Ezel / Tax Rulings / CT
CT Ruling 89-10 Sales and Use Taxes 1989-05-10

Was a district's cholesterol screening charge taxable in Connecticut under Ruling 89-10?

Short answer: No. The nominal charge covering testing materials and professional nurses' labor was for professional or personal services not described among the taxable services, so it was not subject to sales and use taxes.

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This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Connecticut tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This 1989 Connecticut Department of Revenue Services Ruling addressed one district's nominal cholesterol-screening charge under the sales and use tax law then in effect. It does not state that it is current, and a provider with different testing, staffing, materials, or charges should not assume the same result applies today. Connecticut imposes sales and use tax solely at the state level: there are no local or municipal sales taxes. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Connecticut tax professional about current taxation of health-screening services.
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 district planned to offer cholesterol screening and charge a nominal amount covering the testing materials and the labor of professional nurses attending the testing.

The Department treated the charge as payment for professional or personal services not described in the cited taxable-services statute. The charge therefore was not subject to sales and use taxes.

What this means for you

The historical ruling classified the described screening charge by the service provided, even though the amount covered both materials and professional labor. Current classifications must be checked separately.

Common questions

What did the program test? Participants' cholesterol levels.

What did the charge cover? Testing materials and professional nurses' labor.

Was the charge taxable? No.

Citations and references

  • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407(2), as cited in the ruling.

Source

Original ruling text

Ruling 89-10, Testing

Your letter indicates that the District will be conducting a cholesterol screening program that will check the cholesterol level of the persons tested. A nominal charge will be imposed to cover the cost of materials used in the testing and labor cost of the professional nurses in attendance when the testing is done.

It is the position of the Department that the charge made for testing is a charge for professional or personal services not described in Conn. Gen. Stat. §12-407(2) and that, accordingly, the charge is not subject to sales and use taxes. It is so ruled.

LEGAL DIVISION

May 10, 1989

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