Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 5739 | Sales Tax
Section 5739.01 | Sales Tax Definitions.

Effective: September 13, 2022
Latest Legislation: House Bill 687 - 134th General Assembly
As used in this chapter:
(A) "Person" includes individuals, receivers, assignees, trustees in bankruptcy, estates, firms, partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, joint ventures, clubs, societies, corporations, the state and its political subdivisions, and combinations of individuals of any form.
(B) "Sale" and "selling" include all of the following transactions for a consideration in any manner, whether absolutely or conditionally, whether for a price or rental, in money or by exchange, and by any means whatsoever:
(1) All transactions by which title or possession, or both, of tangible personal property, is or is to be transferred, or a license to use or consume tangible personal property is or is to be granted;
(2) All transactions by which lodging by a hotel is or is to be furnished to transient guests;
(3) All transactions by which:
(a) An item of tangible personal property is or is to be repaired, except property, the purchase of which would not be subject to the tax imposed by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code;
(b) An item of tangible personal property is or is to be installed, except property, the purchase of which would not be subject to the tax imposed by section 5739.02 of the Revised Code or property that is or is to be incorporated into and will become a part of a production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system for the delivery of a public utility service;
(c) The service of washing, cleaning, waxing, polishing, or painting a motor vehicle is or is to be furnished;
(d) Laundry and dry cleaning services are or are to be provided;
(e) Automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services are or are to be provided for use in business when the true object of the transaction is the receipt by the consumer of automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services rather than the receipt of personal or professional services to which automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services are incidental or supplemental. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, such transactions that occur between members of an affiliated group are not sales. An "affiliated group" means two or more persons related in such a way that one person owns or controls the business operation of another member of the group. In the case of corporations with stock, one corporation owns or controls another if it owns more than fifty per cent of the other corporation's common stock with voting rights.
(f) Telecommunications service, including prepaid calling service, prepaid wireless calling service, or ancillary service, is or is to be provided, but not including coin-operated telephone service;
(g) Landscaping and lawn care service is or is to be provided;
(h) Private investigation and security service is or is to be provided;
(i) Information services or tangible personal property is provided or ordered by means of a nine hundred telephone call;
(j) Building maintenance and janitorial service is or is to be provided;
(k) Exterminating service is or is to be provided;
(l) Physical fitness facility service is or is to be provided;
(m) Recreation and sports club service is or is to be provided;
(n) Satellite broadcasting service is or is to be provided;
(o) Personal care service is or is to be provided to an individual. As used in this division, "personal care service" includes skin care, the application of cosmetics, manicuring, pedicuring, hair removal, tattooing, body piercing, tanning, massage, and other similar services. "Personal care service" does not include a service provided by or on the order of a licensed physician or licensed chiropractor, or the cutting, coloring, or styling of an individual's hair.
(p) The transportation of persons by motor vehicle or aircraft is or is to be provided, when the transportation is entirely within this state, except for transportation provided by an ambulance service, by a transit bus, as defined in section 5735.01 of the Revised Code, and transportation provided by a citizen of the United States holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under 49 U.S.C. 41102;
(q) Motor vehicle towing service is or is to be provided. As used in this division, "motor vehicle towing service" means the towing or conveyance of a wrecked, disabled, or illegally parked motor vehicle.
(r) Snow removal service is or is to be provided. As used in this division, "snow removal service" means the removal of snow by any mechanized means, but does not include the providing of such service by a person that has less than five thousand dollars in sales of such service during the calendar year.
(s) Electronic publishing service is or is to be provided to a consumer for use in business, except that such transactions occurring between members of an affiliated group, as defined in division (B)(3)(e) of this section, are not sales.
(4) All transactions by which printed, imprinted, overprinted, lithographic, multilithic, blueprinted, photostatic, or other productions or reproductions of written or graphic matter are or are to be furnished or transferred;
(5) The production or fabrication of tangible personal property for a consideration for consumers who furnish either directly or indirectly the materials used in the production of fabrication work; and include the furnishing, preparing, or serving for a consideration of any tangible personal property consumed on the premises of the person furnishing, preparing, or serving such tangible personal property. Except as provided in section 5739.03 of the Revised Code, a construction contract pursuant to which tangible personal property is or is to be incorporated into a structure or improvement on and becoming a part of real property is not a sale of such tangible personal property. The construction contractor is the consumer of such tangible personal property, provided that the sale and installation of carpeting, the sale and installation of agricultural land tile, the sale and erection or installation of portable grain bins, or the provision of landscaping and lawn care service and the transfer of property as part of such service is never a construction contract.
As used in division (B)(5) of this section:
(a) "Agricultural land tile" means fired clay or concrete tile, or flexible or rigid perforated plastic pipe or tubing, incorporated or to be incorporated into a subsurface drainage system appurtenant to land used or to be used primarily in production by farming, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture. The term does not include such materials when they are or are to be incorporated into a drainage system appurtenant to a building or structure even if the building or structure is used or to be used in such production.
(b) "Portable grain bin" means a structure that is used or to be used by a person engaged in farming or agriculture to shelter the person's grain and that is designed to be disassembled without significant damage to its component parts.
