CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS
§ 31.11. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this section and § § 31.12—31.16, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Construction contract—A contract, whether lump sum, cost plus, unit price or time and materials under which a person agrees to perform construction activities.
Construction activities—An activity resulting from an agreement or contract under which a contractor attaches or affixes tangible personal property to real estate so as to become a permanent part thereof. Construction activities also include the service of repairing real estate even though tangible personal property is not transferred by a contractor in conjunction with the repairs which he makes. In the absence of satisfactory evidence to the contrary, the following items are presumed to become a permanent part of real estate:Air, chiller
Air conditioner, wall including filters, diffusers, grilles, registers
Air conditioning system, central including filters, diffusers, grilles, regis ters
Air, handler
Alarm systems (smoke, fire, burglar, security)
Asphalt
Awnings (other than cloth)
Ballast, light
Backboxes, electrical
Blacktop (installed-contract Form No. MS-944)
Boilers (including related accessories)
Bricklaying
Bridge (construction)
Building (moving a building)
Building (prefabricated, precut log, steel)
Burglar alarm systems
Cabinets (attached by screws or fasteners and the like)
Can and bottle crusher (built-in)
Car wash equipment
Carpets (attached by tacking, adhesive, hooks, tape or other methods)
Carports
Ceiling (drop)
Ceiling, molding trim
Chalkboard attached by bolts, nails or screws
Chimney cover
Chimney damper
Circuit breaker
Circulating pump
Computer rooms, wall and flooring
Condenser, heating and air conditioning
Conduit
Control center (motor)
Cooler, display (center cooling system)
Dehumidifier (installed in hot air system)
Dishwasher (built-in)
Disposal, garbage
Dock leveling equipment
Doors, folding fabric
Doors, overhead, garage
Electrical fixtures and outlets
Elevators
Elevators (home stair model)
Emergency lighting (built-in)
Escalators
Excavating (cellars)
Fans, exhaust (built-in)
Fencing
Fire alarm system
Fireplaces
Fire protection system
Flagpole
Floor covering (tile, linoleum, and the like)
Fuel saving units (installed in heating units)
Furnaces (electric, gas, oil) including accessories and filters
Freezer, walk-in
Garage door opener, mechanical, electronic, and the like
Glass (window)
Glass tint material
Guard rails (see also ‘‘medial barriers’’ this listing)
Heaters, baseboard, electrical
Heating fan, coil
Heating systems, central (including distribution system, exchanger)
Hospital equipment Nurses aid stations
Housing, prefabricated
Insulation (building)
Ironwork (ornamental)
Joists
Laboratory tables (with plumbing, utilities)
Landscaping
Lavatories (partition, soap dispenser, toilet tissue dispenser, towel dis penser, dryer, urinal, mirror)
Lifts (hydraulic vehicular)
Lighting fixtures, wires and switches (see also ‘‘Backbox’’ this listing)
Lighting system foundation material (example: concrete, stud and anchor bolts, and the like)
Lighting systems (exterior) embedded in concrete
Lighting, traffic, foundation materials (example: concrete, stud and anchor bolts, and the like)
Lightning rods
Locks, door
Mantels, fireplace
Mausoleums
Medial barriers, highway (embedded in ground or concrete)
Mirrors (attached by screws or bolts)
Oil burners
Ovens (built-in)
Painting (a building or construction)
Parking facility control equipment foundation material
Partitions (attached by means of bolts or screws)
Patio covers (other than cloth)
Playground equipment foundation material (example: concrete, bolts, and the like)
Pumps, water (above ground and submersible)
Railing (porch)
Range, cooking (wood or coal)
Refrigerator, walk-in
Restaurant equipment
Bins, storage
Bun steamer, connected to water system
Electrical systems
Exhaust ventilators
Faucets
Plumbing systems
Refrigerator, walk-in
Scullery sink
Shelving, built-in
Sinks, vegetable and scullery
Steamer, high speed, connected to water system
Road (construction)
Roofing (repairs)
Saunas
Scales, pit
Scotchtint
Sealant, driveway
Security alarm system
Security systems (burglar, smoke and fire alarm, and the like)
Septic tank and pipes
Shrubbery
Shutters
Siding (aluminum, metal or vinyl)
Sink
Solar energy system
Smoke alarm system
Spouting
Sprinkler system
Stair lift
Swimming pool accessories (installed or attached to an in-ground swim ming pool)
Swimming pools (installed in-ground)
Tank, storage
Television, cable distribution system including equipment mounted on the home owner’s TV set
Temperature controls (installed as part of heating or air conditioning sys tem)
Tennis courts
Tile
Toilets
Traffic control equipment foundation material (example: concrete, stud and anchor bolts)
Trees
Vacuum systems, central
Vanities
Ventilating systems
Wall paper
Washer, dish (built-in)
Water chillers
Water heaters
Windows, storm
Wires, electrical
Woodburning stoves
Contractor—A person engaged in performing a construction contract or construction activities. The term includes prime contractors and subcontractors.
