Contractor or repairperson means any person who performs any repair services upon property annexed to, or who annexes building materials to, real estate, including leased property, and who, as a necessary and incidental part of performing such services, annexes building materials to the real estate being so repaired or annexed or arranges for such annexation. Contractor or repairperson does not include any person who incorporates live plants into real estate except when such incorporation is incidental to the transfer of an improvement upon real estate or the real estate. The contractor or repairperson not electing to be taxed as a retailer is considered to be the consumer of such building materials furnished by him or her and annexed to the real estate being so repaired or annexed for all the purposes of the Nebraska Revenue Act of 1967. The contractor or repairperson:

(1) Shall be permitted to make an election that he or she will be taxed as a retailer in which case he or she shall not be considered the final consumer of building materials annexed to real estate;

(2) Shall be permitted to make an election that he or she will be taxed as the consumer of building materials annexed to real estate, will pay the sales tax or remit the use tax at the time of purchase, and will maintain a tax-paid inventory; or

(3) Shall be permitted to make an election that he or she will be taxed as the consumer of building materials annexed to real estate and may issue a resale certificate when purchasing building materials that will be annexed to real estate. Such person shall then remit the appropriate use tax on any building materials when withdrawn from inventory for the purpose of being annexed to real estate at the rate in effect at the time and place of the withdrawal from inventory.

The provisions of this section shall not excuse any person from the obligation to collect sales tax on retail sales of property not annexed to real estate or from the obligation to pay the sales tax or remit the use tax on tools, services, and other materials consumed that are not annexed to real estate.

The Department of Revenue shall not prescribe any requirements of Nebraska sales revenue, percentage or otherwise, restricting any person’s election. Any change in an election shall require prior approval by the Tax Commissioner.

Any change in the election shall, if filed on or prior to the fifteenth of the month, become effective at the beginning of the following month or, if filed after the fifteenth of the month, become effective on the first day of the next succeeding month. Any person who changes his or her election and becomes a contractor or repairperson shall pay the tax on all building materials in inventory which may be annexed to real estate at the time of making the change in election except when such contractor or repairperson elects to purchase inventory with a resale certificate. Any person who changes his or her election and becomes a retailer shall not be entitled to a refund but shall receive a credit for the tax paid on building materials in inventory at the time the building materials are sold. The credit shall be applied against the tax collected on sales of such building materials.

Any contractor or repairperson who has not completed and filed an election as required in this section within three months after beginning to operate as a contractor or repairperson shall be considered a retailer for all periods until an election has been made.