(6) All transactions in which all of the shares of stock of a closely held corporation are transferred, or an ownership interest in a pass-through entity, as defined in section 5733.04 of the Revised Code, is transferred, if the corporation or pass-through entity is not engaging in business and its entire assets consist of boats, planes, motor vehicles, or other tangible personal property operated primarily for the use and enjoyment of the shareholders or owners;
(7) All transactions in which a warranty, maintenance or service contract, or similar agreement by which the vendor of the warranty, contract, or agreement agrees to repair or maintain the tangible personal property of the consumer is or is to be provided;
(8) The transfer of copyrighted motion picture films used solely for advertising purposes, except that the transfer of such films for exhibition purposes is not a sale;
(9) All transactions by which tangible personal property is or is to be stored, except such property that the consumer of the storage holds for sale in the regular course of business;
(10) All transactions in which "guaranteed auto protection" is provided whereby a person promises to pay to the consumer the difference between the amount the consumer receives from motor vehicle insurance and the amount the consumer owes to a person holding title to or a lien on the consumer's motor vehicle in the event the consumer's motor vehicle suffers a total loss under the terms of the motor vehicle insurance policy or is stolen and not recovered, if the protection and its price are included in the purchase or lease agreement;
(11)(a) Except as provided in division (B)(11)(b) of this section, all transactions by which health care services are paid for, reimbursed, provided, delivered, arranged for, or otherwise made available by a medicaid health insuring corporation pursuant to the corporation's contract with the state.
(b) If the centers for medicare and medicaid services of the United States department of health and human services determines that the taxation of transactions described in division (B)(11)(a) of this section constitutes an impermissible health care-related tax under the "Social Security Act," section 1903(w), 42 U.S.C. 1396b(w), and regulations adopted thereunder, the medicaid director shall notify the tax commissioner of that determination. Beginning with the first day of the month following that notification, the transactions described in division (B)(11)(a) of this section are not sales for the purposes of this chapter or Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code. The tax commissioner shall order that the collection of taxes under sections 5739.02, 5739.021, 5739.023, 5739.026, 5741.02, 5741.021, 5741.022, and 5741.023 of the Revised Code shall cease for transactions occurring on or after that date.
(12) All transactions by which a specified digital product is provided for permanent use or less than permanent use, regardless of whether continued payment is required.
Except as provided in this section, "sale" and "selling" do not include transfers of interest in leased property where the original lessee and the terms of the original lease agreement remain unchanged, or professional, insurance, or personal service transactions that involve the transfer of tangible personal property as an inconsequential element, for which no separate charges are made.
(C) "Vendor" means the person providing the service or by whom the transfer effected or license given by a sale is or is to be made or given and, for sales described in division (B)(3)(i) of this section, the telecommunications service vendor that provides the nine hundred telephone service; if two or more persons are engaged in business at the same place of business under a single trade name in which all collections on account of sales by each are made, such persons shall constitute a single vendor.
Physicians, dentists, hospitals, and veterinarians who are engaged in selling tangible personal property as received from others, such as eyeglasses, mouthwashes, dentifrices, or similar articles, are vendors. Veterinarians who are engaged in transferring to others for a consideration drugs, the dispensing of which does not require an order of a licensed veterinarian or physician under federal law, are vendors.
The operator of any peer-to-peer car sharing program shall be considered to be the vendor.
(D)(1) "Consumer" means the person for whom the service is provided, to whom the transfer effected or license given by a sale is or is to be made or given, to whom the service described in division (B)(3)(f) or (i) of this section is charged, or to whom the admission is granted.
(2) Physicians, dentists, hospitals, and blood banks operated by nonprofit institutions and persons licensed to practice veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry are consumers of all tangible personal property and services purchased by them in connection with the practice of medicine, dentistry, the rendition of hospital or blood bank service, or the practice of veterinary medicine, surgery, and dentistry. In addition to being consumers of drugs administered by them or by their assistants according to their direction, veterinarians also are consumers of drugs that under federal law may be dispensed only by or upon the order of a licensed veterinarian or physician, when transferred by them to others for a consideration to provide treatment to animals as directed by the veterinarian.
(3) A person who performs a facility management, or similar service contract for a contractee is a consumer of all tangible personal property and services purchased for use in connection with the performance of such contract, regardless of whether title to any such property vests in the contractee. The purchase of such property and services is not subject to the exception for resale under division (E) of this section.
(4)(a) In the case of a person who purchases printed matter for the purpose of distributing it or having it distributed to the public or to a designated segment of the public, free of charge, that person is the consumer of that printed matter, and the purchase of that printed matter for that purpose is a sale.
(b) In the case of a person who produces, rather than purchases, printed matter for the purpose of distributing it or having it distributed to the public or to a designated segment of the public, free of charge, that person is the consumer of all tangible personal property and services purchased for use or consumption in the production of that printed matter. That person is not entitled to claim exemption under division (B)(42)(f) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code for any material incorporated into the printed matter or any equipment, supplies, or services primarily used to produce the printed matter.
(c) The distribution of printed matter to the public or to a designated segment of the public, free of charge, is not a sale to the members of the public to whom the printed matter is distributed or to any persons who purchase space in the printed matter for advertising or other purposes.
(5) A person who makes sales of any of the services listed in division (B)(3) of this section is the consumer of any tangible personal property used in performing the service. The purchase of that property is not subject to the resale exception under division (E) of this section.
(6) A person who engages in highway transportation for hire is the consumer of all packaging materials purchased by that person and used in performing the service, except for packaging materials sold by such person in a transaction separate from the service.
(7) In the case of a transaction for health care services under division (B)(11) of this section, a medicaid health insuring corporation is the consumer of such services. The purchase of such services by a medicaid health insuring corporation is not subject to the exception for resale under division (E) of this section or to the exemptions provided under divisions (B)(12), (18), (19), and (22) of section 5739.02 of the Revised Code.
