(35 ILCS 110/2) (from Ch. 120, par. 439.32)

Sec. 2. Definitions. In this Act:

"Use" means the exercise by any person of any right or power over tangible personal property incident to the ownership of that property, but does not include the sale or use for demonstration by him of that property in any form as tangible personal property in the regular course of business. "Use" does not mean the interim use of tangible personal property nor the physical incorporation of tangible personal property, as an ingredient or constituent, into other tangible personal property, (a) which is sold in the regular course of business or (b) which the person incorporating such ingredient or constituent therein has undertaken at the time of such purchase to cause to be transported in interstate commerce to destinations outside the State of Illinois.

"Purchased from a serviceman" means the acquisition of the ownership of, or title to, tangible personal property through a sale of service.

"Purchaser" means any person who, through a sale of service, acquires the ownership of, or title to, any tangible personal property.

"Cost price" means the consideration paid by the serviceman for a purchase valued in money, whether paid in money or otherwise, including cash, credits and services, and shall be determined without any deduction on account of the supplier's cost of the property sold or on account of any other expense incurred by the supplier. When a serviceman contracts out part or all of the services required in his sale of service, it shall be presumed that the cost price to the serviceman of the property transferred to him or her by his or her subcontractor is equal to 50% of the subcontractor's charges to the serviceman in the absence of proof of the consideration paid by the subcontractor for the purchase of such property.

"Selling price" means the consideration for a sale valued in money whether received in money or otherwise, including cash, credits and service, and shall be determined without any deduction on account of the serviceman's cost of the property sold, the cost of materials used, labor or service cost or any other expense whatsoever, but does not include interest or finance charges which appear as separate items on the bill of sale or sales contract nor charges that are added to prices by sellers on account of the seller's duty to collect, from the purchaser, the tax that is imposed by this Act.

"Department" means the Department of Revenue.

"Person" means any natural individual, firm, partnership, association, joint stock company, joint venture, public or private corporation, limited liability company, and any receiver, executor, trustee, guardian or other representative appointed by order of any court.

"Sale of service" means any transaction except:

(1) a retail sale of tangible personal property taxable under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act or under the Use Tax Act.

(2) a sale of tangible personal property for the purpose of resale made in compliance with Section 2c of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.

(3) except as hereinafter provided, a sale or transfer of tangible personal property as an incident to the rendering of service for or by any governmental body, or for or by any corporation, society, association, foundation or institution organized and operated exclusively for charitable, religious or educational purposes or any not-for-profit corporation, society, association, foundation, institution or organization which has no compensated officers or employees and which is organized and operated primarily for the recreation of persons 55 years of age or older. A limited liability company may qualify for the exemption under this paragraph only if the limited liability company is organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes.

(4) (blank).

(4a) a sale or transfer of tangible personal property as an incident to the rendering of service for owners, lessors, or shippers of tangible personal property which is utilized by interstate carriers for hire for use as rolling stock moving in interstate commerce so long as so used by interstate carriers for hire, and equipment operated by a telecommunications provider, licensed as a common carrier by the Federal Communications Commission, which is permanently installed in or affixed to aircraft moving in interstate commerce.

(4a-5) on and after July 1, 2003 and through June 30, 2004, a sale or transfer of a motor vehicle of the second division with a gross vehicle weight in excess of 8,000 pounds as an incident to the rendering of service if that motor vehicle is subject to the commercial distribution fee imposed under Section 3-815.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. Beginning on July 1, 2004 and through June 30, 2005, the use in this State of motor vehicles of the second division: (i) with a gross vehicle weight rating in excess of 8,000 pounds; (ii) that are subject to the commercial distribution fee imposed under Section 3-815.1 of the Illinois Vehicle Code; and (iii) that are primarily used for commercial purposes. Through June 30, 2005, this exemption applies to repair and replacement parts added after the initial purchase of such a motor vehicle if that motor vehicle is used in a manner that would qualify for the rolling stock exemption otherwise provided for in this Act. For purposes of this paragraph, "used for commercial purposes" means the transportation of persons or property in furtherance of any commercial or industrial enterprise whether for-hire or not.

