Iowa Administrative Code Title 701 — Department of Revenue
Iowa Admin. Code r. 701—250.15(321) — Exemption for vehicles purchased for the purpose of being leased and used exclusively for interstate commerce
250.15(1) Lease types. The department makes a distinction between a true lease and a contract to haul. While an agreement may be a lease for purposes of the Interstate Commerce Commission, this does not mean it is a lease for purposes of the fee for new registration. a. A true lease exists when the owner (lessor) gives the lessee exclusive possession of the lessor’s property for a specified period. b. A contract to haul exists when an owner contracts to do a piece of work while retaining control of the vehicle and methods of operation. A contract to haul is not a lease; therefore, the vehicle is not exempt. 250.15(2) Intrastate and interstate delivery. a. An intrastate delivery occurs when property is picked up at one location in Iowa and delivered to another location in Iowa, regardless of whether the vehicle travels in another state in between pick-up and delivery. b. An interstate delivery occurs when either the pick-up or delivery site is located outside of Iowa. Example A: Leasing Company A purchased a cargo van for the purpose of leasing it to XYZ Trucking. The lease agreement is for 36 months. XYZ Trucking will pick up property from Iowa businesses to be delivered out of state. XYZ Trucking never uses the van for intrastate deliveries within Iowa. XYZ Trucking uses this van exclusively in interstate commerce. All of the trips are either totally outside the state of Iowa, or, if a product is loaded in Iowa, the product is delivered outside of Iowa. As long as pick-up and delivery points are in different states, then the trip is considered interstate commerce. As such, the van in this example may be purchased by Leasing Company A exempt from the fee for new registration. Example B: Leasing Company A purchases a flatbed truck for the purpose of leasing it to XYZ Trucking, located within Iowa. The lease is for five months. XYZ Trucking will use the truck for deliveries out of state and in Iowa. Since some deliveries occur in Iowa, the subsequent use in Iowa is not solely for interstate commerce. The purchase by Leasing Company A (lessor) of the flatbed is subject to the fee for new registration.
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