Were separately stated television, antenna, and washing-machine installation or post-sale service charges taxable?

Plain-English summary

An unidentified retail television and appliance dealer's absent November 13 letter asked several sales-tax questions. The published response does not supply the request's year or cite any statute, regulation, ruling, case, or other numbered authority.

Tax Counsel E. H. Stetson said tax applied to retail sales of television sets, but not to separate charges for installing the set or antenna or for instruction and adjustment after the sale was complete.

The dealer could not classify antenna fabrication as installation labor. Subcontracting the installation to a service unit did not change the treatment.

The same approach applied to automatic washing machines. Separately stated labor for connecting a washer to plumbing and sometimes bolting it to the floor was nontaxable where no additional parts were furnished beyond those included in the already taxed machine price.

The PDF supplies no contracts, invoices, charge allocations, antenna or washer work records, tax record, audit, appeal, or later outcome. Its copy line is blank.

Citations and references

• The January 17, 1951 response cites no statute, regulation, ruling, case, or other numbered authority
• November 13 unidentified dealer letter asking questions about sales tax on a retail television and appliance dealer's operations — year, request, contracts, sales and service invoices, charge allocations, antenna specifications and fabrication records, subcontract, washer installation records, parts records, and tax records not reproduced in the official PDF
• January 17, 1951 Tax Counsel E. H. Stetson response taxing television and washer sales, excluding separate genuine installation and post-sale instruction or adjustment charges, preserving tax on antenna fabrication, treating subcontracting as immaterial, and assuming washer installation supplied no parts beyond those included in the taxed machine price — no requester reply, transaction, return, audit, assessment, refund claim, appeal, or later outcome supplied; the copy line is blank
• Official Annotation 295.1760's separate television-set and antenna installation, after-sale instruction and adjustment, nontaxability, and January 17, 1951 rules — annotation omits the absent November 13 request provenance, antenna-fabrication warning, subcontract rule, automatic-washer analysis and parts assumption, absence of numbered authority, missing records, blank copy line, later outcome, and reliance status and supplies no additional proceeding record

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/annotations-menu.htm
• Annotation page: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/vol2/suta/295-0000-all.html
• Original supporting opinion: https://cdtfa.ca.gov/lawguides/annotations/295-1760.pdf

Original ruling text

295.1760

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

January 17, 1951

Dear Sir:
This is with reference to your letter of November 13 asking certain questions regarding the application of the sales tax to the operations of a retail television and appliance dealer. The tax applies to the gross receipts from the retail sale of television sets, but not to separate charges for installation of the sets, antenna, or other services after the sale has been completed, such as instructions and adjusting the set. With regard to the furnishing and erecting a roof top antenna, care should be exercised not to regard as installation labor any portion of the charge that is in reality for the fabrication of the antenna, as distinguished from its installation on the roof. The fact that the installation is sub-let to a service unit by the retailer is immaterial. --The tax also applies to the retail sale of automatic washing machines, but not to separate charges for installation of the machines. It appears from what you say that the installation in this case involves only the labor of connecting the washer to the plumbing and bolting the washer to the floor in some cases. This installation appears to be entirely nontaxable as no parts are furnished except those parts which come with the machine and are included in its price upon which tax is paid.

Very truly yours,

E. H. Stetson
Tax Counsel

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