Sales activities—An activity resulting from an agreement or contract under which a contractor transfers tangible personal property or performs services upon tangible personal property belonging to another person and installs the property so as not to become a permanent part of the real estate. In the absence of satisfactory evidence to the contrary, the following items are presumed not to become a permanent part of real estate: Air conditioner, window including filters Amplifiers, all (Beck Electric) Antenna, television Appliances (not built-in) Auditorium type seating Awnings (cloth) Backboxes, clock (Beck Electric) Baseboard, trane (plug-in) Basketball backstop (bolted) Blacktop (materials contract Form No. MS-963) Bleachers Blinds (venetian) Bowling alleys and pin setting equipment Bulb, lamp Buss duct Cabinets (free standing) Can and bottle crusher Carpets (unattached room size) Chalkboard (attached by hooks) Church pews Clock, master clock and program relay equipment (Beck Electric) Clock system, clock backbox, wiring (Beck Electric) Communication equipment Conveyors Cooler, display (unit self-contained) Dehumidifier (free standing) Dental chairs and accessories Dishwasher (free standing) Dispensing equipment, soda and liquor Drapes Dryer, clothes (free-standing) Emergency lighting (portable battery operated) File cabinets Fire extinguishers Fixtures, shelving, islands, (store) Freezers (home) Furniture Fuses Generators, electrical Grave marker foundations Grill, cooking Gymnasium equipment (portable) Hospital equipment Doctor paging system Nurse calling system Operating room lights Oxygen and gas systems Patient wall unit TV calling system TV monitoring system Hydro therapy equipment and accessories Laboratory tables (without plumbing, utilities) Lamps, portable Library shelving Lighting, emergency (portable battery) Lighting, stage, including power tracks Lighting, traffic (not foundation material) Lighting systems street and parking in which fixtures are attached to pre pared foundations by bolt (not including foundation material or under ground wiring and conduit) Linoleum (not attached to floor; see § 58.13 (relating to carpeting and other floor coverings)) Loud speakers, assemblies (Beck Electric) Medial barriers, highway (pre-cast cement free standing) Microphones Mirrors (attached by hooks) Modulars, room dividers, not attached Parking facility control equipment (not including foundations) Playground equipment (freestanding) Poles traffic light and luminaries when attached to concrete bases by means of bolts not including foundation material Racks, bicycle Radio sets Railroad signal equipment Range, cooking (gas, electric) Rectifier, electrical (Beck Electric) Refrigerators (home) Restaurant equipment Board, cutting Cabinet, warming, portable Can opener Cutter/mixer, vertical Cutting boards French fryers Gas grill Mixer Peeler, potato Rack, oven Rack, pan Shelving, portable Slicer Truck, dish Truck, food Truck, tray and silverware Truck, utility Scales, portable Screen, projection Seating (auditorium, stadium, and the like) Signal head, traffic Signs (electric, neon, wood, metal or plastic attached by bolts or screws) Sound equipment (including amplifiers, transformers and microphones) (Beck Electric) Stone, sand, gravel, and the like, delivered on pile or spread but not involv ing a contract of installation Swimming pool accessories (freestanding or installed on an aboveground swimming pool) Swimming pools (installed aboveground) Switchgear, electric (Beck Electric) Telephone communication equipment Television sets, wiring and antennas Television transmission or receiving facility Traffic control equipment (not foundation material) Transformers (Beck Electric) Venetian blinds Washer (clothes—freestanding) Washer, dish Water cooler, drinking Water softener and filtration equipment Wired music equipment X-ray Equipment X-ray Illuminator
Source The provisions of this § 31.11 adopted April 14, 1972, effective April 14, 1972, 2 Pa.B. 667; amended September 26, 1975, effective September 27, 1975, 5 Pa.B. 2538 through August 19, 1983, effective August 20, 1983, 13 Pa.B. 2554. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (40199) and (40200).
Notes of Decisions A property that is installed or attached so as to not become a permanent part of the real estate is subject to a sales tax because it falls under the definition of ‘‘sales activities’’ in § 31.11. Regarding medical equipment, § 31.11 only uses the example of nurses’ aid stations as presumed to be a permanent part of the property and thus subject to a sales tax. Northeastern Pennsylvania Imaging Center v. Commonwealth, 35 A.3d 752 (Pa. 2011).
Cross References This section cited in 61 Pa. Code § 31.13 (relating to claims for exemptions); 61 Pa. Code § 46.3 (relating to construction contractor installing stained glass windows); 61 Pa. Code § 46.7 (relating to nonresident contractors); and 61 Pa. Code § 46.8 (relating to industrialized housing).
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