(5) a sale or transfer of machinery and equipment used primarily in the process of the manufacturing or assembling, either in an existing, an expanded or a new manufacturing facility, of tangible personal property for wholesale or retail sale or lease, whether such sale or lease is made directly by the manufacturer or by some other person, whether the materials used in the process are owned by the manufacturer or some other person, or whether such sale or lease is made apart from or as an incident to the seller's engaging in a service occupation and the applicable tax is a Service Use Tax or Service Occupation Tax, rather than Use Tax or Retailers' Occupation Tax. The exemption provided by this paragraph (5) includes production related tangible personal property, as defined in Section 3-50 of the Use Tax Act, purchased on or after July 1, 2019. The exemption provided by this paragraph (5) does not include machinery and equipment used in (i) the generation of electricity for wholesale or retail sale; (ii) the generation or treatment of natural or artificial gas for wholesale or retail sale that is delivered to customers through pipes, pipelines, or mains; or (iii) the treatment of water for wholesale or retail sale that is delivered to customers through pipes, pipelines, or mains. The provisions of Public Act 98-583 are declaratory of existing law as to the meaning and scope of this exemption. The exemption under this paragraph (5) is exempt from the provisions of Section 3-75.

(5a) the repairing, reconditioning or remodeling, for a common carrier by rail, of tangible personal property which belongs to such carrier for hire, and as to which such carrier receives the physical possession of the repaired, reconditioned or remodeled item of tangible personal property in Illinois, and which such carrier transports, or shares with another common carrier in the transportation of such property, out of Illinois on a standard uniform bill of lading showing the person who repaired, reconditioned or remodeled the property to a destination outside Illinois, for use outside Illinois.

(5b) a sale or transfer of tangible personal property which is produced by the seller thereof on special order in such a way as to have made the applicable tax the Service Occupation Tax or the Service Use Tax, rather than the Retailers' Occupation Tax or the Use Tax, for an interstate carrier by rail which receives the physical possession of such property in Illinois, and which transports such property, or shares with another common carrier in the transportation of such property, out of Illinois on a standard uniform bill of lading showing the seller of the property as the shipper or consignor of such property to a destination outside Illinois, for use outside Illinois.

(6) until July 1, 2003, a sale or transfer of distillation machinery and equipment, sold as a unit or kit and assembled or installed by the retailer, which machinery and equipment is certified by the user to be used only for the production of ethyl alcohol that will be used for consumption as motor fuel or as a component of motor fuel for the personal use of such user and not subject to sale or resale.

(7) at the election of any serviceman not required to be otherwise registered as a retailer under Section 2a of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, made for each fiscal year sales of service in which the aggregate annual cost price of tangible personal property transferred as an incident to the sales of service is less than 35%, or 75% in the case of servicemen transferring prescription drugs or servicemen engaged in graphic arts production, of the aggregate annual total gross receipts from all sales of service. The purchase of such tangible personal property by the serviceman shall be subject to tax under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act and the Use Tax Act. However, if a primary serviceman who has made the election described in this paragraph subcontracts service work to a secondary serviceman who has also made the election described in this paragraph, the primary serviceman does not incur a Use Tax liability if the secondary serviceman (i) has paid or will pay Use Tax on his or her cost price of any tangible personal property transferred to the primary serviceman and (ii) certifies that fact in writing to the primary serviceman.

Tangible personal property transferred incident to the completion of a maintenance agreement is exempt from the tax imposed pursuant to this Act.

