Gross Receipts
The County/Municipality Board of Commissioners/Town Council has implemented a one and one-half percent (1 ½%) gross receipts tax on rental vehicles effective July 1, 2000. This gross receipt tax is a substitute for the property tax on a short-term leased or rental vehicle.
Rental Vehicle
- A motor vehicle of the private passenger type, including a passenger van, mini-van, sport utility or recreational vehicle.
- A motor vehicle of the cargo type, including cargo van, pickup truck or truck with a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 pounds or less used predominantly in the transportation of property for other than commercial freight and that does not require the operator to possess a commercial driver’s license.
- A trailer or semi-trailer with a gross vehicle weight of 6,000 pounds or less.
Short-Term Lease or Rental: This applies to a lease or rental that is made under a written agreement to lease or rent property to the same person for a period of less than 365 continuous days (G.S. 105-187.1).
An additional one and one-half percent (1 ½%) gross receipts tax will be collected from any rental location that is situated within any city limits which also adopts an ordinance to collect this tax. The tax will be charged at the rental location at which the customer takes delivery of the vehicle.
Rental Vehicle Filing
You will need to submit:
Heavy Equipment
Effective January 1, 2009, North Carolina General Statutes designated heavy equipment on which a gross receipts tax may be imposed, a special class of property. The classification refers to heavy equipment that is offered at retail for short-term lease or rental and is owned or leased by a person (company) engaged in the business or renting heavy equipment to the general public.
Durham County has passed the required resolution authorizing the gross receipts tax beginning in 2009. The amount of the tax is 1.2% for the County and .8% for municipalities. The tax is added to the amount charged for the short-term lease or rental and submitted to the Durham County Tax Collector on a quarterly basis.
What does this special classification mean?
A business having heavy equipment on which a gross receipts tax may be imposed does not have to annually report said equipment for business personal property taxation. However, the business may or may not be required to charge a Heavy Equipment Gross Receipts Tax on the rental or lease of said equipment depending on their taxing jurisdiction.
What is considered qualified heavy equipment?
Earthmoving, construction, or industrial equipment that is mobile, weighs at least 1,500 pounds, and meets any of the descriptions listed below. The term includes an attachment for heavy equipment, regardless of the weight of the attachment.
- It is a self-propelled vehicle that is not designed to be driven on a highway
- It is industrial lift equipment, industrial material handling equipment, industrial electrical generation equipment, or a similar piece of industrial equipment.
Heavy Equipment Filing
You will need to submit a Heavy Equipment Tax Return on a quarterly basis to the Durham County Tax Collector, PO Box 3397, Durham, NC 27702. Instructions for Heavy Equipment Tax.