🧪 TEST MODE ACTIVE Use test card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
FL TAA 10A-016 Sales and Use Tax 2010-04-09

Could a custom-cabinet manufacturer avoid use tax by selling cabinets through a retailer before separately contracting to install them for a government or exempt entity?

Short answer: No. A manufacturer that later installs its own cabinets owes use tax on fabricated cost, even through a separate contract and intervening retailer. A true sale without installation remains a sale of tangible property.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2010. Ezel answers yours, under current Florida tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2010
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This Florida Technical Assistance Advisement binds the Department only under the represented cabinet-manufacturing, title-routing, resale, installation, and customer-exemption structures. Liability changes depending on who installs, who owns the materials, and whether valid resale or exemption certificates document each sale. Identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Florida rejected a custom-cabinet manufacturer's plan to avoid use tax by selling cabinets to a related retailer before separately contracting to install them for a government or other tax-exempt customer.

When the manufacturer made a genuine sale of cabinets without installation, it sold tangible personal property and did not owe use tax on fabricated cost. It instead had to collect sales tax unless the buyer supplied a valid resale or exemption certificate. A retailer buying for resale could likewise purchase with its Annual Resale Certificate.

The result changed when the original manufacturer installed the cabinets it had fabricated. A contractor that both fabricates and installs materials into public works or an exempt entity's real property is the ultimate consumer and owes use tax on fabricated cost. That cost includes taxable direct materials, production labor, and allocable services under the cited rule.

Routing title through the retailer and placing installation in a separate contract did not break the manufacturer's ownership-and-installation connection or eliminate the tax. The retailer's own sale to a government or exempt entity could still be documented as exempt when the retailer was not responsible for installation, but the fabricating installer's use-tax liability remained.

What this means for you

The same cabinets can be taxed differently depending on who installs them. A true over-the-counter resale is a sale of tangible property; fabrication followed by installation is contractor use. Related entities and separate contracts do not override the transaction's substance.

Common questions

Could the manufacturer buy raw materials for resale? Yes, with its Annual Resale Certificate, but use tax applied to fabricated cost when it used the cabinets in its own installation contract.

What if the manufacturer only sold the cabinets and did not install them? It made a tangible-property sale and collected tax unless the purchaser provided a valid certificate.

Did an intervening retailer eliminate installation use tax? No.

Citations and references

  • Fla. Stat. §§ 212.02, 212.05, and 212.08(6), and Fla. Admin. Code rr. 12A-1.043, 12A-1.051, and 12A-1.094, as quoted and discussed in the advisement.

Source

Original ruling text

SUMMARY
QUESTION: Can Taxpayer manufacture custom cabinetry and sell the cabinetry to Retailer
as a sale of tangible personal property, and avoid use tax on the fabricated cost of the
cabinets, when Retailer sells the cabinets to a governmental entity that contracts with
Taxpayer to install the cabinets?
ANSWER: If Taxpayer has manufactured the cabinets, and it performs the installation,
even through a separate contract, then Taxpayer owes use tax on the fabricated cost of the
cabinets. The circumstances that cause a contractor to be liable for the tax on materials
occur when a contractor that installs materials also purchases the materials. In other
words, when the installing contractor is at some point in the chain of ownership of the
materials, the tax attaches. Contractors that both fabricate and install the items fabricated
into a public works contract are liable for use tax on the fabricated cost of the materials
installed. The terms of Rule 12A-1.094(2) and (5), Florida Administrative Code,
specifically state that contractors who purchase or fabricate items of tangible personal
property and install those items into a public work are liable for the use tax on those
materials. The routing of the materials through another third party does not avoid the
liability of the use tax on the fabricating and installing contractor
April 9, 2010
XXX
Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement 10A-016
Sales and Use Tax – Cabinetry Manufacturing and Installation/Public Works
Subsection: 212.08(6), Florida Statutes (F.S.)
Rules: 12A-1.043, 12A-1.051, 12A-1.094, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.)
Petitioner: XXX [hereinafter “Taxpayer”]

Dear XXX:
This letter is a response to your petition dated September 4, 2009, for the Department's
issuance of a Technical Assistance Advisement ("TAA") concerning the above
referenced party and matter. Your petition has been carefully examined and the
Department finds it to be in compliance with the requisite criteria set forth in Chapter 1211, Florida Administrative Code. This response to your request constitutes a TAA and is
issued to you under the authority of Section 213.22, F.S.
Presented Facts
Your petition sets forth the following information:
. . . Taxpayer manufactures and installs custom-designed cabinetry for customers
both within and outside the state of Florida. Specifically, Taxpayer works with its
customers and their engineers and architects to determine the size, style, and
functional concerns of a cabinet, designs the cabinet to meet those requirements,

