Sec. 03.06.01.09. Sale of Medicines, Medical Supplies, Tobacco Cessation Products, Sickroom Equipment, and Certain Medical Equipment

A. The sales and use tax does not apply to sales of medicines, disposable medical supplies, tobacco cessation products, sickroom equipment, certain medical supplies, and certain medical equipment.

B. For the purposes of Tax-General Article, Title 11, Annotated Code of Maryland, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

(1) Medical Equipment.

(a) "Medical equipment" means equipment that:

(i) Can withstand repeated use;

(ii) Is used exclusively to serve a medical purpose;

(iii) Is not useful to a person in the absence of illness or injury; and

(iv) Is for use in the home or on the individual's person.

(b) "Medical equipment" includes, but is not limited to, the following items:

(i) Overbed table;

(ii) Wheelchair tray;

(iii) Pressure or pressure sore relief products;

(iv) Bath and toilet safety products;

(v) Respiratory equipment;

(vi) Trapeze bar;

(vii) Traction equipment;

(viii) Patient lifts;

(ix) Geriatric chair;

(x) Thermaphores, heating pads, cervical pillows, medical corsets, elastic bandages;

(xi) All types of braces, casts, mastectomy bras and forms;

(xii) Apnea monitors, infant breathing monitors, blood glucose monitors, and heart monitors; and

(xiii) Stairlifts, unless installed in such a manner that they become part of the real property.

(c) "Medical equipment" does not include:

(i) Lift chairs;

(ii) Exercise equipment;

(iii) Air conditioners;

(iv) Humidifiers;

(v) Dehumidifiers;

(vi) Vibrators;

(vii) Massagers;

(viii) Bedside cabinets;

(ix) Receptacles for medical waste;

(x) Blood pressure devices;

(xi) Thermometers;

(xii) Scales of any type; and

(xiii) Devices used to obtain or monitor pulse or respiration, such as pulse oximeters, control diascans, Doppler diagnostic equipment, and mini-Dopplers.

(d) "For use in the home" includes a nursing home or other assisted care facility, but only to the extent that the equipment remains in the room in which the patient sleeps and is used regularly and exclusively by the patient in that room. Equipment that is used generally for patients throughout the nursing home or other assisted care facility is not considered to be for use in the home. Thus, equipment used in examination, treatment, operating, delivery, and therapy rooms or moved from patient room to patient room in a nursing home or other assisted care facility is not exempt.

(2) "Medical supplies" means an article used in the cure, mitigation, treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of illnesses. Disposable medical supplies are medical supplies consumed in a single usage and do not include skin care creams or cleansers. Medical supplies do not include surgical supplies or medical or surgical equipment.

(3) "Medicine" means a preparation or substance intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of illnesses. The term includes drugs sold on prescription of physicians, drugs for which no prescription is required, and proprietary and patent medicines. The term does not include cosmetics, dentifrices, shaving and hair care products, soaps, deodorants, or skin care creams or cleansers. A product that is primarily cosmetic in nature is not "medicine" even though it may contain medicinal properties.

(4) "Sickroom equipment" means "medical equipment" as defined in §B(1) of this regulation.

(5) "Tobacco cessation products" means nicotine patches, nicotine gum, or any other product intended for use as an aid in tobacco use cessation and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for that purpose.