Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 44-18.1 - Adoption of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement
Section 44-18.1-23. - Sales tax holidays.

§ 44-18.1-23. Sales tax holidays.
(A) If a member state allows for temporary exemption periods, commonly referred to as sales tax holidays, the member state shall:
(1) Not apply an exemption after December 31, 2003, unless the items to be exempted are specifically defined in the Agreement and the exemptions are uniformly applied to state and local sales and use taxes.
(2) Provide notice of the exemption period at least sixty days’ prior to the first day of the calendar quarter in which the exemption period will begin.
(B) A member state may establish a sales tax holiday that utilizes price thresholds set by such state and the provisions of the Agreement on the use of thresholds shall not apply to exemptions provided by a state during a sales tax holiday. In order to provide uniformity, a price threshold established by a member state for exempt items shall include only items priced below the threshold. A member state shall not exempt only a portion of the price of an individual item during a sales tax holiday.
(C) The following procedures are to be used by member states in administering a sales tax holiday exemption:
(1) Layaway sales. A sale of eligible property under a layaway sale qualifies for exemption if:
(a) final payment on a layaway order is made by, and the property is given to, the purchaser during the exemption period; or
(b) the purchaser selects the property and the retailer accepts the order for the item during the exemption period, for immediate delivery upon full payment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period.
(2) Bundled sales. Member states will follow the same procedure during the sales tax holiday as agreed upon for handling a bundled sale at other times.
(3) Coupons and discounts. A discount by the seller reduces the sales price of the property and the discounted sales price determines whether the sales price is within a sales tax holiday price threshold of a member state. A coupon that reduces the sales price is treated as a discount if the seller is not reimbursed for the coupon amount by a third-party. If a discount applies to the total amount paid by a purchaser rather than to the sales price of a particular item and the purchaser has purchased both eligible property and taxable property, the seller should allocate the discount based on the total sales price of the taxable property compared to the total sales prices of all property sold in that same transaction.
(4) Splitting of items normally sold together. Articles that are normally sold as a single unit must continue to be sold in that manner. Such articles cannot be priced separately and sold as individual items in order to obtain the exemption. For example, a pair of shoes cannot have each shoe sold separately so that the sales price of each shoe is within a sales tax holiday price threshold.
(5) Rain checks. A rain check allows a customer to purchase an item at a certain price at a later time because the particular item was out of stock. Eligible property that customers purchase during the exemption period with use of a rain check will qualify for the exemption regardless of when the rain check was issued. Issuance of a rain check during the exemption period will not qualify eligible property for the exemption if the property is actually purchased after the exemption period.
(6) Exchanges. The procedure for an exchange in regards to a sales tax holiday is as follows:
(a) If a customer purchases as item of eligible property during the exemption period, but later exchanges the item for a similar eligible item, even if a different size, different color, or other feature, no additional tax is due even if the exchange is made after the exemption period.
(b) If a customer purchase an item of eligible property during the exemption period, but after the exemption period has ended, the customer returns the item and receives credit on the purchase of a different item, the appropriate sales tax is due on the sale of the newly purchased item.
(c) If a customer purchases an item of eligible property before the exemption period, but during the exemption period the customer returns the item and receives credit on the purchase of a different item of eligible property, no sales tax is due on the sale of the new item if the new item is purchased during the exemption period.
(7) Delivery charges. Delivery charges, including shipping, handling and service charges, are part of the sales price of eligible property unless a member state defines “sales price” to exclude such charges. For the purposes of determining a sales tax holiday price threshold, if all the property in a shipment qualifies as eligible property and the sales price for each item in the shipment is within the sales tax holiday price threshold, then the seller does not have to allocate the delivery, handling, or service charge to determine if the price threshold is exceeded. The shipment will be considered a sale of eligible products. If the shipment includes eligible property and taxable property (including an eligible item with a sales price in excess of the price threshold), the seller should allocate the delivery charge by using:
(a) a percentage based on the total sales prices of the taxable property compared to the total sales prices of all property in the shipment; or
(b) a percentage based on the total weight of the taxable property compared to the total weight of all property in the shipment.
The seller must tax the percentage of the delivery charge allocated to the taxable property but does not have to tax the percentage allocated to the eligible property.
(8) Order date and back orders. For the purpose of a sales tax holiday, eligible property qualifies for exemption if:
(a) the item is both delivered to and paid for by the customer during the exemption period; or
(b) the customer orders and pays for the item and the seller accepts the order during the exemption period for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the exemption period. The seller accepts an order when the seller has taken action to fill the order for immediate shipment. Actions to fill an order include placement of an “in date” stamp on a mail order or assignment of an “order number” to a telephone order. An order is for immediate shipment when the customer does not request delayed shipment. An order is for immediate shipment notwithstanding that the shipment may be delayed because of a backlog of orders or because stock is currently unavailable to, or on back order by, the seller.
(9) Returns. For a 60-day period immediately after the sales tax holiday exemption period, when a customer returns an item that would qualify for the exemption, no credit for or refund of sales tax shall be given unless the customer provides a receipt or invoice that shows tax was paid, or the seller has sufficient documentation to show that tax was paid on the specific item. This 60-day period is set solely for the purpose of designating a time period during which the customer must provide documentation that shows that sales tax was paid on returned merchandise. The 60-day period is not intended to change a seller’s policy on the time period during which the seller will accept returns.
(10) Different time zones. The time zone of the seller’s location determines the authorized time period for a sales tax holiday when the purchaser is located in one time zone and a seller is located in another.
History of Section.P.L. 2006, ch. 246, art. 30, § 12.