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 2
manufactures the cabinet and then installs the cabinet in the customer’s property.
Upon installation, the cabinet becomes a fixture of the real property.
Initially, upon oral advice from a representative of the Department of Revenue
(“DOR”), Taxpayer purchased materials used in the construction of the customcabinetry as exempt from sales tax, and then paid use tax on the completed
cabinets. The use tax was calculated using the procedures outlined in F.A.C. §
12A-1.043(1) and included the cost of previously purchased exempt materials
used in the manufacture of the cabinets, as well as share of the labor costs
allocable to the production of the cabinets.
In April 2008, following an audit, another DOR representative informed the
Taxpayer’s Controller that the Taxpayer must pay sales tax on the purchase of
materials and use tax on the labor costs.
For several reasons, including business and liability segregation, tax planning
(federal and state), business succession planning, Taxpayer proposes to sell some
of its cabinets through a separate entity, XXX (hereinafter referred to as
“Retailer”). Retailer will purchase custom cabinets from Taxpayer and then sell
the cabinets to the customer. Retailer’s customers are anticipated to be (i) nonprofit entities exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or their authorized agents (hereinafter
referred to as “Tax-Exempt Entities”), (ii) governmental entities (hereinafter
referred to as “Governmental Entities”), and private customers and contractors.
Such customers would contract directly with Retailer for the cabinetry to be
provided. Retailer would in turn contract with a cabinet manufacturer, such as but
not limited to Taxpayer, for the construction and purchase of the cabinetry and
then sell the completed cabinetry to the customer. Customer would pay Retailer
directly for the purchase of the cabinetry, and customer would be the owner and
bear the risk of loss with respect to the cabinetry upon completion of the contract
between customer and Retailer (for example, if the contract requires Retailer to
deliver the cabinets to a job site, title would pass at that time).
Taxpayer would also continue to manufacture and install cabinets, with sales
direct to the customer, and may also enter into contracts for the installation of
cabinets sold by the Retailer.
Retailer will be an entity owned or controlled by the XXX that owns the
Taxpayer, but ownership may not be identical. For example, Taxpayer is owned
by the XXX. Retailer may be owned by one or both such persons or some or all
of the ownership may be held, directly or indirectly, by other XXX
While it is anticipated that, initially, most or all of the cabinets sold by the
Retailer would be installed and manufactured by Taxpayer, neither Taxpayer nor
Retailer would be restricted to such an exclusive arrangement. Instead, Taxpayer
would be free to enter into contracts with unrelated third parties for the

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 3
installation of custom cabinets for customers of said third party, and Retailer
would be free to enter into contracts with unrelated third parties for the
manufacture of cabinets sold by Retailer.
The petition poses the following questions:
1.

May the Taxpayer purchase materials used in the manufacture of custom
cabinets exempt from sales tax?

2.

If Retailer sells custom cabinetry manufactured by Taxpayer:
a.

Will Taxpayer be exempt from use tax on the cabinetry?

b.

Will Retailer be exempt from sales tax on its purchase from
Taxpayer as a purchase for resale?

c.

Will Retailer collect sales tax or an exemption certificate upon the
sale of the cabinet?

d.

If Retailer sells to a Government Entity will the sale be exempt if
made directly to the government entity?

e.

Does the answer to (d) above change if the Government Entity (or
its general contractor) has entered into a contract with Taxpayer for
the installation of the cabinets?

f.

If Retailer sells to a Tax-Exempt Entity for a project consistent
with the non-profit entity’s exempt purpose, will the sale be
exempt from sales tax?

g.