Exemption (5) also includes machinery and equipment used in the general maintenance or repair of such exempt machinery and equipment or for in-house manufacture of exempt machinery and equipment. On and after July 1, 2017, exemption (5) also includes graphic arts machinery and equipment, as defined in paragraph (5) of Section 3-5. The machinery and equipment exemption does not include machinery and equipment used in (i) the generation of electricity for wholesale or retail sale; (ii) the generation or treatment of natural or artificial gas for wholesale or retail sale that is delivered to customers through pipes, pipelines, or mains; or (iii) the treatment of water for wholesale or retail sale that is delivered to customers through pipes, pipelines, or mains. The provisions of Public Act 98-583 are declaratory of existing law as to the meaning and scope of this exemption. For the purposes of exemption (5), each of these terms shall have the following meanings: (1) "manufacturing process" shall mean the production of any article of tangible personal property, whether such article is a finished product or an article for use in the process of manufacturing or assembling a different article of tangible personal property, by procedures commonly regarded as manufacturing, processing, fabricating, or refining which changes some existing material or materials into a material with a different form, use or name. In relation to a recognized integrated business composed of a series of operations which collectively constitute manufacturing, or individually constitute manufacturing operations, the manufacturing process shall be deemed to commence with the first operation or stage of production in the series, and shall not be deemed to end until the completion of the final product in the last operation or stage of production in the series; and further, for purposes of exemption (5), photoprocessing is deemed to be a manufacturing process of tangible personal property for wholesale or retail sale; (2) "assembling process" shall mean the production of any article of tangible personal property, whether such article is a finished product or an article for use in the process of manufacturing or assembling a different article of tangible personal property, by the combination of existing materials in a manner commonly regarded as assembling which results in a material of a different form, use or name; (3) "machinery" shall mean major mechanical machines or major components of such machines contributing to a manufacturing or assembling process; and (4) "equipment" shall include any independent device or tool separate from any machinery but essential to an integrated manufacturing or assembly process; including computers used primarily in a manufacturer's computer assisted design, computer assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system; or any subunit or assembly comprising a component of any machinery or auxiliary, adjunct or attachment parts of machinery, such as tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, patterns and molds; or any parts which require periodic replacement in the course of normal operation; but shall not include hand tools. Equipment includes chemicals or chemicals acting as catalysts but only if the chemicals or chemicals acting as catalysts effect a direct and immediate change upon a product being manufactured or assembled for wholesale or retail sale or lease. The purchaser of such machinery and equipment who has an active resale registration number shall furnish such number to the seller at the time of purchase. The purchaser of such machinery and equipment and tools without an active resale registration number shall prepare a certificate of exemption stating facts establishing the exemption, which certificate shall be available to the Department for inspection or audit. The Department shall prescribe the form of the certificate.

Any informal rulings, opinions or letters issued by the Department in response to an inquiry or request for any opinion from any person regarding the coverage and applicability of exemption (5) to specific devices shall be published, maintained as a public record, and made available for public inspection and copying. If the informal ruling, opinion or letter contains trade secrets or other confidential information, where possible the Department shall delete such information prior to publication. Whenever such informal rulings, opinions, or letters contain any policy of general applicability, the Department shall formulate and adopt such policy as a rule in accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act.

On and after July 1, 1987, no entity otherwise eligible under exemption (3) of this Section shall make tax-free purchases unless it has an active exemption identification number issued by the Department.

The purchase, employment and transfer of such tangible personal property as newsprint and ink for the primary purpose of conveying news (with or without other information) is not a purchase, use or sale of service or of tangible personal property within the meaning of this Act.

"Serviceman" means any person who is engaged in the occupation of making sales of service.

"Sale at retail" means "sale at retail" as defined in the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.

"Supplier" means any person who makes sales of tangible personal property to servicemen for the purpose of resale as an incident to a sale of service.

"Serviceman maintaining a place of business in this State", or any like term, means and includes any serviceman:

(1) having or maintaining within this State, directly or by a subsidiary, an office, distribution house, sales house, warehouse or other place of business, or any agent or other representative operating within this State under the authority of the serviceman or its subsidiary, irrespective of whether such place of business or agent or other representative is located here permanently or temporarily, or whether such serviceman or subsidiary is licensed to do business in this State;

(1.1) having a contract with a person located in this State under which the person, for a commission or other consideration based on the sale of service by the serviceman, directly or indirectly refers potential customers to the serviceman by providing to the potential customers a promotional code or other mechanism that allows the serviceman to track purchases referred by such persons. Examples of mechanisms that allow the serviceman to track purchases referred by such persons include but are not limited to the use of a link on the person's Internet website, promotional codes distributed through the person's hand-delivered or mailed material, and promotional codes distributed by the person through radio or other broadcast media. The provisions of this paragraph (1.1) shall apply only if the cumulative gross receipts from sales of service by the serviceman to customers who are referred to the serviceman by all persons in this State under such contracts exceed $10,000 during the preceding 4 quarterly periods ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December; a serviceman meeting the requirements of this paragraph (1.1) shall be presumed to be maintaining a place of business in this State but may rebut this presumption by submitting proof that the referrals or other activities pursued within this State by such persons were not sufficient to meet the nexus standards of the United States Constitution during the preceding 4 quarterly periods;

