State Tax Day - Current, S.13, Missouri—Sales and Use Tax: Taxability of Smoke Detectors, Fire Extinguishers, and Installation Labor Discussed, (Sep 29, 2026)

The entire price of a contractor’s sales of smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and the labor to install them, is subject to Missouri sales tax. The true object of the applicant's purchase from the contractor was the purchase of tangible personal property (the smoke detectors themselves), which are finished products that are not separable from the service to install them because someone would not hire a person to install smoke detectors that had never been purchased. In addition, the contractor is not the final user and consumer of the smoke detectors installed at the applicant’s residence. The installation of smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher are not real property improvements because they do not constitute permanent additions to real property. The applicant purchased smoke detectors designed to operate without a battery while plugged into the wall. Such smoke detectors are not actually hard-wired, as they are still removable from the residence and re-sellable as tangible personal property. The particular brand of "hard-wired" smoke detectors at issue plug into a specialized hard-wired outlet, but the smoke detectors are not themselves hard-wired in such a way that they become real property fixtures. Similarly, the fire extinguisher may be removed from the residence and resold. Therefore, the contractor is not the final user and consumer of the materials used for the applicant's project such that the contractor is required to pay sales tax on such materials at the point of purchase. The contractor may charge the applicant sales tax for the materials if the contractor did not pay sales tax when purchasing the smoke detectors or fire extinguisher for the project.

Letter Ruling LR 8407, Missouri Department of Revenue, September 24, 2026, ¶204-689