(E) "Retail sale" and "sales at retail" include all sales, except those in which the purpose of the consumer is to resell the thing transferred or benefit of the service provided, by a person engaging in business, in the form in which the same is, or is to be, received by the person.
(F) "Business" includes any activity engaged in by any person with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage, either direct or indirect. "Business" does not include the activity of a person in managing and investing the person's own funds.
(G) "Engaging in business" means commencing, conducting, or continuing in business, and liquidating a business when the liquidator thereof holds itself out to the public as conducting such business. Making a casual sale is not engaging in business.
(H)(1)(a) "Price," except as provided in divisions (H)(2), (3), and (4) of this section, means the total amount of consideration, including cash, credit, property, and services, for which tangible personal property or services are sold, leased, or rented, valued in money, whether received in money or otherwise, without any deduction for any of the following:
(i) The vendor's cost of the property sold;
(ii) The cost of materials used, labor or service costs, interest, losses, all costs of transportation to the vendor, all taxes imposed on the vendor, including the tax imposed under Chapter 5751. of the Revised Code, and any other expense of the vendor;
(iii) Charges by the vendor for any services necessary to complete the sale;
(iv) Delivery charges. As used in this division, "delivery charges" means charges by the vendor for preparation and delivery to a location designated by the consumer of tangible personal property or a service, including transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, and packing.
(v) Installation charges;
(vi) Credit for any trade-in.
(b) "Price" includes consideration received by the vendor from a third party, if the vendor actually receives the consideration from a party other than the consumer, and the consideration is directly related to a price reduction or discount on the sale; the vendor has an obligation to pass the price reduction or discount through to the consumer; the amount of the consideration attributable to the sale is fixed and determinable by the vendor at the time of the sale of the item to the consumer; and one of the following criteria is met:
(i) The consumer presents a coupon, certificate, or other document to the vendor to claim a price reduction or discount where the coupon, certificate, or document is authorized, distributed, or granted by a third party with the understanding that the third party will reimburse any vendor to whom the coupon, certificate, or document is presented;
(ii) The consumer identifies the consumer's self to the seller as a member of a group or organization entitled to a price reduction or discount. A preferred customer card that is available to any patron does not constitute membership in such a group or organization.
(iii) The price reduction or discount is identified as a third party price reduction or discount on the invoice received by the consumer, or on a coupon, certificate, or other document presented by the consumer.
(c) "Price" does not include any of the following:
(i) Discounts, including cash, term, or coupons that are not reimbursed by a third party that are allowed by a vendor and taken by a consumer on a sale;
(ii) Interest, financing, and carrying charges from credit extended on the sale of tangible personal property or services, if the amount is separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document given to the purchaser;
(iii) Any taxes legally imposed directly on the consumer that are separately stated on the invoice, bill of sale, or similar document given to the consumer. For the purpose of this division, the tax imposed under Chapter 5751. of the Revised Code is not a tax directly on the consumer, even if the tax or a portion thereof is separately stated.
(iv) Notwithstanding divisions (H)(1)(b)(i) to (iii) of this section, any discount allowed by an automobile manufacturer to its employee, or to the employee of a supplier, on the purchase of a new motor vehicle from a new motor vehicle dealer in this state.
(v) The dollar value of a gift card that is not sold by a vendor or purchased by a consumer and that is redeemed by the consumer in purchasing tangible personal property or services if the vendor is not reimbursed and does not receive compensation from a third party to cover all or part of the gift card value. For the purposes of this division, a gift card is not sold by a vendor or purchased by a consumer if it is distributed pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program. Past and present purchases of tangible personal property or services by the consumer shall not be treated as consideration exchanged for a gift card.
(2) In the case of a sale of any new motor vehicle by a new motor vehicle dealer, as defined in section 4517.01 of the Revised Code, in which another motor vehicle is accepted by the dealer as part of the consideration received, "price" has the same meaning as in division (H)(1) of this section, reduced by the credit afforded the consumer by the dealer for the motor vehicle received in trade.
(3) In the case of a sale of any watercraft or outboard motor by a watercraft dealer licensed in accordance with section 1547.543 of the Revised Code, in which another watercraft, watercraft and trailer, or outboard motor is accepted by the dealer as part of the consideration received, "price" has the same meaning as in division (H)(1) of this section, reduced by the credit afforded the consumer by the dealer for the watercraft, watercraft and trailer, or outboard motor received in trade. As used in this division, "watercraft" includes an outdrive unit attached to the watercraft.
(4) In the case of transactions for health care services under division (B)(11) of this section, "price" means the amount of managed care premiums received each month by a medicaid health insuring corporation.
(I) "Receipts" means the total amount of the prices of the sales of vendors, provided that the dollar value of gift cards distributed pursuant to an awards, loyalty, or promotional program, and cash discounts allowed and taken on sales at the time they are consummated are not included, minus any amount deducted as a bad debt pursuant to section 5739.121 of the Revised Code. "Receipts" does not include the sale price of property returned or services rejected by consumers when the full sale price and tax are refunded either in cash or by credit.
(J) "Place of business" means any location at which a person engages in business.
(K) "Premises" includes any real property or portion thereof upon which any person engages in selling tangible personal property at retail or making retail sales and also includes any real property or portion thereof designated for, or devoted to, use in conjunction with the business engaged in by such person.
(L) "Casual sale" means a sale of an item of tangible personal property that was obtained by the person making the sale, through purchase or otherwise, for the person's own use and was previously subject to any state's taxing jurisdiction on its sale or use, and includes such items acquired for the seller's use that are sold by an auctioneer employed directly by the person for such purpose, provided the location of such sales is not the auctioneer's permanent place of business. As used in this division, "permanent place of business" includes any location where such auctioneer has conducted more than two auctions during the year.