Does the answer to (f) change if the Tax-Exempt Entity has
entered into a contract with Taxpayer for the installation of the
cabinets?
Applicable Law

Section 212.05, Florida Statutes, generally imposes tax on the sale of tangible personal
property. The tax is based on the “sales price,” which term is defined in section
212.02(16), Florida Statutes, to mean “. . . the total amount paid for tangible personal
property, including any services that are a part of the sale . . . .”
Section 212.08(6), Florida Statutes, states in pertinent part as follows:

(6) EXEMPTIONS; POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.--There are also exempt from
the tax imposed by this chapter sales made to the United States Government, a

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 4
state, or any county, municipality, or political subdivision of a state when
payment is made directly to the dealer by the governmental entity. . . . This
exemption does not include sales of tangible personal property made to
contractors employed either directly or as agents of any such government or
political subdivision thereof when such tangible personal property goes into or
becomes a part of public works owned by such government or political
subdivision. A determination whether a particular transaction is properly
characterized as an exempt sale to a government entity or a taxable sale to a
contractor shall be based on the substance of the transaction rather than the form
in which the transaction is cast. The department shall adopt rules that give special
consideration to factors that govern the status of the tangible personal property
before its affixation to real property. In developing these rules, assumption of the
risk of damage or loss is of paramount consideration in the determination. . . .
Rule 12A-1.043(1), Florida Administrative Code, states as follows:
(1)(a) Any person who manufactures, produces, compounds, processes, or
fabricates in any manner an article of tangible personal property for his own use
shall pay a tax upon the cost of the property manufactured, produced,
compounded, processed, or fabricated without any deduction therefrom on
account of the cost of material used, labor or service costs, or transportation
charges.
(b) Elements of cost will include the following materials, labor, service, or
transportation costs that are attributable to manufacturing, producing,
compounding, processing, or fabricating an article of tangible personal property
for one’s own use and which are properly chargeable to the cost of the product
under generally accepted cost accounting standards.

  1. Material costs include the following:
    a. All direct materials and related freight costs that are physically observable as
    being identified to the finished tangible personal property, that are consumed in
    producing the property, or that become a component or ingredient of the finished
    property. See paragraphs (c) and (d), below, for calculating the tax on the cost of
    the finished product when sales tax has or has not been paid on direct materials.
    b. Material handling and warehousing of direct materials and goods in process.
    c. Manufacturer’s excise taxes on materials.
  2. Labor costs include the following:
    a. The total direct labor costs for employees or contract labor that are allocable to
    the production of the finished property, including the entire amount of payroll
    burden, which includes but is not limited to overtime premium, vacation and

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 5
holiday pay, sick leave pay, shift differential, payroll taxes, payments to a
supplemental unemployment benefit plan, and employee fringe benefits.
b. Compensation of officers, to the extent it is allocated to production and not
administrative functions.
c. Costs of service, engineering, design or other support employees allocated to
production.

  1. Service costs include the costs of non-employee services that are allocated to
    the production of the tangible personal property, such as engineering, design or
    similar consulting or professional services.
    (c) Direct materials on which the tax has been paid shall not be included when
    computing the tax on the cost of items of tangible personal property
    manufactured, produced, compounded, processed, or fabricated.
    (d) Persons who manufacture, produce, compound, process, or fabricate items of
    tangible personal property for resale or for their own use or consumption may
    purchase direct materials tax exempt but shall include the cost of the direct
    materials when computing tax on the cost of the items so manufactured, produced,
    compounded, processed, or fabricated for such persons’ own use or consumption.
    If tax has been paid on the direct materials, the method described in paragraph (c)
    should be used when computing the tax on the cost of the items so manufactured,
    produced, compounded, processed, or fabricated.
    (e)1. To purchase direct materials tax exempt, dealers registered with the
    Department to sell tangible personal property may extend a copy of their Annual
    Resale Certificate (Form DR-13) to the selling dealer in lieu of paying tax at the
    time of purchase. The cost of such materials is subject to tax on the cost of the
    items so manufactured, produced, compounded, processed, or fabricated, as
    provided in paragraph (d).
  2. Persons who do not sell tangible personal property are not required to register
    with the Department as a dealer. However, to purchase direct materials tax
    exempt, such persons may extend an Exemption Certificate, as provided in Rule
    12A-1.038, F.A.C., to the selling dealer in lieu of paying tax at the time of
    purchase. The cost of such materials is subject to tax on the cost of the items so
    manufactured, produced, compounded, processed, or fabricated, as provided in
    paragraph (d).
    (f) The tax is due at the time the article of tangible personal property is
    manufactured, produced, compounded, processed, or fabricated for use or
    consumption, and such tax shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue in
    accordance with Rule 12A-1.056, F.A.C. (Emphasis Supplied)

