Section 40-23-61 Property Taxed; Persons Liable.

(a) An excise tax is hereby imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property, not including, however, materials and supplies bought for use in fulfilling a contract for the painting, repairing, or reconditioning of vessels, barges, ships, other watercraft, and commercial fishing vessels of over five tons load displacement as registered with the U.S. Coast Guard and licensed by the State of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, purchased at retail on or after October 1, 1965, for storage, use, or other consumption in this state at the rate of four percent of the sales price of the property or the amount of tax collected by the seller, whichever is greater; provided, however, when the seller follows the Department of Revenue’s suggested use tax brackets and his or her records prove that his or her following the brackets resulted in a net undercollection of tax for the month, he or she may report the tax due or tax collected, whichever is less, except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d). (b) An excise tax is hereby imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of any machines used in mining, quarrying, compounding, processing, and manufacturing of tangible personal property, purchased at retail on or after October 1, 1965, at the rate of one and one-half percent of the sales price of any such machine or the amount of tax collected by the seller, whichever is greater; provided, however, when the seller follows the Department of Revenue’s suggested use tax brackets and his or her records prove that his or her following the brackets resulted in a net undercollection of tax for the month, he or she may report the tax due or tax collected, whichever is less. The term “machine,” as used in this subsection, shall include machinery that is used for mining, quarrying, compounding, processing, or manufacturing tangible personal property, and the parts of such machines, attachments, and replacements therefor, which are made or manufactured for use on or in the operation of such machines and which are necessary to the operation of such machines, and are customarily so used. (c)(1) An excise tax is hereby imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of any automotive vehicle or truck trailer, semitrailer or house trailer, and mobile home set-up materials and supplies, including, but not limited to, steps, blocks, anchoring, cable pipes, and any other materials pertaining thereto, purchased at retail on or after October 1, 1965, for storage, use, or other consumption in this state at the rate of two percent of the sales price of such automotive vehicle, truck trailer, semitrailer or house trailer, and mobile home set-up materials and supplies as specified above, or the amount of tax collected by the seller, whichever is greater; provided, however, when the seller follows the Department of Revenue’s suggested use tax brackets and his or her records prove that his or her following the brackets resulted in a net undercollection of tax for the month, he or she may report the tax due or tax collected, whichever is less. Where any used automotive vehicle or truck trailer, semitrailer, or house trailer is taken in trade, or in a series of trades, as a credit or part payment on the sale of a new or used vehicle, the tax levied herein shall be paid on the net difference, that is, the price of the new or used vehicle sold less the credit for the used vehicle taken in trade. (2) Of the total two cent ($.02) tax on each dollar of sale provided in this subsection, 58 percent of the total tax generated by this subsection shall be deposited to the credit of the Education Trust Fund and 42 percent of the total tax generated by this subsection shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund. (d) An excise tax is hereby imposed on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of food as defined in Section 40-23-60, at the rate of three percent of the sales price of such food. On September 1, 2025, the tax rate shall be reduced to two percent. (e) Every person storing, using, or otherwise consuming in this state tangible personal property purchased at retail shall be liable for the tax imposed by this article, and the liability shall not be extinguished until the tax has been paid to this state; provided, that a receipt from a retailer maintaining a place of business in this state or a retailer authorized by the department, under such rules as it may prescribe, to collect the tax imposed hereby and who shall for the purpose of this article be regarded as a retailer maintaining a place of business in this state, given to the purchaser in accordance with Section 40-23-67, shall be sufficient to relieve the purchaser from further liability for tax to which the receipt may refer. (f) An excise tax is hereby imposed on the classes of tangible personal property, and at the rates imposed on such classes, specified in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) on the storage, use, or other consumption in the performance of a contract in this state of any such tangible personal property, new or used, the tax to be measured by the sales price or the fair and reasonable market value of the tangible personal property when put into use in this state, whichever is less; provided, that the tax imposed by this subsection shall not apply where the taxes imposed by subsection (a), (b), (c), or (d) apply.