Are hearing-aid batteries exempt from Georgia sales tax when sold with a hearing aid or separately as replacement batteries?

Plain-English summary

Hearing-aid batteries were exempt whether sold together with the hearing aid or separately as replacement batteries. The hearing-aid exemption did not expressly list parts, but the Department interpreted it comparably to the durable-medical-equipment and prosthetic-device exemptions, which include repair and replacement parts.

The Department also treated a battery as a replacement part. That combination brought both original and later replacement hearing-aid battery sales within the exemption.

Common questions

Q: Are hearing aids themselves prosthetic devices under the cited definition?

A: No. The ruling notes that hearing aids were specifically excluded from that definition, but they had their own exemption.

Q: Did the battery have to be sold in the same transaction as the hearing aid?

A: No. Separately sold replacement batteries were exempt too.

Citations and references

• O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(52) -- hearing-aid exemption
• O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(54) -- durable medical equipment and prosthetic devices
• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.30 -- medical equipment exemptions

Source

• Landing page: Georgia Sales & Use Tax Letter Rulings
• Original PDF: LR SUT-2013-07

Original ruling text

State of Georgia
Douglas J. MacGinnitie
Commissioner

Department of Revenue

Frank M. O’Connell
Director

Administrative Division – Office of Tax Policy
Suite 15107
1800 Century Blvd., N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30345-3205
(404) 417-6649
June 13, 2013

Georgia Letter Ruling No. 2013-06-13-04 Medical & Drugs

This letter is in response to your request for guidance regarding the application of Georgia sales and use tax
to hearing aid batteries.
Facts
Taxpayer is seeking clarification whether hearing aid batteries sold with a hearing aid or sold as
replacements separate from a hearing aid are subject to Georgia’s sales and use tax.
Issue
Are hearing aid batteries sold with a hearing aid or sold as replacements separate from a hearing aid subject
to Georgia’s sales and use tax?
Analysis
All retail purchases and sales of tangible personal property are taxable unless provided for otherwise. 1 Tax is
levied and imposed upon the retail purchase, retail sale, rental, storage, use, or consumption of tangible
personal property and on services described in this article that occur in this state. 2 "Retail sale" or a "sale at
retail" means a sale to a consumer or to any person for any purpose other than for resale of tangible personal
property or certain services. 3
The sale or use of hearing aids is exempt from Georgia’s sales and use tax. This exemption applies to all
purchasers including but not limited to individual consumers, hospitals, clinics, and medical practice
groups. 4 The statutory language does not specifically mention repair and replacement parts for hearing aids.
Likewise, the sale or use of any durable medical equipment that is sold or used pursuant to a prescription or
prosthetic device that is sold or used pursuant to a prescription is exempt from Georgia sales and use tax. 5
“Prosthetic device” means a replacement, corrective, or supportive device including repair and replacement
parts for the same. 6 “Durable medical equipment” means equipment including repair and replacement parts
for the same, but not including mobility enhancing equipment, which:
1

O.C.G.A. §§ 48-8-1 and 48-8-30(b).
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-30.
3
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(6)(A).
4
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(52); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-12-2-.30.
5
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-3(54).
6
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(29).
2

An Equal Opportunity Employer

June 13, 2013
Page 2 of 2

(A) Can withstand repeated use;
(B) Is primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose;
(C) Generally is not useful to a person in the absence of illness or injury; and
(D) Is not worn in or on the body. 7
Although hearing aids are specifically excluded from the definition of “prosthetic device” 8 and do not fall
within the scope of the definition of “durable medical equipment”, the Department allows hearing aid
replacement parts to be purchased exempt, and historically, the Department has considered a battery to be a
“replacement part”. 9
Ruling
Even though the statutory exemption language concerning hearing aids does not specifically mention repair
and replacement parts, the Department considers the scope of the hearing aid exemption to be comparable to
the scope of the exemption for durable medical equipment and prosthetic devices. Further, the Department
considers a battery to be a “part”. Thus, retail sales of hearing aid batteries, whether sold with a hearing aid
or sold as a replacement part separate from a hearing aid, are exempt from Georgia’s sales and use tax.
The opinions expressed in this ruling are based upon the information contained in your request and limited
to the specific transactions in question. Should the circumstances regarding the transactions change, or differ
materially from those represented, then this ruling may become invalid. In addition, please be 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 tax treatment than those
expressed in this response.

7

O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(15).
O.C.G.A. § 48-8-2(29).
9
Georgia Informational Bulletin No. SUT 2013-01-28 (addressing repair and replacement parts for certain
agricultural machinery and equipment).
8

An Equal Opportunity Employer