(M) "Hotel" means every establishment kept, used, maintained, advertised, or held out to the public to be a place where sleeping accommodations are offered to guests, in which five or more rooms are used for the accommodation of such guests, whether the rooms are in one or several structures, except as otherwise provided in section 5739.091 of the Revised Code.
(N) "Transient guests" means persons occupying a room or rooms for sleeping accommodations for less than thirty consecutive days.
(O) "Making retail sales" means the effecting of transactions wherein one party is obligated to pay the price and the other party is obligated to provide a service or to transfer title to or possession of the item sold. "Making retail sales" does not include the preliminary acts of promoting or soliciting the retail sales, other than the distribution of printed matter which displays or describes and prices the item offered for sale, nor does it include delivery of a predetermined quantity of tangible personal property or transportation of property or personnel to or from a place where a service is performed.
(P) "Used directly in the rendition of a public utility service" means that property that is to be incorporated into and will become a part of the consumer's production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system and that retains its classification as tangible personal property after such incorporation; fuel or power used in the production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system; and tangible personal property used in the repair and maintenance of the production, transmission, transportation, or distribution system, including only such motor vehicles as are specially designed and equipped for such use. Tangible personal property and services used primarily in providing highway transportation for hire are not used directly in the rendition of a public utility service. In this definition, "public utility" includes a citizen of the United States holding, and required to hold, a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued under 49 U.S.C. 41102.
(Q) "Refining" means removing or separating a desirable product from raw or contaminated materials by distillation or physical, mechanical, or chemical processes.
(R) "Assembly" and "assembling" mean attaching or fitting together parts to form a product, but do not include packaging a product.
(S) "Manufacturing operation" means a process in which materials are changed, converted, or transformed into a different state or form from which they previously existed and includes refining materials, assembling parts, and preparing raw materials and parts by mixing, measuring, blending, or otherwise committing such materials or parts to the manufacturing process. "Manufacturing operation" does not include packaging.
(T) "Fiscal officer" means, with respect to a regional transit authority, the secretary-treasurer thereof, and with respect to a county that is a transit authority, the fiscal officer of the county transit board if one is appointed pursuant to section 306.03 of the Revised Code or the county auditor if the board of county commissioners operates the county transit system.
(U) "Transit authority" means a regional transit authority created pursuant to section 306.31 of the Revised Code or a county in which a county transit system is created pursuant to section 306.01 of the Revised Code. For the purposes of this chapter, a transit authority must extend to at least the entire area of a single county. A transit authority that includes territory in more than one county must include all the area of the most populous county that is a part of such transit authority. County population shall be measured by the most recent census taken by the United States census bureau.
(V) "Legislative authority" means, with respect to a regional transit authority, the board of trustees thereof, and with respect to a county that is a transit authority, the board of county commissioners.
(W) "Territory of the transit authority" means all of the area included within the territorial boundaries of a transit authority as they from time to time exist. Such territorial boundaries must at all times include all the area of a single county or all the area of the most populous county that is a part of such transit authority. County population shall be measured by the most recent census taken by the United States census bureau.
(X) "Providing a service" means providing or furnishing anything described in division (B)(3) of this section for consideration.
(Y)(1)(a) "Automatic data processing" means processing of others' data, including keypunching or similar data entry services together with verification thereof, or providing access to computer equipment for the purpose of processing data.
(b) "Computer services" means providing services consisting of specifying computer hardware configurations and evaluating technical processing characteristics, computer programming, and training of computer programmers and operators, provided in conjunction with and to support the sale, lease, or operation of taxable computer equipment or systems.
(c) "Electronic information services" means providing access to computer equipment by means of telecommunications equipment for the purpose of either of the following:
(i) Examining or acquiring data stored in or accessible to the computer equipment;
(ii) Placing data into the computer equipment to be retrieved by designated recipients with access to the computer equipment.
"Electronic information services" does not include electronic publishing.
(d) "Automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services" shall not include personal or professional services.
(2) As used in divisions (B)(3)(e) and (Y)(1) of this section, "personal and professional services" means all services other than automatic data processing, computer services, or electronic information services, including but not limited to:
(a) Accounting and legal services such as advice on tax matters, asset management, budgetary matters, quality control, information security, and auditing and any other situation where the service provider receives data or information and studies, alters, analyzes, interprets, or adjusts such material;
(b) Analyzing business policies and procedures;
(c) Identifying management information needs;
(d) Feasibility studies, including economic and technical analysis of existing or potential computer hardware or software needs and alternatives;
(e) Designing policies, procedures, and custom software for collecting business information, and determining how data should be summarized, sequenced, formatted, processed, controlled, and reported so that it will be meaningful to management;
(f) Developing policies and procedures that document how business events and transactions are to be authorized, executed, and controlled;
(g) Testing of business procedures;
(h) Training personnel in business procedure applications;
(i) Providing credit information to users of such information by a consumer reporting agency, as defined in the "Fair Credit Reporting Act," 84 Stat. 1114, 1129 (1970), 15 U.S.C. 1681a(f), or as hereafter amended, including but not limited to gathering, organizing, analyzing, recording, and furnishing such information by any oral, written, graphic, or electronic medium;
(j) Providing debt collection services by any oral, written, graphic, or electronic means;
(k) Providing digital advertising services.
The services listed in divisions (Y)(2)(a) to (k) of this section are not automatic data processing or computer services.
