Were installed ornamental trees fixtures while installed lawns were materials?

Short answer Yes. A nursery furnishing delivered-and-installed purchased trees was a contractor-retailer of tree fixtures, while a nursery installing a lawn consumed the materials used.

State

Ruling

Annotation 190.2020

Tax type

Sales and Use Tax

Issued

1965-01-18

Issued by

California State Board of Equalization

Requested by

A nursery operator asking about contract landscaping with ornamental trees and lawns (identity redacted)

Topics

nurseries landscaping fixtures materials construction contractors

Source

View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1965. Ask about yours and see what current California tax law says, with citations.

Disclaimer: This January 18, 1965 Tax Counsel letter gives two short historical classifications under former Board Ruling 11: purchased ornamental trees furnished on a delivered-and-installed basis as fixtures, and lawn installation inputs as materials. The December 30, 1964 taxpayer request is identified but not reproduced in the official PDF. Modern landscaping may involve nursery-grown property, planting labor, hardscape, maintenance, and other facts requiring current-law analysis.

About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A nursery that bought ornamental trees and contracted to dig, transport, and plant them for a delivered-and-installed price was a construction contractor selling fixtures—the trees.

Lawn installation received different treatment. For that work, the nursery was the consumer of the materials used to improve the realty.

Common questions

Were purchased ornamental trees fixtures?

Yes, when furnished under the described delivered-and-installed landscaping contract.

Was a lawn also a fixture?

No. The letter treated lawn-installation inputs as materials consumed by the contractor.

Citations and references

Former California Sales and Use Tax Ruling 11 — construction-contractor fixture and materials classifications applied to nursery landscaping operations
December 30, 1964 taxpayer letter — asked whether Ruling 11 governed contract sales and installation of ornamental trees; the request is answered but not reproduced in the official PDF

Source

Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/190-0000-all.html
Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/190-2020.pdf

Original ruling text

190.2020

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

January 18, 1965

--- --- ----- --- ----- --- --Gentlemen:
This is in reply to your letter of December 30, 1964, in which you inquire if nurserymen selling ornamental trees for landscaping on a contract basis are governed by Ruling 11. Ruling 11 does apply to the operations of nurserymen. When nurserymen contract to dig, transport, and plant trees they buy for the purpose, and they quote the prices on a delivered and installed basis, the nurserymen are regarded as construction contractors selling “fixtures” (the trees). In some instances, nurserymen are considered to be consumers of materials used for improvements to realty; the installation of a lawn would be such a case. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to write to us again. Very truly yours,

E. H. Stetson
Tax Counsel

By Philip R. Dougherty
PRD:md

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