U.S. Code
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Title 26
» Subtitle Subtitle D— Miscellaneous Excise Taxes › Chapter CHAPTER 31— RETAIL EXCISE TAXES › Subchapter Subchapter C— Heavy Trucks and Trailers
26 U.S.C. § 4053
Exemptions
No tax shall be imposed by section 4051 on any of the following articles:(1) Camper coaches bodies for self-propelled mobile homesAny article designed—(A) to be mounted or placed on automobile trucks, automobile truck chassis, or automobile chassis, and(B) to be used primarily as living quarters or camping accommodations.(2) Feed, seed, and fertilizer equipmentAny body primarily designed—(A) to process or prepare seed, feed, or fertilizer for use on farms,(B) to haul feed, seed, or fertilizer to and on farms,(C) to spread feed, seed, or fertilizer on farms,(D) to load or unload feed, seed, or fertilizer on farms, or(E) for any combination of the foregoing.(3) House trailersAny house trailer.
(4) Ambulances, hearses, etc.Any ambulance, hearse, or combination ambulance-hearse.
(5) Concrete mixersAny article designed—(A) to be placed or mounted on an automobile truck chassis or truck trailer or semitrailer chassis, and(B) to be used to process or prepare concrete.(6) Trash containers, etc.Any box, container, receptacle, bin or other similar article—(A) which is designed to be used as a trash container and is not designed for the transportation of freight other than trash, and(B) which is not designed to be permanently mounted on or permanently affixed to an automobile truck chassis or body.(7) Rail trailers and rail vansAny chassis or body of a trailer or semitrailer which is designed for use both as a highway vehicle and a railroad car. For purposes of the preceding sentence, piggy-back trailer or semitrailer shall not be treated as designed for use as a railroad car.
(8) Mobile machineryAny vehicle which consists of a chassis—(A) to which there has been permanently mounted (by welding, bolting, riveting, or other means) machinery or equipment to perform a construction, manufacturing, processing, farming, mining, drilling, timbering, or similar operation if the operation of the machinery or equipment is unrelated to transportation on or off the public highways,(B) which has been specially designed to serve only as a mobile carriage and mount (and a power source, where applicable) for the particular machinery or equipment involved, whether or not such machinery or equipment is in operation, and(C) which, by reason of such special design, could not, without substantial structural modification, be used as a component of a vehicle designed to perform a function of transporting any load other than that particular machinery or equipment or similar machinery or equipment requiring such a specially designed chassis.(9) Idling reduction deviceAny device or system of devices which—(A) is designed to provide to a vehicle those services (such as heat, air conditioning, or electricity) that would otherwise require the operation of the main drive engine while the vehicle is temporarily parked or remains stationary using one or more devices affixed to a tractor, and(B) is determined by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Transportation, to reduce idling of such vehicle at a motor vehicle rest stop or other location where such vehicles are temporarily parked or remain stationary.(10) Advanced insulationAny insulation that has an R value of not less than R35 per inch.
(Added Pub. L. 97–424, title V, § 512(b)(1), Jan. 6, 1983, 96 Stat. 2176; amended Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, title VII, § 735(b)(1), July 18, 1984, 98 Stat. 981; Pub. L. 108–357, title VIII, § 851(a)(1), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1607; Pub. L. 110–343, div. B, title II, § 206(a), Oct. 3, 2008, 122 Stat. 3839.)Editorial NotesPrior ProvisionsA prior section 4053, acts Aug. 16, 1954, ch. 736, 68A Stat. 479; Sept. 2, 1958, Pub. L. 85–859, title I, § 104, 72 Stat. 1276, made provision for the imposition of the retailers tax on installment sales, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 94–455, title XIX, § 1904(a)(1)(D), Oct. 4, 1976, 90 Stat. 1811.
For provisions of prior sections 4054 to 4058 of this title, see Prior Provisions note set out preceding section 4041 of this title.
Amendments2008—Pars. (9), (10). Pub. L. 110–343 added pars. (9) and (10).
2004—Par. (8). Pub. L. 108–357 added par. (8).
1984—Pub. L. 98–369 amended section generally, substituting provisions listing articles on which no tax under section 4051 shall be imposed for former provisions which stated that no tax be imposed under section 4051 on any article specified in subsection (a) of section 4063 and that the exemptions provided by section 4221(a) extended to the tax imposed by section 4051.
Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2008 AmendmentPub. L. 110–343, div. B, title II, § 206(b), Oct. 3, 2008, 122 Stat. 3839, provided that: “The amendment made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to sales or installations after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 3, 2008].”
Effective Date of 2004 AmendmentPub. L. 108–357, title VIII, § 851(a)(2), Oct. 22, 2004, 118 Stat. 1607, provided that: “The amendment made by this subsection [amending this section] shall take effect on the day after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 22, 2004].”
Effective Date of 1984 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 98–369 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provisions of the Highway Revenue Act of 1982, title V of Pub. L. 97–424, to which such amendment relates, see section 736 of Pub. L. 98–369, set out as a note under section 4051 of this title.
Notes of Decisions
Peerless Corp. v. United States, 185 F.3d 922 (8th Cir. 1999).
· cites it 2× “See 26 U.S.C. § 4053 (2) (1994). 4 Peerless apparently relied for its position on an IRS private letter ruling issued to another taxpayer stating that the live-floor trailer bodies manufactured by that taxpayer were “primarily designed for the exempt purposes set forth in the…”
ROCKWATER INC v. United States (M.D. Ga. 2023).
“26 U.S.C. § 4053 (8). In light of the Court’s ruling that Rockwater is entitled to summary judgment under the special “off highway vehicle rule,” it is not necessary for the Court to address this alternative argument.”
Peerless Corp. v. United States (8th Cir. 1999).
· cites it 2× “See 26 U.S.C. § 4053 (2) (1994).4 Peerless apparently relied for its 3 Section 4051(a)(1) provides in pertinent part: There is hereby imposed on the first retail sale of the following articles .”
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