(Z) "Highway transportation for hire" means the transportation of personal property belonging to others for consideration by any of the following:
(1) The holder of a permit or certificate issued by this state or the United States authorizing the holder to engage in transportation of personal property belonging to others for consideration over or on highways, roadways, streets, or any similar public thoroughfare;
(2) A person who engages in the transportation of personal property belonging to others for consideration over or on highways, roadways, streets, or any similar public thoroughfare but who could not have engaged in such transportation on December 11, 1985, unless the person was the holder of a permit or certificate of the types described in division (Z)(1) of this section;
(3) A person who leases a motor vehicle to and operates it for a person described by division (Z)(1) or (2) of this section.
(AA)(1) "Telecommunications service" means the electronic transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals to a point, or between or among points. "Telecommunications service" includes such transmission, conveyance, or routing in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, code, or protocol of the content for purposes of transmission, conveyance, or routing without regard to whether the service is referred to as voice-over internet protocol service or is classified by the federal communications commission as enhanced or value-added. "Telecommunications service" does not include any of the following:
(a) Data processing and information services that allow data to be generated, acquired, stored, processed, or retrieved and delivered by an electronic transmission to a consumer where the consumer's primary purpose for the underlying transaction is the processed data or information;
(b) Installation or maintenance of wiring or equipment on a customer's premises;
(c) Tangible personal property;
(d) Advertising, including directory advertising;
(e) Billing and collection services provided to third parties;
(f) Internet access service;
(g) Radio and television audio and video programming services, regardless of the medium, including the furnishing of transmission, conveyance, and routing of such services by the programming service provider. Radio and television audio and video programming services include, but are not limited to, cable service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 522(6), and audio and video programming services delivered by commercial mobile radio service providers, as defined in 47 C.F.R. 20.3;
(h) Ancillary service;
(i) Digital products delivered electronically, including software, music, video, reading materials, or ring tones.
(2) "Ancillary service" means a service that is associated with or incidental to the provision of telecommunications service, including conference bridging service, detailed telecommunications billing service, directory assistance, vertical service, and voice mail service. As used in this division:
(a) "Conference bridging service" means an ancillary service that links two or more participants of an audio or video conference call, including providing a telephone number. "Conference bridging service" does not include telecommunications services used to reach the conference bridge.
(b) "Detailed telecommunications billing service" means an ancillary service of separately stating information pertaining to individual calls on a customer's billing statement.
(c) "Directory assistance" means an ancillary service of providing telephone number or address information.
(d) "Vertical service" means an ancillary service that is offered in connection with one or more telecommunications services, which offers advanced calling features that allow customers to identify callers and manage multiple calls and call connections, including conference bridging service.
(e) "Voice mail service" means an ancillary service that enables the customer to store, send, or receive recorded messages. "Voice mail service" does not include any vertical services that the customer may be required to have in order to utilize the voice mail service.
(3) "900 service" means an inbound toll telecommunications service purchased by a subscriber that allows the subscriber's customers to call in to the subscriber's prerecorded announcement or live service, and which is typically marketed under the name "900 service" and any subsequent numbers designated by the federal communications commission. "900 service" does not include the charge for collection services provided by the seller of the telecommunications service to the subscriber, or services or products sold by the subscriber to the subscriber's customer.
(4) "Prepaid calling service" means the right to access exclusively telecommunications services, which must be paid for in advance and which enables the origination of calls using an access number or authorization code, whether manually or electronically dialed, and that is sold in predetermined units or dollars of which the number declines with use in a known amount.
(5) "Prepaid wireless calling service" means a telecommunications service that provides the right to utilize mobile telecommunications service as well as other non-telecommunications services, including the download of digital products delivered electronically, and content and ancillary services, that must be paid for in advance and that is sold in predetermined units or dollars of which the number declines with use in a known amount.
(6) "Value-added non-voice data service" means a telecommunications service in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, content, code, or protocol of the information or data primarily for a purpose other than transmission, conveyance, or routing.
(7) "Coin-operated telephone service" means a telecommunications service paid for by inserting money into a telephone accepting direct deposits of money to operate.
(8) "Customer" has the same meaning as in section 5739.034 of the Revised Code.
(BB) "Laundry and dry cleaning services" means removing soil or dirt from towels, linens, articles of clothing, or other fabric items that belong to others and supplying towels, linens, articles of clothing, or other fabric items. "Laundry and dry cleaning services" does not include the provision of self-service facilities for use by consumers to remove soil or dirt from towels, linens, articles of clothing, or other fabric items.
(CC) "Magazines distributed as controlled circulation publications" means magazines containing at least twenty-four pages, at least twenty-five per cent editorial content, issued at regular intervals four or more times a year, and circulated without charge to the recipient, provided that such magazines are not owned or controlled by individuals or business concerns which conduct such publications as an auxiliary to, and essentially for the advancement of the main business or calling of, those who own or control them.
(DD) "Landscaping and lawn care service" means the services of planting, seeding, sodding, removing, cutting, trimming, pruning, mulching, aerating, applying chemicals, watering, fertilizing, and providing similar services to establish, promote, or control the growth of trees, shrubs, flowers, grass, ground cover, and other flora, or otherwise maintaining a lawn or landscape grown or maintained by the owner for ornamentation or other nonagricultural purpose. However, "landscaping and lawn care service" does not include the providing of such services by a person who has less than five thousand dollars in sales of such services during the calendar year.
