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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 9. TAXATION AND ASSESSMENTS |
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Chapter 9-4. SALES AND USE TAXES |
Section 9-450. MORTICIANS
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450.1For the purposes of this chapter, the term "morticians" includes undertakers, embalmers, funeral directors, and others (including corporations) engaged in rendering services similar to the services rendered by "morticians."
450.2Receipts from sales of tangible personal property by morticians, such as caskets, appurtenances, grave vaults, and clothing, shall be subject to the tax, even though personal services (such as embalming and providing delivery services and other equipment in conducting funerals) are rendered in connection with the sale of these items.
450.3If a mortician charges a lump sum to customers which covers the entire cost of the funeral (in other words, without separating the charge for services from charges for tangible personal property in the bill rendered to the customer), the tax shall be imposed upon the fair retail value of all extras or property furnished in addition to that customarily furnished with standard service, plus fifty percent (50%) of the remaining charges after excluding the value of those extras.
450.4The amount charged for a "standard funeral service" shall be based on the sales price of a casket and includes certain services, such as embalming, preparation of the remains, obtaining permits, and transportation. The tangible personal property furnished shall include the following:
(a) The casket;
(b) The body pouch;
(c) The registration book; and
(d) Acknowledgement cards.
450.5Items of tangible personal property, listed as extras and charged for separately, shall be subject to sales tax on the full sales price of such articles. The following items shall be sold as extras:
(a) Dresses, suits, slumber robes, burial blankets, underwear, hose, and slippers;
(b) Crucifixes, and emblems; and
(c) Vaults, urns (including engraving charges), and shipping cases.
450.6If the selling price of the tangible personal property is stated separately from the service charge on any bill to the customer, the tax shall be imposed only upon the selling price of the personal property.
450.7If property and service charges are stated separately, as provided in § 450.4, the sale of that tangible personal property to the mortician shall be subject to the provisions of § 414 as purchases for resale.
450.8Services including, but not limited to, clergymen, grave openings and closings, church hire, music, singers, and similar services, which are paid for by the mortician and subsequently repaid to him or her by the person(s) engaging the mortician's services, shall not be subject to tax, if those services are separately itemized in the mortician's bill.
450.9If no part of the services of the mortician other than embalming the body, placing the body in a casket, and delivering the body from the District to a point outside the District (either in the mortician's own equipment or by common or contract carrier) takes place in the District, the tax shall not apply to the sale of tangible personal property in connection with those services.
450.10Tangible personal property used or consumed in performing non-taxable services shall include cosmetics, embalming chemicals, hardening compounds, and similar materials. It is immaterial whether or not the non-taxable services are included in the charges for a standard funeral service or are separately itemized on the invoice. Purchases of these materials shall be subject to use tax if the sales tax was not paid at the time of purchase.
450.11The following items shall be used by a mortician in the conduct of the business and are subject to use tax if the sales tax was not paid at the time of purchase:
(a) Advertising materials, calendars, pamphlets, fans, hats, pencils, gifts, candles, vigil lites, and flower stands;
(b) Soaps and disinfectants;
(c) Injection guns, needles, gloves, embalming room equipment, and casket trucks; or
(d) Furniture and fixtures.
450.12If a mortician makes a cash expenditure for flowers or any other item of tangible personal property and adds the charge to the customer's bill for those items, the mortician is performing a service for the customer and shall pay the sales tax to the vendor.
450.13Other items of cash expenditure, such as newspaper notices, crematory charges, certificate of death, and opening and closing the grave, shall not be subject to the sales tax.
450.14If no tangible personal property is sold in connection with a "ship-in," the tax shall not apply to any portion of charges for services, whether or not the parlor or chapel facilities are used.
450.15If a casket is furnished or any other tangible personal property is sold in connection with a "ship-in," the tax shall apply.
450.16If no part of the services of the mortician takes place in the District, other than embalming the body, placing the body in a casket, and delivering the body from the District to a point outside the District, either in the mortician's own equipment or by common or contract carrier, the tax shall not apply to the sales of that tangible personal property. However, if the remains are made available in the District for the public or friends to pay their respects, then the tax shall apply.
450.17Persons who shroud bodies are considered to be performing a service. The charge for shrouding shall not be subject to sales tax. Persons who shroud bodies are considered to be the consumers of all materials and supplies which they purchase to operate their businesses, and must reimburse their suppliers (vendors) for the tax.
450.18If a mortician rents limousines and hearses for the conduct of a funeral, the mortician is the lessee and shall pay the sales tax to the lessor or owner of the equipment, even though the charges are separately stated on the invoice to the customer.
450.19No tax shall be charged to the customer for use of vehicles rented by the mortician, since this service is considered a transportation service and not a rental.
450.20If one mortician rents vehicles to another mortician during a particular period, and a net payment is made by one to the other, each one shall be required to collect and report the sales tax on the gross rental charges for the equipment.
450.21The tax shall be payable for each rental period during which the hearse or limousine is within the boundaries of the District.
450.22If vehicles are rented in the District and removed from the District for the complete duration of any rental period(s), the tax shall not apply to the gross receipts for the period(s) beginning after its removal from the District and ending before its return.