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 6
Rule 12A-1.051, Florida Administrative Code, states in pertinent part as follows:
(3) Classification of contracts by pricing. The taxability of purchases and sales by
real property contractors is determined by the pricing arrangement in the contract.
Contracts generally fall into one of the following categories:
(a) Lump sum contracts. These are contracts in which a contractor or
subcontractor agrees to furnish materials and supplies and necessary services for a
single stated lump sum price.
(b) Cost plus or fixed fee contracts. These are contracts in which the contractor or
subcontractor agrees to furnish the materials and supplies and necessary services
in exchange for reimbursement of costs plus a fee that is fixed in advance or
calculated as a percentage of the costs.
(c) Upset or guaranteed price contracts. These are contracts in which the
contractor or subcontractor agrees to furnish materials and supplies and necessary
services based on costs plus fees but with an upset or guaranteed maximum price
which may not be exceeded.


(e) Time and materials contracts. These are contracts in which the contractor or
subcontractor agrees to furnish materials and supplies and necessary services for a
price that will be calculated as the sum of the contractor's cost or a marked up cost
for materials to be used plus an amount for services to be based on the time spent
performing the contract. These contracts are similar to cost plus or fixed fee
contracts, because the final price to the property holder will be determined based
on the cost of performance. A time and materials contract may or may not also
have a guaranteed or upset price clause. Time and materials contracts differ from
contracts described in paragraph (d), because the materials are not completely
identified, itemized, and priced in the contract in advance and because the
property owner is contracting for a finished job rather than the purchase of
materials.
(4) General rule of taxability of real property contractors. Contractors are the
ultimate consumers of materials and supplies they use to perform real property
contracts and must pay tax on their costs of those materials and supplies, unless
the contractor has entered a retail sale plus installation contract. Contractors
performing only contracts described in paragraphs (3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) do not
resell the tangible personal property used to the real property owner but instead
use the property themselves to provide the completed real property improvement.
Such contractors should pay tax to their suppliers on all purchases. They should
also pay tax on all materials they fabricate for their own use in performing such
contracts, as discussed in subsection (10). They should charge no tax to their
customers, regardless of whether they itemize charges for materials and labor in

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 7
their proposals or invoices, because they are not engaged in selling tangible
personal property. Such contractors should not register as dealers unless they are
required to remit tax on the fabricated cost of items they fabricate to use in
performing contracts.


(6) Sales of tangible personal property. Contractors, manufacturers, or dealers
who sell and install items of tangible personal property, including those
enumerated in Rule 12A-1.016, F.A.C., must collect tax on the full selling price,
including any installation or other charges, even though such charges may be
separately stated. The items listed in Rule 12A-1.016, F.A.C., are tangible
personal property even after installation, and their sale with installation is not
classified as a real property contract. Contractors, manufacturers, or dealers who
sell property over-the-counter without performing installation services must
collect tax on the full sales price of such items, even though those items will
become improvements to real property upon installation by the purchaser. At the
point at which they are sold in over-the-counter transactions, those items are
tangible personal property.


(15) Contracts performed for nongovernmental tax-exempt entities. Contractors
who perform lump sum, cost-plus, guaranteed price, or time and materials
contracts for nongovernmental entities that are exempt from sales taxes, such as
private schools, hospitals, or churches, are taxable on materials the contractor
purchases for use in performing those contracts. Such contractors are not
permitted to use the consumer's certificate of exemption issued to the exempt
entity in order to purchase materials for the contract exempt from taxes. The
entity's exempt status is not relevant, because it applies only to sales of tangible
personal property to the entity, not to the contractor. The contractor, not the
exempt entity, is the taxable consumer of the materials the contractor purchases to
use in performing that contract. The fact that an exempt entity will bear the
economic burden of the taxes paid by the contractor in the form of a higher
contract price does not change the contractor's tax liabilities.
Rule 12A-1.094, Florida Administrative Code, states in pertinent part as follows:
(2) The purchase or manufacture of supplies or materials by a public works
contractor, when such supplies or materials are purchased for the purpose of
going into or becoming part of public works, whether the purchase or
manufacture occurs inside or outside Florida, is taxable to the public works
contractor if the public works contractor also installs such supplies or materials,
since the public works contractor is the ultimate consumer of such supplies or
materials. Public works contractors that purchase or manufacture such supplies
and materials in Florida are liable for sales tax or use tax on such purchases and

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 8
manufacturing costs. A public works contractor that purchases supplies or
materials that may be sold as tangible personal property or may be incorporated
into a public works project may purchase such supplies or materials without tax
by issuing a copy of the contractor's Annual Resale Certificate and accrue and
remit tax upon withdrawing such supplies or materials from inventory to go into
or become a part of public works. Public works contractors that purchase or
manufacture such materials outside the State of Florida are liable for use tax,
subject to credit for any sales or use tax lawfully imposed and paid in the state of
purchase or manufacture.