(EE) "Private investigation and security service" means the performance of any activity for which the provider of such service is required to be licensed pursuant to Chapter 4749. of the Revised Code, or would be required to be so licensed in performing such services in this state, and also includes the services of conducting polygraph examinations and of monitoring or overseeing the activities on or in, or the condition of, the consumer's home, business, or other facility by means of electronic or similar monitoring devices. "Private investigation and security service" does not include special duty services provided by off-duty police officers, deputy sheriffs, and other peace officers regularly employed by the state or a political subdivision.
(FF) "Information services" means providing conversation, giving consultation or advice, playing or making a voice or other recording, making or keeping a record of the number of callers, and any other service provided to a consumer by means of a nine hundred telephone call, except when the nine hundred telephone call is the means by which the consumer makes a contribution to a recognized charity.
(GG) "Research and development" means designing, creating, or formulating new or enhanced products, equipment, or manufacturing processes, and also means conducting scientific or technological inquiry and experimentation in the physical sciences with the goal of increasing scientific knowledge which may reveal the bases for new or enhanced products, equipment, or manufacturing processes.
(HH) "Qualified research and development equipment" means either of the following:
(1) Capitalized tangible personal property, and leased personal property that would be capitalized if purchased, used by a person primarily to perform research and development;
(2) Any tangible personal property used by a megaproject operator primarily to perform research and development at the site of a megaproject that satisfies the criteria described in division (A)(11)(a)(ii) of section 122.17 of the Revised Code during the period that the megaproject operator has an agreement for such megaproject with the tax credit authority under division (D) of that section that remains in effect and has not expired or been terminated.
"Qualified research and development equipment" does not include tangible personal property primarily used in testing, as defined in division (A)(4) of section 5739.011 of the Revised Code, or used for recording or storing test results, unless such property is primarily used by the consumer in testing the product, equipment, or manufacturing process being created, designed, or formulated by the consumer in the research and development activity or in recording or storing such test results.
(II) "Building maintenance and janitorial service" means cleaning the interior or exterior of a building and any tangible personal property located therein or thereon, including any services incidental to such cleaning for which no separate charge is made. However, "building maintenance and janitorial service" does not include the providing of such service by a person who has less than five thousand dollars in sales of such service during the calendar year. As used in this division, "cleaning" does not include sanitation services necessary for an establishment described in 21 U.S.C. 608 to comply with rules and regulations adopted pursuant to that section.
(JJ) "Exterminating service" means eradicating or attempting to eradicate vermin infestations from a building or structure, or the area surrounding a building or structure, and includes activities to inspect, detect, or prevent vermin infestation of a building or structure.
(KK) "Physical fitness facility service" means all transactions by which a membership is granted, maintained, or renewed, including initiation fees, membership dues, renewal fees, monthly minimum fees, and other similar fees and dues, by a physical fitness facility such as an athletic club, health spa, or gymnasium, which entitles the member to use the facility for physical exercise.
(LL) "Recreation and sports club service" means all transactions by which a membership is granted, maintained, or renewed, including initiation fees, membership dues, renewal fees, monthly minimum fees, and other similar fees and dues, by a recreation and sports club, which entitles the member to use the facilities of the organization. "Recreation and sports club" means an organization that has ownership of, or controls or leases on a continuing, long-term basis, the facilities used by its members and includes an aviation club, gun or shooting club, yacht club, card club, swimming club, tennis club, golf club, country club, riding club, amateur sports club, or similar organization.
(MM) "Livestock" means farm animals commonly raised for food, food production, or other agricultural purposes, including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, poultry, and captive deer. "Livestock" does not include invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, domestic pets, animals for use in laboratories or for exhibition, or other animals not commonly raised for food or food production.
(NN) "Livestock structure" means a building or structure used exclusively for the housing, raising, feeding, or sheltering of livestock, and includes feed storage or handling structures and structures for livestock waste handling.
(OO) "Horticulture" means the growing, cultivation, and production of flowers, fruits, herbs, vegetables, sod, mushrooms, and nursery stock. As used in this division, "nursery stock" has the same meaning as in section 927.51 of the Revised Code.
(PP) "Horticulture structure" means a building or structure used exclusively for the commercial growing, raising, or overwintering of horticultural products, and includes the area used for stocking, storing, and packing horticultural products when done in conjunction with the production of those products.
(QQ) "Newspaper" means an unbound publication bearing a title or name that is regularly published, at least as frequently as biweekly, and distributed from a fixed place of business to the public in a specific geographic area, and that contains a substantial amount of news matter of international, national, or local events of interest to the general public.
(RR)(1) "Feminine hygiene products" means tampons, panty liners, menstrual cups, sanitary napkins, and other similar tangible personal property designed for feminine hygiene in connection with the human menstrual cycle, but does not include grooming and hygiene products.
(2) "Grooming and hygiene products" means soaps and cleaning solutions, shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, antiperspirants, and sun tan lotions and screens, regardless of whether any of these products are over-the-counter drugs.
(3) "Over-the-counter drugs" means a drug that contains a label that identifies the product as a drug as required by 21 C.F.R. 201.66, which label includes a drug facts panel or a statement of the active ingredients with a list of those ingredients contained in the compound, substance, or preparation.
