18-125 C.M.R. ch. 318, § 3 - Calculation of the 80% Use Test

A. Generally. The time period to which the 80% use test is applied begins on the date the property is placed into service and ends either two years from that date or on the date the property is sold, scrapped, destroyed, or otherwise removed from service, whichever occurs first. Property meets the requirements of 36 M.R.S. §1760(41-A) when the number of days of qualifying use, divided by the total number of days of use (days of qualifying use plus days of non-qualifying use) is 80% or more. Disregarded days are not counted in the calculation of the 80% use test.

1. Disregarded days. Any full day during which the property in question is not being used in commerce (for example, any full day during which it is being stored, repaired, or maintained).

2. Days of qualifying use. Any full day or portion of a day from the date of dispatch of property for the carrying of, or providing the motive power for the carrying of, a bona fide payload in interstate or foreign commerce through the day the property returns to its principal place of business or the property is dispatched in connection with a new payload.

3. Days of non-qualifying use. Any full day that does not qualify as a disregarded day under Paragraph 1 or a day of qualifying use under Paragraph 2.

B. Examples.

Example 1: A trailer was dispatched by the purchaser to a location in Maine to be loaded with a bona fide payload. The trailer then sat idle at this location, waiting to be loaded, for 30 days, after which the payload was loaded and promptly delivered to an out of state location. These 30 days are counted as days of qualifying use when calculating the 80% use test.

Example 2: A trailer was dispatched by the purchaser to a location in Maine to be loaded with a bona fide payload. The trailer then sat idle at this location, waiting to be loaded, for 30 days, after which the payload was loaded and delivered to another location within this State. These 30 days are counted as days of non-qualifying use when calculating the 80% use test.

Example 3: On Day 1, a tractor and trailer were dispatched by the purchaser to pick up a bona fide payload in Maine and then carried that payload to Ohio. The tractor and trailer delivered the payload Ohio, then, the next day, began their return trip to Maine. On Day 7, while the tractor and trailer were en route to Maine, they were dispatched to pick up a bona fide payload in New Jersey and then transported it to Maine. On Day 10, the tractor and trailer delivered the payload loaded in New Jersey in Maine. On Day 11, the tractor and trailer returned to their principal place of business. All 11 days are counted as days of qualifying use when calculating the 80% use test.

Example 4: A tractor and trailer that carried a bona fide payload from another state stopped overnight at a rest stop in southern Maine. The next day, the tractor and trailer resumed the trip and delivered the cargo to its destination in Maine. Both days are counted as days of qualifying use when calculating the 80% use test.

Example 5: A trailer that carried a bona fide payload entered Maine from another state and arrived at its destination, where the trailer sat for 20 days waiting to be unloaded. The 20 days are counted as days of qualifying use when calculating the 80% use test.

Example 6: Tractor #1 and a trailer that carried a bona fide payload entered Maine from another state and arrived at a location where they sat for 10 days. On Day 11, the trailer was detached from Tractor #1 and hooked to Tractor #2 for final delivery in Maine, which occurred later that day. Days 1 through 11 are counted as days of qualifying use for the trailer when calculating the 80% use test. Days 1 through 10 are counted as days of qualifying use for Tractor #1. Day 11 is counted as a day of qualifying use for Tractor #2.

Example 7: On Day 1, the purchaser dispatched a tractor and trailer from Maine to New Jersey with a bona fide payload. On Day 3, the trailer was unloaded in New Jersey. On Day 4, the tractor and empty trailer left New Jersey to return to Maine. Upon the tractor and trailer's returning to Maine on Day 5, the trailer returned to its principal place of business in Maine and immediately went to a maintenance facility for mechanical work that was finished at the end of Day 10. Days 1 through 5 are counted as days of qualifying use for both the tractor and the trailer when calculating the 80% use test. Days 6 through 10 are disregarded days for the trailer for purposes of the 80% use test.

C. Extension of time. Maine Revenue Services may, for good cause, extend by up to 60 days the time for placing a vehicle or other property in use as an instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce. The purchaser need not apply to Maine Revenue Services for the extension, but any claimed good cause must be documented in the purchaser's records. Good cause will not be found by Maine Revenue Services when the purchaser has been negligent or otherwise failed to make a good faith effort to place the property in use in interstate or foreign commerce within 30 days after the date of purchase or, in the case of leased property, within 30 days after the commencement of the lease.

Notes

18-125 C.M.R. ch. 318, § 3