Rentals and rental agencies

The lease or rental of tangible personal property is subject to sales tax based on the periodic payments as they are made unless the retailer has paid sales or use tax on its purchase of the tangible personal property. Sales tax is applied based on where the lease or rental equipment will be located in the state. Examples of lease or rental transaction include: 1. A customer picks up lease or rental equipment for the day from a rental business. State and local sales tax will apply to the lease or rental charge based upon the location of the rental business. 2. A customer has lease or rental equipment delivered to the customer's location for the day. State and local sales tax will apply to the lease or rental charge based upon the location of the customer. 3. A customer enters into a six-month lease of equipment with lease payments due monthly. The customer picks up the equipment at the lessor's business location in the state. Because the customer first takes possession of the equipment at the lessor's business location, the first lease payment is subject to sales and local sales tax based on the lessor's business location. Sales tax on subsequent lease payments will be due based on the location where the equipment is stored or used in this state. If stored or used outside this state, the subsequent lease payments applying to this period of time will not be taxable. North Dakota sales tax law continues to provide an exemption from sales tax on lease or rental receipts for tangible personal property purchased for lease or rental when sales or use tax had been paid to North Dakota on the purchase price. To qualify for an exemption on periodic lease or rental payments, the retailer leasing or renting the tangible personal property shall disclose on an invoice, contract, lease agreement, or other supporting sales document provided to the customer that the retailer paid sales or use tax on the retailer's purchase price. Retailers that pay tax on the purchase price of lease or rental property are required to collect sales tax on a payment made to exercise a purchase option. In a lease-purchase arrangement, sales tax must be charged on the rentals until the option is exercised. When the option is exercised, sales tax must be charged on any additional amount the purchaser must pay to complete the purchase. An agent acting for an undisclosed principal and leasing tangible personal property to the public is the owner, and the rentals received are subject to sales tax. Tax applies to the full rental as long as the leased item is used within this state. Persons engaged in the business of leasing or renting tangible personal property other than motor vehicles are retailers and subject to sales tax. Purchases by rental agencies of items to be leased or rented are purchases for resale and are not subject to sales tax. A certificate of resale must be presented to the seller for these purchases. The term "sale" does not include sales or rentals of motor vehicles licensed by the director of the North Dakota department of transportation on which the motor vehicle excise tax has been paid to North Dakota. When the sales tax rate changes during the term of an existing lease, the rate of tax to be charged on the remaining lease or rental payments will reflect the new rate of tax. In a sale-leaseback arrangement, when a company purchases or owns tangible personal property on which applicable sales and use taxes were paid, and enters into a sale-leaseback arrangement with a financial business for the sale and leaseback of the same property, no sales tax shall apply to the transfer of title to the business or subsequent lease to the company. The subsequent sale of the property by the financial business at the conclusion of the lease is subject to sales tax. "Leaseback" means a transaction involving the sale of property and the seller's simultaneous lease of the property from the purchaser.