The North Dakota Legislature passed a one-time sales tax refund program (House Bill 1459) this year for individuals that incurred property damage because of the 2011 river flooding emergency and paid sales tax on the purchase of certain replacement items or repair materials and supplies. 

  

Do I Qualify for a Refund?

To qualify, the claimant must have been approved to receive disaster assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The damage must have occurred to the primary residence of the claimant, and the claimant must have owned and occupied the residence at the time of flooding.

 

Items qualified for the sales tax refund must be purchased from June 10, 2011 through December 31, 2013.

 

Three categories of items qualify for the state (local taxes are not eligible) sales tax refund: major appliances, residential building supplies and residential furniture. There is a purchase price limitation on items purchased within each category. For major appliance, only the first $3,200 of each appliance qualifies for the sales tax refund. For residential building supplies, only the first $500 of a unit item qualifies. For residential furniture, only the first $3,200 of each item will qualify for the sales tax refund. Only one application per residence is allowed with a maximum refund of $2,500.

 

What Items Don't Qualify?

The claim form instructions indicate that electronics such as televisions, DVRs, stereo amplifiers, surround sound systems, computers and printers are not qualified purchase items. Items used in the restoration repair, replacement, or rebuilding of separate structures on the primary residential property such as garages, storage sheds/buildings do not qualify.