Mississippi Church Utilities Exemption Enacted

Jun 14, 2012 | Susan McLain

Mississippi House Bill 582 provides “…that certain sales of utilities to churches shall be exempt from sales taxation.”

The exemption applies to “…sales of electricity, current, power, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or other fuel for heating, lighting or other use and sales of potable water is utilized on property that is primarily used for religious or educational purposes.”

The consumer must be “…exempt from federal income taxation under 26 USCS Section 501 (c)(3)….” In order to qualify, the following must be done:

The qualified utilities must be sold to, billed to and paid for directly by the exempt church.
Churches must provide a copy of their IRS determination letter certifying that the church named on the letter is exempt from federal income taxation….OR
An Affidavit of Church Purchasing Utilities and provide a copy of the notarized affidavit. Affidavits expire on a yearly basis every December 31.

Thrift stores, bakeries and other commercial businesses operated by a church do not qualify for exemption from utilities sales tax. In addition, “Church associations and other organizations whoses purpose is to govern or provide assistance to its member churches do not qualify for the exemption…regardless of non-profit status.”

The exemption is effective July 1, 2012.

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Avalara Author

Susan McLain

Avalara Author Susan McLain

Susan McLain began her career as a technical writer in technology industries such as satellite networking and medical devices. Her skills encompass technical and marketing writing, usability engineering, verification and validation testing and protocol writing, requirements development, business analysis, technical illustration/graphic design and marketing. She has owned her own business providing service to small to medium sized business and in other positions, she has been in project management, documentation and marketing. She is currently the content specialist for Avalara helping to “make sales tax less taxing.”