(1.2) beginning July 1, 2011, having a contract with a person located in this State under which:

(A) the serviceman sells the same or substantially similar line of services as the person located in this State and does so using an identical or substantially similar name, trade name, or trademark as the person located in this State; and

(B) the serviceman provides a commission or other consideration to the person located in this State based upon the sale of services by the serviceman.

The provisions of this paragraph (1.2) shall apply only if the cumulative gross receipts from sales of service by the serviceman to customers in this State under all such contracts exceed $10,000 during the preceding 4 quarterly periods ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December;

(2) soliciting orders for tangible personal property by means of a telecommunication or television shopping system (which utilizes toll free numbers) which is intended by the retailer to be broadcast by cable television or other means of broadcasting, to consumers located in this State;

(3) pursuant to a contract with a broadcaster or publisher located in this State, soliciting orders for tangible personal property by means of advertising which is disseminated primarily to consumers located in this State and only secondarily to bordering jurisdictions;

(4) soliciting orders for tangible personal property by mail if the solicitations are substantial and recurring and if the retailer benefits from any banking, financing, debt collection, telecommunication, or marketing activities occurring in this State or benefits from the location in this State of authorized installation, servicing, or repair facilities;

(5) being owned or controlled by the same interests which own or control any retailer engaging in business in the same or similar line of business in this State;

(6) having a franchisee or licensee operating under its trade name if the franchisee or licensee is required to collect the tax under this Section;

(7) pursuant to a contract with a cable television operator located in this State, soliciting orders for tangible personal property by means of advertising which is transmitted or distributed over a cable television system in this State;

(8) engaging in activities in Illinois, which activities in the state in which the supply business engaging in such activities is located would constitute maintaining a place of business in that state; or

(9) beginning October 1, 2018, making sales of service to purchasers in Illinois from outside of Illinois if:

(A) the cumulative gross receipts from sales of service to purchasers in Illinois are $100,000 or more; or

(B) the serviceman enters into 200 or more separate transactions for sales of service to purchasers in Illinois.

The serviceman shall determine on a quarterly basis, ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December, whether he or she meets the criteria of either subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph (9) for the preceding 12-month period. If the serviceman meets the criteria of either subparagraph (A) or (B) for a 12-month period, he or she is considered a serviceman maintaining a place of business in this State and is required to collect and remit the tax imposed under this Act and file returns for one year. At the end of that one-year period, the serviceman shall determine whether the serviceman met the criteria of either subparagraph (A) or (B) during the preceding 12-month period. If the serviceman met the criteria in either subparagraph (A) or (B) for the preceding 12-month period, he or she is considered a serviceman maintaining a place of business in this State and is required to collect and remit the tax imposed under this Act and file returns for the subsequent year. If at the end of a one-year period a serviceman that was required to collect and remit the tax imposed under this Act determines that he or she did not meet the criteria in either subparagraph (A) or (B) during the preceding 12-month period, the serviceman subsequently shall determine on a quarterly basis, ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December, whether he or she meets the criteria of either subparagraph (A) or (B) for the preceding 12-month period.

Beginning January 1, 2020, neither the gross receipts from nor the number of separate transactions for sales of service to purchasers in Illinois that a serviceman makes through a marketplace facilitator and for which the serviceman has received a certification from the marketplace facilitator pursuant to Section 2d of this Act shall be included for purposes of determining whether he or she has met the thresholds of this paragraph (9).

(10) Beginning January 1, 2020, a marketplace facilitator, as defined in Section 2d of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 100-22, eff. 7-6-17; 100-321, eff. 8-24-17; 100-587, eff. 6-4-18; 100-863, eff. 8-14-18; 101-9, Article 10, Section 10-15, eff. 6-5-19; 101-9, Article 25, Section 25-10, eff. 6-5-19; 101-604, eff. 12-13-19.)