Tax 11.15(1)(a) (a) To be exempt, containers, labels, sacks, cans, boxes, drums, bags, or other packaging and shipping materials for use in packing, packaging, or shipping tangible personal property or items or property under s. 77.52 (1) (b) or (c), Stats., shall be “used by the purchaser to transfer merchandise to customers.” Whether the containers or other packaging or shipping materials are returnable or nonreturnable is not a factor. The exemption does not apply to containers used in the incidental transfer of property to customers by persons providing services.

Tax 11.15(1)(b) (b) Containers include barrels, bottles, cartons, chemical carboys, and kegs. Packaging and shipping materials include property used inside a package to shape, form, preserve, stabilize, or protect the contents, such as excelsior, straw, cotton, cardboard fillers, separators, shredded paper, ice, dry ice, and batting, and rope, twine, gummed tape, wrapping paper, rubber bands, crates, and crating materials, pallets, skids, and mailing tubes.

Tax 11.15(1)(c) (c) The sales price from the sale of the following items is within the exemption:

Tax 11.15(1)(c)1. 1. Cans in which canned goods, paints, and other commodities are contained; medicine bottles; boxes in which jewelry, candy, suits, dresses, and hats are delivered to customers; and ice cream cartons.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)2. 2. Bottles and cases used by breweries, wineries, or soda water beverage producers to transfer the product to customers.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)3. 3. Barrels, half-barrels, kegs, and the like, used by a brewery to transfer draft beer to wholesalers or retailers.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)4. 4. Caps for milk, beer, and soda water bottles.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)5. 5. “Fragile,” “Handle with Care,” or other shipping labels.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)6. 6. Paper food dividers used to separate food sections in a container for transfer to a customer.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)7. 7. Paper bags purchased by grocery stores, bakeries, or other retailers and used by their customers in carrying out their purchases.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)8. 8. Feed bags purchased by feed dealers who use the bags to transfer merchandise sold to their customers.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)9. 9. Bale ties sold to a hay owner and used to deliver hay to the owner’s customers.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)10. 10. Ice used by a commercial fisher inside a box of fish to preserve the fish during shipment to market.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)11. 11. LPG tanks used to transfer fuel to customers which are replaced each time the fuel is exhausted.

Tax 11.15(1)(c)12. 12. Packaging and shipping materials for use in packing, packaging, or shipping meat or meat products, regardless of whether these items are used to transfer merchandise to customers.

Tax 11.15 Note Note: See Tax 11.12 for information on farmer’s container exemption.

Tax 11.15(2) (2) Property not exempt under s. 77.54 (6) (am) 2., Stats. Sales of the following items are not within this exemption:

Tax 11.15(2)(a) (a) Wrapping equipment such as paper holders, tape dispensers, staplers, and string holders.

Tax 11.15(2)(b) (b) Coat hangers used on display racks in stores.

Tax 11.15(2)(c) (c) Shopping carts or baskets and similar equipment.

Tax 11.15(2)(d) (d) Computer produced gummed label mailing lists used to address envelopes. However, labels for envelopes used to transfer tangible personal property or items or property under s. 77.52 (1) (b) or (c), Stats., to customers are exempt.

Tax 11.15(2)(e) (e) Containers or other packaging and shipping materials used merely for storage or to transfer merchandise owned by a person from one location to another, such as bakery delivery carts and containers used in delivering bakery products to retailers, where the carts are not transferred by the bakery to the retailer.

Tax 11.15 Note Examples: 1) Wholesaler A’s truck driver delivers bakery products to Grocery Store B. The truck driver brings the bakery products into Grocery Store B on a cart, puts the bakery products from the cart onto Grocery Store B’s shelves and returns the cart to the truck and provides Grocery Store B with an invoice for the bakery products. The cart is not transferred to Grocery Store B (the bakery retailer), and is not an exempt container.

Tax 11.15 Note 2) Wholesaler C’s truck driver delivers bread to Grocery Store D. The truck driver brings the bread into Grocery Store D on a cart, and leaves the bread on the cart at Grocery Store D. The truck driver picks up the cart that was left with the last delivery. The truck driver provides Grocery Store D with an invoice for the bread. Grocery Store D’s employees stock its shelves as needed with the bread from the cart. The cart is transferred to Grocery Store D (the bakery retailer), and is an exempt container.

Tax 11.15(2)(f) (f) Lumber or other material used for bracing, blocking, skidding, or shoring items while in transit that is not transferred to the customer of the shipped items; and cardboard and paper used to line box cars.

Tax 11.15(2)(g) (g) Price tags and advertising matter used in connection with the sale of tangible personal property or items, property, or goods under s. 77.52 (1) (b), (c), or (d), Stats., including counter display cards used for advertising and display purposes.

Tax 11.15(2)(h) (h) Tanks on trucks used to deliver merchandise to customers.

Tax 11.15(2)(i) (i) Corrugated boxes and other containers and related packing materials purchased by movers for use in transporting a customer’s goods.

Tax 11.15(2)(j) (j) Bags, boxes, hangers, and other containers transferred to customers by laundries, dry cleaners, and other persons providing services.