Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 9, May 7, 2024
Section 3.2.1.22 - LEASINGSecurity agreement distinguished from a lease - tax consequences:
A. The gross receipts from leasing equipment to a lessee for the lessee's own use and not for subsequent leasing are subject to the gross receipts tax unless the presence of all or a majority of the following or similar indicia indicates that the transaction between lessor and lessee is in fact a financing transaction between a secured party and a buyer: (1) There is a written agreement which provides that, upon compliance with the terms of the agreement, the buyer has the option to purchase the property without additional consideration or with nominal consideration; exercise of the option in itself is not sufficient to establish the transaction as an installment sale.(2) The secured party pays for the equipment selected by the buyer from the stock of an independent vendor with funds allocable to a line of credit previously extended by the secured party to the buyer.(3) The payments made by the buyer to the secured party are determined by the cost of the equipment selected by the buyer plus an interest charge added by the secured party.(4) If the buyer is not a federal, state, local or Indian government, the equipment is carried as an asset on the books of the buyer and depreciated by the buyer, not the secured party, and if the buyer is a federal, state, local or Indian government, the tangible personal property is not carried as an asset on the books of the seller or depreciated by the seller.(5) The secured party treats the total amount of payment as receivables on its books and treats the interest charged the buyer as "unearned income", transferring amounts to "income" as payments are received.B. The presence of these or other such factors between the parties to an agreement denominated as a "lease agreement" will lead to the conclusion that the lessee under such an arrangement is the purchaser of the equipment, and that the lessor as the seller of the equipment is a secured party financing the sale and is using the "lease" as a form of security agreement. In such cases the rental receipts of the lessor will not be gross receipts from leasing and, unless all or a portion of the rental receipts are gross receipts from the installment sale of property, will not be subject to the gross receipts tax. However, the gross receipts from the sale of such equipment by a vendor in New Mexico who also may be the secured party in a two party transaction will be subject to the gross receipts tax unless an exemption or deduction applies.C. The buyer, other than a federal, state, local or Indian government, in such an arrangement will be liable for payment of the compensating tax if the buyer introduces property into this state which was acquired outside the state as a result of a transaction that would have been subject to the gross receipts tax had it occurred within the state and if the property is not subject to any exemption from payment of the compensating tax.12/5/69, 3/9/72, 3/20/74, 7/26/76, 6/18/79, 4/7/82, 5/4/84, 4/2/86, 11/26/90, 11/15/96; 3.2.1.22 NMAC - Rn, 3 NMAC 2.1.22, 4/30/01, Adopted by New Mexico Register, Volume XXXII, Issue 19, October 13, 2021, eff. 10/13/2021