(SS)(1) "Lease" or "rental" means any transfer of the possession or control of tangible personal property for a fixed or indefinite term, for consideration. "Lease" or "rental" includes future options to purchase or extend, and agreements described in 26 U.S.C. 7701(h)(1) covering motor vehicles and trailers where the amount of consideration may be increased or decreased by reference to the amount realized upon the sale or disposition of the property. "Lease" or "rental" does not include:
(a) A transfer of possession or control of tangible personal property under a security agreement or a deferred payment plan that requires the transfer of title upon completion of the required payments;
(b) A transfer of possession or control of tangible personal property under an agreement that requires the transfer of title upon completion of required payments and payment of an option price that does not exceed the greater of one hundred dollars or one per cent of the total required payments;
(c) Providing tangible personal property along with an operator for a fixed or indefinite period of time, if the operator is necessary for the property to perform as designed. For purposes of this division, the operator must do more than maintain, inspect, or set up the tangible personal property.
(2) "Lease" and "rental," as defined in division (SS) of this section, shall not apply to leases or rentals that exist before June 26, 2003.
(3) "Lease" and "rental" have the same meaning as in division (SS)(1) of this section regardless of whether a transaction is characterized as a lease or rental under generally accepted accounting principles, the Internal Revenue Code, Title XIII of the Revised Code, or other federal, state, or local laws.
(TT) "Mobile telecommunications service" has the same meaning as in the "Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act," Pub. L. No. 106-252, 114 Stat. 631 (2000), 4 U.S.C.A. 124(7), as amended, and, on and after August 1, 2003, includes related fees and ancillary services, including universal service fees, detailed billing service, directory assistance, service initiation, voice mail service, and vertical services, such as caller ID and three-way calling.
(UU) "Certified service provider" has the same meaning as in section 5740.01 of the Revised Code.
(VV) "Satellite broadcasting service" means the distribution or broadcasting of programming or services by satellite directly to the subscriber's receiving equipment without the use of ground receiving or distribution equipment, except the subscriber's receiving equipment or equipment used in the uplink process to the satellite, and includes all service and rental charges, premium channels or other special services, installation and repair service charges, and any other charges having any connection with the provision of the satellite broadcasting service.
(WW) "Tangible personal property" means personal property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched, or that is in any other manner perceptible to the senses. For purposes of this chapter and Chapter 5741. of the Revised Code, "tangible personal property" includes motor vehicles, electricity, water, gas, steam, and prewritten computer software.
(XX) "Municipal gas utility" means a municipal corporation that owns or operates a system for the distribution of natural gas.
(YY) "Computer" means an electronic device that accepts information in digital or similar form and manipulates it for a result based on a sequence of instructions.
(ZZ) "Computer software" means a set of coded instructions designed to cause a computer or automatic data processing equipment to perform a task.
(AAA) "Delivered electronically" means delivery of computer software from the seller to the purchaser by means other than tangible storage media.
(BBB) "Prewritten computer software" means computer software, including prewritten upgrades, that is not designed and developed by the author or other creator to the specifications of a specific purchaser. The combining of two or more prewritten computer software programs or prewritten portions thereof does not cause the combination to be other than prewritten computer software. "Prewritten computer software" includes software designed and developed by the author or other creator to the specifications of a specific purchaser when it is sold to a person other than the purchaser. If a person modifies or enhances computer software of which the person is not the author or creator, the person shall be deemed to be the author or creator only of such person's modifications or enhancements. Prewritten computer software or a prewritten portion thereof that is modified or enhanced to any degree, where such modification or enhancement is designed and developed to the specifications of a specific purchaser, remains prewritten computer software; provided, however, that where there is a reasonable, separately stated charge or an invoice or other statement of the price given to the purchaser for the modification or enhancement, the modification or enhancement shall not constitute prewritten computer software.
(CCC)(1) "Food" means substances, whether in liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried, or dehydrated form, that are sold for ingestion or chewing by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value. "Food" does not include alcoholic beverages, dietary supplements, soft drinks, or tobacco.
(2) As used in division (CCC)(1) of this section:
(a) "Alcoholic beverages" means beverages that are suitable for human consumption and contain one-half of one per cent or more of alcohol by volume.
(b) "Dietary supplements" means any product, other than tobacco, that is intended to supplement the diet and that is intended for ingestion in tablet, capsule, powder, softgel, gelcap, or liquid form, or, if not intended for ingestion in such a form, is not represented as conventional food for use as a sole item of a meal or of the diet; that is required to be labeled as a dietary supplement, identifiable by the "supplement facts" box found on the label, as required by 21 C.F.R. 101.36; and that contains one or more of the following dietary ingredients:
(i) A vitamin;
(ii) A mineral;
(iii) An herb or other botanical;
(iv) An amino acid;
(v) A dietary substance for use by humans to supplement the diet by increasing the total dietary intake;
(vi) A concentrate, metabolite, constituent, extract, or combination of any ingredient described in divisions (CCC)(2)(b)(i) to (v) of this section.
(c) "Soft drinks" means nonalcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners. "Soft drinks" does not include beverages that contain milk or milk products, soy, rice, or similar milk substitutes, or that contains greater than fifty per cent vegetable or fruit juice by volume.
(d) "Tobacco" means cigarettes, cigars, chewing or pipe tobacco, or any other item that contains tobacco.
(DDD) "Drug" means a compound, substance, or preparation, and any component of a compound, substance, or preparation, other than food, dietary supplements, or alcoholic beverages that is recognized in the official United States pharmacopoeia, official homeopathic pharmacopoeia of the United States, or official national formulary, and supplements to them; is intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease; or is intended to affect the structure or any function of the body.
(EEE) "Prescription" means an order, formula, or recipe issued in any form of oral, written, electronic, or other means of transmission by a duly licensed practitioner authorized by the laws of this state to issue a prescription.
