Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-21 (2026)

Liability for use tax

✓ current as of July 2026

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(a) Every person storing, using, or consuming in this state tangible personal property, including a motor vehicle, boat, airplane, or trailer, purchased from a retailer, and a motor vehicle, boat, airplane, or trailer, purchased from other than a licensed motor vehicle dealer or other than a retailer of boats, airplanes, or trailers respectively; or storing, using or consuming specified prewritten computer software delivered electronically or by load and leave, or vendor-hosted prewritten computer software, or specified digital products, or services as defined in § 44-18-7.3 is liable for the use tax. The person’s liability is not extinguished until the tax has been paid to this state, except that a receipt from a retailer engaging in business in this state or from a retailer who is authorized by the tax administrator to collect the tax under rules and regulations that he or she may prescribe, given to the purchaser pursuant to the provisions of § 44-18-22, is sufficient to relieve the purchaser from further liability for the tax to which the receipt refers.

(b) Each person before obtaining an original or transferral registration for any article or commodity in this state, which article or commodity is required to be licensed or registered in the state, shall furnish satisfactory evidence to the tax administrator that any tax due under this chapter with reference to the article or commodity has been paid, and for the purpose of effecting compliance, the tax administrator, in addition to any other powers granted to him or her, may invoke the provisions of § 31-3-4 in the case of a motor vehicle. The tax administrator, when he or she deems it to be for the convenience of the general public, may authorize any agency of the state concerned with the licensing or registering of these articles or commodities to collect the use tax on any articles or commodities which the purchaser is required by this chapter to pay before receiving an original or transferral registration. The general assembly shall annually appropriate a sum that it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 44-18-19, 44-18-22, and 44-18-24, the sales or use tax on any motor vehicle and/or recreational vehicle requiring registration by the administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall not be added by the retailer to the sale price or charge but shall be paid directly by the purchaser to the tax administrator, or his or her authorized deputy or agent as provided in this section.

(c) In cases involving total loss or destruction of a motor vehicle occurring within one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of purchase and upon which the purchaser has paid the use tax, the amount of the tax constitutes an overpayment. The amount of the overpayment may be credited against the amount of use tax on any subsequent vehicle which the owner acquires to replace the lost or destroyed vehicle or may be refunded, in whole or in part.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1973–1991 · leading case: Capitol Bldg. Co. v. Langton, 221 A.2d 99 (R.I. 1981).

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Capitol Bldg. Co. v. Langton, 221 A.2d 99 (R.I. 1981). · cites it 5× “” Liability for the payment of this tax is placed on the purchaser 'by the provisions of §44-18-21, as amended, which provides in part: “Every person storing, using, or otherwise consuming in this state tangible personal property * * * is liable for the use tax.”

Mart Realty, Inc. v. Norberg, 303 A.2d 361 (R.I. 1973). · cites it 3× “So is the language of §44-18-21 which imposes liability for the use tax on “[ejvery person * * * otherwise consuming in this state tangible personal property * * *.”

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. Norberg, 369 A.2d 1101 (R.I. 1977). “Liability for the payment of the use tax is imposed upon the purchaser of the property by §44-18-21. A sale, and hence by implication a purchase, is defined by §44-18-7 to include a lease or rental which has the economic effect of a transfer of title.”

PUB Dennis of Mineral Spring Avenue, Inc. v. Town of North Providence (In Re PUB Dennis of Mineral Spring Avenue, Inc.), 126 B.R. 903 (Bankr. D.R.I. 1991). “LAWS § 44-18-21(a). The Administrator urges that in this situation (which involves the liability of third parties), the Debtor is only a “statutory agent” for the state and cannot be discharged of the responsibility to remit those funds to the state.”

B.G. Bailey Constr. Co. v. Norberg, 524 A.2d 595 (R.I. 1987). “” General Laws 1956 (1980 Reenactment) § 44-18-21 imposes the use tax described in § 44-18-20 on “[ejvery person storing, using, or otherwise consuming in this state tangible personal property * * * purchased from a retailer * * *.”

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. v. Norberg, 369 A.2d 1101 (R.I. 1977). “Liability for the payment of the use tax is imposed upon the purchaser of the property by § 44-18-21. A sale, and hence by implication a purchase, is defined by § 44-18-7 to include a lease or rental which has the economic effect of a transfer of title.”

— R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-18-21(a) — 1 case

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.