be due on each payment as described in par. (a). If the transfer of that property, item, or good from the second purchaser back to the first purchaser does not meet the definition of lease or rental in s. 77.51 (7) (a), Stats., the tax will be due on the sales price from the sale of the property, item, or good from the second purchaser back to the first purchaser, as described in pars. (b) to (d).
Example: Company F purchases a piece of equipment for $20,000 from Company X. Prior to making any other use of the equipment, Company F sells the piece of equipment to Company G for $20,000 and immediately enters into an agreement to “lease” it back from Company G based on 12 monthly payments of $2,000 each. Based on the agreement, the “leasing back” of the equipment does not meet the definition of lease or rental contained in s. 77.51(7)(a), Stats., because title to the piece of equipment will transfer to Company F once Company F has made all of the required payments under the agreement to Company G. In this example, Company F may purchase the piece of equipment from Company X without tax because it is for resale. Company G may also purchase the piece of equipment from Company F without tax because it is for resale. However, since the agreement relating to the leaseback of the piece of equipment to Company F does not meet the definition of lease or rental contained in s. 77.51(7)(a), Stats., Company G is required to charge Wisconsin sales or use tax on the sales price of the piece of equipment (that is, the $24,000 required under the agreement), to Company F. Company G may exclude from tax that portion of the $24,000 required under the agreement that is related to interest or financing charges if the amount of the interest or financing charges are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document provided by Company G to Company F.
(3) Purchases for lease, license, or rental.
(5) Service vs. rental of equipment.
(a)
1. If an item of tangible personal property or item, property, or good under s. 77.52 (1) (b), (c), or (d), Stats., is provided along with an operator that is necessary for the tangible personal property or item, property, or good to operate in the manner for which it is designed and does more than maintain, inspect, or set up the tangible personal property or item, property, or good, the transaction is considered a service and not a lease, license, or rental of tangible personal property or item, property, or good under s. 77.52 (1) (b), (c), or (d), Stats.
Example: A backhoe and operator are provided to dig a trench. This transaction is the sale of a service and not a rental of the backhoe.
3. The charge by the person providing the service described in subd. 1. is subject to Wisconsin sales and use tax if the service is specifically identified as a taxable service in s. 77.52, Stats.
Example: Company A provides a tractor with a rototiller attachment and an operator to till up the lawn area around Customer B’s new home to prepare the seedbed for planting. Company A charges Customer B $50 per hour for the use of the tractor and rototiller attachment and $25 per hour for the operator. Since Company A is providing the tractor and rototiller along with the operator, this is not a lease or rental of the equipment, but instead is deemed to be a service. The charge by Company A to Customer B is subject to Wisconsin sales tax, since Company A is providing a landscaping service. Company A is also required to pay Wisconsin sales or use tax on its purchase of the tractor and rototiller used in providing the service.
(b) If an item of tangible personal property or item, property or good under s. 77.52 (1) (b), (c), or (d), Stats., is provided along with an operator that only maintains, inspects, or sets up the tangible personal property or item, property, or good, the transaction is considered a lease, license, or rental of the tangible personal property or item, property, or good.
Example: Company A rents scaffolding from Company B. Company B provides a person to set up the scaffolding as requested by Company A and to make sure none of the nuts and bolts holding the scaffolding together have loosened up. The entire charge by Company B to Company A is for the lease or rental of the scaffolding.
(7) Sourcing lease, license and rental payments.
(a) First or only payment. Except as provided in pars. (c) and (e), for lease, license, and rental agreements that only require one payment and for the first payment on lease, license, and rental agreements that require more than one payment, the lease, license, or rental is sourced to the location where the purchaser receives the product, as follows:
5. If the location cannot be determined under subd. 1., 2., 3. or 4., the first or only payment is sourced as follows:
(d) Intermittent use. The sourcing of the lease, license, and rental payments as described in pars. (a), (b), and (c) shall not be altered by any intermittent use of the property, item, or good at different locations.
Example: Company A leases laptop computers that are normally kept in State A and the lease payments are sourced to State A. However, when an employee is travelling and consulting with clients in other states, the employee brings the laptop computer to these other states. The intermittent use of the laptop computer in the other states does not affect the sourcing of these lease payments.
(8) Special rental situations.
(d) Mobile homes and manufactured homes. Rental of a mobile home as defined in s. 101.91 (10), Stats., and manufactured homes as defined in s. 101.91 (2), Stats., shall be taxable unless:
(h) Waste reduction and recycling equipment. The lease or rental of waste reduction or recycling machinery and equipment shall not be taxable if used exclusively and directly for waste reduction or recycling activities described in s. 77.54 (26m), Stats.
Note: For information regarding the lease or rental of highway vehicles and mobile mixing units, see s. Tax 11.79.
Note: Section Tax 11.29 interprets ss. 77.51 (7), (13) (k), (14) (j), (15a), (15b), 77.52 (1), 77.522 (1) and (3), 77.54 (5) (b) and (d), (8), (26m) and (36), 77.58 (6), and 77.585 (2), Stats.
Note: The interpretations in s. Tax 11.29 are effective under the general sales and use tax law on and after September 1, 1969, except: (a) The exemption for mobile homes used for lodging for a continuous period of 1 month or more became effective July 1, 1984, pursuant to 1983 Wis. Act 341; (b) The exemption for the lease or rental of incidental property transferred in providing a nontaxable service became effective as a result of Dept. of Revenue vs. Dow Jones & Company, Inc., (COA-District IV, 1/26/89); (c) The exemption for waste reduction and recycling equipment became effective July 1, 1984, pursuant to 1983 Wis. Act 426; (d) The definitions of “lease,” “receive,” and “transportation equipment” became effective October 1, 2009 pursuant to 2009 Wis. Act 2; (e) The sourcing rules related to leases became effective October 1, 2009 pursuant to 2009 Wis. Act 2; and (f) The change of the term “gross receipts” to “sales price” and the separate impositions of tax on coins and stamps sold above face value under s. 77.52 (1) (b), Stats., certain leased property affixed to real property under s. 77.52 (1) (c), Stats., and digital goods under s. 77.52 (1) (d), Stats., became effective October 1, 2009, pursuant to 2009 Wis. Act 2.
History: Cr. Register, July, 1977, No. 259, eff. 8-1-77; cr. (4) (d), (6) (d) 2. and (h), am. (1), (3), (4) (b), (5) and (6) (a), (d) and (g), Register, June, 1991, No. 426, eff. 7-1-91; correction in (6) (d) 2. made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register July 2002 No. 559; EmR0924: emerg. r. and recr. eff. 10-1-09; CR 09-090: r. and recr. Register May 2010 No. 653, eff. 6-1-10; correction to numbering of (8) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register May 2010 No. 653.