(FFF) "Durable medical equipment" means equipment, including repair and replacement parts for such equipment, that can withstand repeated use, is primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose, generally is not useful to a person in the absence of illness or injury, and is not worn in or on the body. "Durable medical equipment" does not include mobility enhancing equipment.
(GGG) "Mobility enhancing equipment" means equipment, including repair and replacement parts for such equipment, that is primarily and customarily used to provide or increase the ability to move from one place to another and is appropriate for use either in a home or a motor vehicle, that is not generally used by persons with normal mobility, and that does not include any motor vehicle or equipment on a motor vehicle normally provided by a motor vehicle manufacturer. "Mobility enhancing equipment" does not include durable medical equipment.
(HHH) "Prosthetic device" means a replacement, corrective, or supportive device, including repair and replacement parts for the device, worn on or in the human body to artificially replace a missing portion of the body, prevent or correct physical deformity or malfunction, or support a weak or deformed portion of the body. As used in this division, before July 1, 2019, "prosthetic device" does not include corrective eyeglasses, contact lenses, or dental prosthesis. On or after July 1, 2019, "prosthetic device" does not include dental prosthesis but does include corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses.
(III)(1) "Fractional aircraft ownership program" means a program in which persons within an affiliated group sell and manage fractional ownership program aircraft, provided that at least one hundred airworthy aircraft are operated in the program and the program meets all of the following criteria:
(a) Management services are provided by at least one program manager within an affiliated group on behalf of the fractional owners.
(b) Each program aircraft is owned or possessed by at least one fractional owner.
(c) Each fractional owner owns or possesses at least a one-sixteenth interest in at least one fixed-wing program aircraft.
(d) A dry-lease aircraft interchange arrangement is in effect among all of the fractional owners.
(e) Multi-year program agreements are in effect regarding the fractional ownership, management services, and dry-lease aircraft interchange arrangement aspects of the program.
(2) As used in division (III)(1) of this section:
(a) "Affiliated group" has the same meaning as in division (B)(3)(e) of this section.
(b) "Fractional owner" means a person that owns or possesses at least a one-sixteenth interest in a program aircraft and has entered into the agreements described in division (III)(1)(e) of this section.
(c) "Fractional ownership program aircraft" or "program aircraft" means a turbojet aircraft that is owned or possessed by a fractional owner and that has been included in a dry-lease aircraft interchange arrangement and agreement under divisions (III)(1)(d) and (e) of this section, or an aircraft a program manager owns or possesses primarily for use in a fractional aircraft ownership program.
(d) "Management services" means administrative and aviation support services furnished under a fractional aircraft ownership program in accordance with a management services agreement under division (III)(1)(e) of this section, and offered by the program manager to the fractional owners, including, at a minimum, the establishment and implementation of safety guidelines; the coordination of the scheduling of the program aircraft and crews; program aircraft maintenance; program aircraft insurance; crew training for crews employed, furnished, or contracted by the program manager or the fractional owner; the satisfaction of record-keeping requirements; and the development and use of an operations manual and a maintenance manual for the fractional aircraft ownership program.
(e) "Program manager" means the person that offers management services to fractional owners pursuant to a management services agreement under division (III)(1)(e) of this section.
(JJJ) "Electronic publishing" means providing access to one or more of the following primarily for business customers, including the federal government or a state government or a political subdivision thereof, to conduct research: news; business, financial, legal, consumer, or credit materials; editorials, columns, reader commentary, or features; photos or images; archival or research material; legal notices, identity verification, or public records; scientific, educational, instructional, technical, professional, trade, or other literary materials; or other similar information which has been gathered and made available by the provider to the consumer in an electronic format. Providing electronic publishing includes the functions necessary for the acquisition, formatting, editing, storage, and dissemination of data or information that is the subject of a sale.
(KKK) "Medicaid health insuring corporation" means a health insuring corporation that holds a certificate of authority under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code and is under contract with the department of medicaid pursuant to section 5167.10 of the Revised Code.
(LLL) "Managed care premium" means any premium, capitation, or other payment a medicaid health insuring corporation receives for providing or arranging for the provision of health care services to its members or enrollees residing in this state.
(MMM) "Captive deer" means deer and other cervidae that have been legally acquired, or their offspring, that are privately owned for agricultural or farming purposes.
(NNN) "Gift card" means a document, card, certificate, or other record, whether tangible or intangible, that may be redeemed by a consumer for a dollar value when making a purchase of tangible personal property or services.
(OOO) "Specified digital product" means an electronically transferred digital audiovisual work, digital audio work, or digital book.
As used in division (OOO) of this section:
(1) "Digital audiovisual work" means a series of related images that, when shown in succession, impart an impression of motion, together with accompanying sounds, if any.
(2) "Digital audio work" means a work that results from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, including digitized sound files that are downloaded onto a device and that may be used to alert the customer with respect to a communication.
(3) "Digital book" means a work that is generally recognized in the ordinary and usual sense as a book.
(4) "Electronically transferred" means obtained by the purchaser by means other than tangible storage media.
(PPP) "Digital advertising services" means providing access, by means of telecommunications equipment, to computer equipment that is used to enter, upload, download, review, manipulate, store, add, or delete data for the purpose of electronically displaying, delivering, placing, or transferring promotional advertisements to potential customers about products or services or about industry or business brands.
(QQQ) "Peer-to-peer car sharing program" has the same meaning as in section 4516.01 of the Revised Code.
(RRR) "Megaproject" and "megaproject operator" have the same meanings as in section 122.17 of the Revised Code.
Last updated July 6, 2022 at 9:23 AM

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