(4)(a) The exemption in Section 212.08(6), F.S., is a general exemption for sales
made directly to the government. A determination whether a particular transaction
is properly characterized as an exempt sale to a governmental entity or a taxable
sale to or use by a contractor shall be based on the substance of the transaction,
rather than the form in which the transaction is cast. The Executive Director or the
Executive Director's designee in the responsible program will determine whether
the substance of a particular transaction is a taxable sale to or use by a contractor
or an exempt direct sale to a governmental entity based on all of the facts and
circumstances surrounding the transaction as a whole.
(b) The following criteria that govern the status of the tangible personal property
prior to its affixation to real property will be considered in determining whether a
governmental entity rather than a contractor is the purchaser of materials:

  1. Direct Purchase Order. The governmental entity must issue its purchase order
    directly to the vendor supplying the materials the contractor will use and provide
    the vendor with a copy of the governmental entity's Florida Consumer's
    Certificate of Exemption.
  2. Direct Invoice. The vendor's invoice must be issued to the governmental entity,
    rather than to the contractor.
  3. Direct Payment. The governmental entity must make payment directly to the
    vendor from public funds.
  4. Passage of Title. The governmental entity must take title to the tangible
    personal property from the vendor at the time of purchase or delivery by the
    vendor.
  5. Assumption of the Risk of Loss. Assumption of the risk of damage or loss by
    the governmental entity at the time of purchase is a paramount consideration. A
    governmental entity will be deemed to have assumed the risk of loss if the
    governmental entity bears the economic burden of obtaining insurance covering

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 9
damage or loss or directly enjoys the economic benefit of the proceeds of such
insurance.
(c) Sales are taxable sales to the contractor unless it can be demonstrated to the
satisfaction of the Executive Director or the Executive Director's designee in the
responsible program that such sales are, in substance, tax exempt direct sales to
the government.
(5) Contractors that manufacture materials for incorporation into public works
shall be liable for tax in the manner provided in subsection (10) of Rule 12A1.051, F.A.C.

Determination

  1. May the Taxpayer purchase materials used in the manufacture of custom cabinets
    exempt from sales tax?
    Yes, provided Taxpayer presents the vendor with a copy of Taxpayer’s Annual Resale
    Certificate. If Taxpayer purchases materials to manufacture custom cabinets to be sold
    by Taxpayer as part of a real property improvement contract, Taxpayer will be required
    to pay use tax on the cost price of the cabinets, which will include the direct cost of the
    materials. See Rule 12A-1.043(1)(d) and (e), Florida Administrative Code.
    If instead, Taxpayer purchases materials to manufacture custom cabinets to be sold by
    Taxpayer to a third party, such as Retailer or another customer, not as part of a
    construction contract, then the materials are purchased for resale. The subsequent sale by
    Taxpayer to the customer that is responsible for its own installation is subject to tax
    unless the customer presents a copy of its Annual Resale Certificate or Consumer’s
    Certificate of Exemption.
  2. If Retailer sells custom cabinetry manufactured by Taxpayer:
    a. Will Taxpayer be exempt from use tax on the cabinetry?
    If Taxpayer manufactures customer cabinetry and sells the cabinetry to Retailer without
    installation, then Taxpayer is making a sale of tangible personal property. Taxpayer does
    not owe use tax on the fabricated cost of items it manufactures for sale as tangible
    personal property. Taxpayer is required to collect tax on the sale of tangible personal
    property, such as cabinetry that Taxpayer does not install, unless the purchaser issues to
    Taxpayer a copy of its Annual Resale Certificate or Consumer’s Certificate of
    Exemption.
    b. Will Retailer be exempt from sales tax on its purchase from Taxpayer as a purchase
    for resale?

