Should a monument company charge a customer sales tax on a cemetery monument installed at the designated gravesite?

Plain-English summary

The Florida Department of Revenue concluded that a monument company should not have separately charged sales tax to a customer for a cemetery monument installed at the customer's designated location.

Florida's funeral and burial rules exempt monuments, headstones, and related products when installed at the designated site. The provider of burial services or monuments is instead responsible for tax when purchasing the items used in providing the burial service or installing the monument.

What this means for you

Monument companies and funeral providers

Do not separately collect sales tax from the customer on a qualifying installed monument. Pay tax on the provider's purchases of the merchandise and installation items as required by the rule.

Consumers

The exemption applies to the installed monument sale described in the ruling, not necessarily to every uninstalled purchase of memorial merchandise.

Common questions

Q: Was the installed monument taxable to the customer?
A: No.

Q: Who bore tax on the items used for the monument or installation?
A: The monument or burial-service provider at the time of purchase.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. §§ 212.08(2)(a), 212.05, and 213.22
• Fla. Admin. Code r. 12A-1.035(2) and (3)

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 13A-020

Original ruling text

Executive Director
Marshall Stranburg

QUESTION: Is the sale and installation of a cemetery monument subject to sales and use tax?

ANSWER: No sales tax is due on the sale of a monument or a headstone to be installed at the
purchaser’s designated location. When a provider of burial services or monuments, such as
funeral homes or sellers of monuments, purchases items used in providing burial services or
installing monuments, the provider is required to pay tax on the cost of those items used or
installed.

August 29, 2013

Re:

Technical Assistance Advisement – TAA 13A-020
Sales and Use Tax – Cemetery Monuments
Subsection: 212.08(2)(7), Florida Statutes (F.S.)
Rules: 12A-1.035, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.)
Petitioner: XXX [hereinafter “Taxpayer”]
XXX [hereinafter “Monument Company”]

Dear XXX:
This letter is a response to your undated petition received in this office on XXX, for the
Department's issuance of a Technical Assistance Advisement ("TAA") concerning the
above referenced party and matter. Your petition has been carefully examined and the
Department finds it to be in compliance with the requisite criteria set forth in Chapter 1211, Florida Administrative Code. This response to your request constitutes a TAA and is
issued to you under the authority of section 213.22, F.S.
Issue
Whether the sale and installation of a cemetery monument is subject to sales and use tax.
Presented Facts
Taxpayer purchased a monument from XXX on XXX. The contract lists the price of the
monument as $XXX, and XXX percent Florida sales tax of $XXX. The terms of the
contract call for the monument to be delivered or installed no later than XXX in the
specified cemetery.
Child Support Enforcement – Ann Coffin, Director  General Tax Administration – Maria Johnson, Director
Property Tax Oversight – James McAdams, Director  Information Services – Tony Powell, Director

www.myflorida.com/dor
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0100

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 2
Law and Discussion
Section 212.05, F.S., generally imposes tax on the sale of tangible personal property.
Section 212.08(2)(a), F.S., provides an exemption for funerals. Rule 12A-1.035, F.A.C.,
provides guidance on the funeral exemption, and it states in pertinent part as follows:
(2)(a)1. The following at-need sales to consumers by any person licensed or
registered under the provisions of Chapter 470 or 497, F.S., are not subject to tax:
a. The sale of funeral or burial services;
b. The sale of funeral or burial merchandise sold in conjunction with the sale of a
funeral or burial service; and
c. The sale of funeral or burial merchandise that is installed at the consumer’s
designated location.

2. The sale of funeral or burial merchandise is presumed to be made in
   conjunction with the sale of funeral or burial services when the seller of the
   merchandise is required to deliver the merchandise to any person licensed to
   provide funeral or burial services.
3. The purchase of funeral or burial merchandise by any person licensed or
   registered under the provisions of Chapter 470 or 497, F.S., for use in providing
   funeral or burial services or for installation at the consumer’s designated location
   is subject to tax at the time of purchase.
   (b) Charges to a consumer for funeral or burial merchandise sold under the
   provisions of a pre-need contract authorized by Chapter 497, F.S., are not subject
   to tax. When merchandise is purchased by any person licensed under Chapter 470,
   F.S., or by a holder of a Certificate of Authority issued pursuant to Chapter 497,
   F.S., to be provided at the time of death of the individual for whom the contract
   was purchased, tax is due at the time of purchase.
   (3)(a) Monuments, monument services, and related monument products for the
   purposes of memorializing human remains are not subject to tax when:
4. The merchandise is sold in conjunction with the sale of a funeral or burial
   service; or
5. The merchandise is installed at the consumer’s designated location.
   (b) The following sales of monuments, monument services, and related monument
   products sold for the memorialization of animal remains are not subject to tax:

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 3

1. The sale of services for the final disposition of animal remains;
2. The sale of merchandise sold in conjunction with services for the final
   disposition of animal remains; and
3. The sale of monuments, monument services, and related monument products
   sold for the memorialization of animal remains that are installed at the purchaser’s
   designated location.
   (c) The following are examples of sales of monuments, monument services, and
   related monument products to consumers for the memorialization of human
   remains, or for the memorialization of animal remains, that are not subject to sales
   tax. This list is not intended to be an exhaustive list.
4. The sale of monuments, copings, or bases that are installed with or without a
   foundation or base;
5. The sale of a marker installed at the grave site or affixed to real property
   improvements, such as niches, crypts, benches, mausoleums, and other cemetery
   improvements;
6. The building of a mausoleum, columbarium, or below ground crypt;
7. The construction of foundations for monuments;
8. The sale of lettering installed or affixed to real property improvements, such as
   niches, crypts, benches, mausoleums, and other cemetery improvements;
9. Charges for the inscription of a monument, marker, crypt, or niche;
10. Charges for the repair of monuments when the repair is made at the site of
    installation;
11. Charges for cleaning monuments.
    As provided above, no sales tax is due on the sale of a monument or a headstone to be
    installed at the purchaser’s designated location. When a provider of burial services or
    monuments, such as funeral homes or sellers of monuments, purchases items used in
    providing burial services or installing monuments, the provider is required to pay tax on
    the cost of those items used or installed.
    XXX should not have charged tax on the sale and installation of the monument as a
    separate line item in the contract.

Technical Assistance Advisement
Page 4
Conclusion
This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement under Section 213.22, F.S.,
which is binding on the Department only under the facts and circumstances described in
the request for this advice, as specified in Section 213.22, F.S. Our response is predicated
upon those facts and the specific situation summarized above. You are advised that
subsequent statutory or administrative rule changes or judicial interpretations of the
statutes or rules upon which this advice is based may subject similar future transactions to
a different treatment from that which is expressed in this response.
You are further advised that this response, your request, and related backup documents
are public records under Chapter 119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public
under the conditions of Section 213.22, F.S. Confidential information must be deleted
before public disclosure. In an effort to protect confidentiality, we request you provide
the undersigned with an edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance
Advisement, the backup material and this response, deleting names, addresses, and any
other details which might lead to identification of the taxpayer. Your response should be
received by the Department within 10 days of the date of this letter.

Sincerely,

Sara D. Faulkenberry
Senior Tax Specialist
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution
Control # 143006