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 10
Retailer’s purchase of cabinetry or other items of tangible personal property for resale is
exempt from tax. Retailer must issue a copy of its Annual Resale Certificate to Taxpayer
in order to effect the exempt purchase. Retailer owes tax on its purchase of cabinetry if
Retailer assumes responsibility for the installation of the cabinets for its customer, either
with its own employees or through another subcontractor such as Taxpayer.
c. Will Retailer collect sales tax or an exemption certificate upon the sale of the cabinet?
When Retailer sells the cabinets (and Retailer is not responsible for the installation of the
cabinets for the customer using its own employees or those of a subcontractor, such as
Taxpayer), then Retailer is making a taxable sale of tangible personal property. Retailer
must collect tax on the total sales price of the cabinets unless Retailer documents the sale
as exempt by collecting a copy of the purchaser’s Annual Resale Certificate or
Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption.
d. If Retailer sells to a Government Entity will the sale be exempt if made directly to the
government entity?
When Retailer sells the cabinets to a Government Entity, and Retailer is not responsible
for the installation of the cabinets for the customer using its own employees or those of a
subcontractor, such as Taxpayer, then Retailer is making a sale of tangible personal
property. Retailer must document the sale as exempt by collecting a copy of the
Government Entity’s Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption.
e. Does the answer to (d) above change if the Government Entity (or its general
contractor) has entered into a contract with Taxpayer for the installation of the cabinets?
There is no change in the tax consequences to Retailer if the Government Entity or its
general contractor contracts with Taxpayer for the installation of the cabinets. However,
if Taxpayer has manufactured the cabinets, and it performs the installation, even through
a separate contract, then Taxpayer owes use tax on the fabricated cost of the cabinets.
The circumstances that cause a contractor to be liable for the tax on materials occur when
a contractor that installs materials also purchases the materials. In other words, when the
installing contractor is at some point in the chain of ownership of the materials, the tax
attaches. Contractors that both fabricate and install the items fabricated into a public
works contract are liable for use tax on the fabricated cost of the materials installed. The
terms of Rule 12A-1.094(2) and (5), Florida Administrative Code, specifically state that
contractors who purchase or fabricate items of tangible personal property and install
those items into a public work are liable for the use tax on those materials. The routing
of the materials through another third party does not avoid the liability of the use tax on
the fabricating and installing contractor.
f. If Retailer sells to a Tax-Exempt Entity for a project consistent with the non-profit
entity’s exempt purpose, will the sale be exempt from sales tax?

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 11
When Retailer sells the cabinets to a Tax-Exempt Entity, and Retailer is not responsible
for the installation of the cabinets for the customer using its own employees or those of a
subcontractor, such as Taxpayer, then Retailer is making a sale of tangible personal
property. Retailer must document the sale as exempt by collecting a copy of the TaxExempt Entity’s Consumer’s Certificate of Exemption.
g. Does the answer to (f) change if the Tax-Exempt Entity has entered into a contract
with Taxpayer for the installation of the cabinets?
There is no change in the tax consequences to Retailer if the Tax-Exempt Entity or its
general contractor contracts with Taxpayer for the installation of the cabinets. However,
if Taxpayer has manufactured the cabinets, and it performs the installation, even through
a separate contract, then Taxpayer owes use tax on the fabricated cost of the cabinets.
The circumstances that cause a contractor to be liable for the tax on materials occur when
a contractor that installs materials also purchases the materials. In other words, when the
installing contractor is at some point in the chain of ownership of the materials, the tax
attaches. Contractors that both fabricate and install the items fabricated into a project for
a Tax-Exempt Entity are liable for use tax on the fabricated cost of the materials installed.
The routing of the materials through another third party does not avoid the liability of the
use tax on the fabricating and installing contractor.

Closing Statement
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under Section 213.22, F.S.,
which is binding on the Department only under the facts and circumstances described in
the request for this advice, as specified in Section 213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated
upon those facts and the specific situation summarized above. You are advised that
subsequent statutory or administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the
statutes or rules upon which this advice is based may subject similar future transactions to
a different treatment from that which is expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response, your request, and related backup documents
are public records under Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public
under the conditions of Section 213.22, F.S. Confidential information must be deleted
before public disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality, we request you provide
the undersigned with an edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 12
Advisement, the backup material and this response, deleting names, addresses, and any
other details which might lead to identification of the taxpayer. Your response should be
received by the Department within 10 days of the date of this letter.

Sincerely,

Sara D. Faulkenberry
Senior Tax Specialist
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution
Control # 70784

Get today's answer for your situation

You just read a 2010 ruling on this question. Ezel checks current Florida tax law and answers your specific situation, with citations.

Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.