Was a custom personal-biography service taxable, and what about extra manuscript copies?

Subject

Personal Biography & Family History Service

Plain-English summary

The custom personal-biography service was exempt from Florida sales tax, including the bound manuscript delivered to the client. The manuscript was an inconsequential element of an individualized personal service based on interviews, transcription, organization, and writing.

Optional additional copies of the manuscript were taxable sales of tangible property. The county discretionary surtax did not apply to an interview conducted outside the business's county because the interview remained part of the exempt biography service.

What this means for you

The first manuscript followed the service, while additional copies were separate product sales. The business also had to pay tax on materials it consumed in providing the exempt service.

Common questions

Q: Was the biography service taxable? No.

Q: Was the included manuscript taxable? No.

Q: Were extra copies taxable? Yes.

Citations and references

• Fla. Stat. § 212.08(7)(v) — professional and personal services
• Fla. Admin. Code r. 12A-1.001(16) — personal information and service transactions
• Fla. Stat. § 213.22 — Technical Assistance Advisements

Source

• Landing page: Florida Tax Law Library
• Advisement: TAA 00A-054

Original ruling text

SUMMARY

QUESTION: Should sales tax be charged on the service of
providing a personal biography and are any additional
copies sold to a client is taxable?

ANSWER - Based on Facts Below: Professional services that
involve either no tangible personal property being sold or
rented or only inconsequential elements of tangible
personal property being provided are exempt from tax. The
service of providing a personal biography is exempt from
sales tax. This would include the manuscript provided to
your customer. However, the sale of additional copies of
the manuscript would be subject to sales.

Oct 05, 2000

Re: Technical Assistance Advisement 00A-054
Sales and Use Tax
XXX ("taxpayer")
Personal Biography & Family History Service
Section 212.08(7)(v), F.S.
Rule 12A-1.001(16)(a),(b), F.A.C.

Dear :

This letter is a response to your request dated August 10,
2000, for the Department's issuance of a Technical Assistance
Advisement ("TAA") concerning the above referenced party and
matter. Your request has been carefully examined and the
Department finds it to be in compliance with the requisite
criteria set forth in Chapter 12-11, F.A.C. This response to
your request constitutes a TAA and is issued to you under the
authority of section 213.22, F.S.

FACTS PRESENTED

XXX (hereinafter "the taxpayer") is a business whose office

is located in XXX County, Florida ("taxpayer's county"), which
prepares and writes a personal biography for an individual who
want this service. The client is charged a service fee by the
taxpayer for the biography. The charge to the client includes
everything required to write the biography: interviewing the
person (in taxpayer's county or outside), transcribing and
organizing the interview, and writing the biography. Also, a
part of the fee includes the taxpayer printing the biography,
and having it bound into manuscript format. The client can
purchase additional copies of the biography from the taxpayer if
so desired.

The taxpayer purchases all the materials needed from office
supply stores and specialty product suppliers for use in
compiling a client's biography.

REQUESTED ADVISEMENTS

The taxpayer has requested clarification as to whether
sales tax should be charged on the service of providing a
personal biography and whether any additional copies sold to a
client are taxable.

The taxpayer has requested advice as to whether the county
discretionary sales surtax applies to an interview conducted
outside of Seminole County.

APPLICABLE LAW

Section 212.08(7)(v), F.S., provides concerning professional
services, in part, as follows:

1. Also exempted are professional, insurance, or personal
   service transactions that involve sales as inconsequential
   elements for which no separate charges are made.

2. The personal service transactions exempted pursuant to
   subparagraph 1. do not exempt the sale of information
   services involving the furnishing of printed, mimeographed,
   or multigraphed matter, or matter duplicating written or
   printed matter in any other manner, other than professional

services and services of employees, agents, or other
persons acting in a representative or fiduciary capacity or
information services furnished to newspapers and radio and
television stations. As used in this subparagraph, the term
"information services" includes the services of collecting,
compiling, or analyzing information of any kind or nature
and furnishing reports thereof to other persons....

Rule 12A-1.001(16), F.A.C., provides in part, as follows:

(a) Professional, insurance or personal service
transactions which involve sales as inconsequential
elements for which no separate charges are made are exempt.

(b) The exemption described in paragraph (a) does not apply
to personal service transactions which involve sales of
tangible personal property, whether or not as
inconsequential elements, when the service provided is an
information service involving the furnishing of printed,
mimeographed, multigraphed matter, microfiche, microfilm,
or matter duplicating written or printed matter. The
furnishing of information, including a written report to a
person of a personal or individual nature and which is not
or may not be substantially incorporated in reports
furnished to other persons, is not an information service
within the meaning of the law and is exempt. In such cases
the person furnishing the information is required to pay
the tax on the purchases of tangible personal property used
by him in connection therewith....

Professional services that involve either no tangible
personal property being sold or rented or only inconsequential
elements of tangible personal property being provided are exempt
from tax, pursuant to Section 212.08(7)(v), F.S. The sales of
information services that involve the supplying of additional
printed materials are not exempt from tax. Since the interview
process is a component part of biography services and as such
exempt from sales tax, the county surtax would also not apply.

CONCLUSION

The service of providing a personal biography is exempt
from sales tax. This would include the manuscript provided to
your customer. However, the sale of additional copies of the
manuscript would be subject to sales tax.

This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement
under section 213.22, F.S., which is binding on the Department
only under the facts and circumstances described in the request
for this advice, as specified in section 213.22, F.S. Our
response is predicated upon those facts and the specific
situation summarized above. You are advised that subsequent
statutory or administrative rule changes or judicial
interpretations of the statutes or rules upon which this advice
is based may subject similar future transactions to a different
treatment from that which is expressed in this response.

You are further advised that this response, your request
and related backup documents are public records under Chapter
119, F.S., and are subject to disclosure to the public under the
conditions of s. 213.22, F.S. Confidential information must be
deleted before public disclosure. In an effort to protect
confidentiality, we request you provide the undersigned with an
edited copy of your request for Technical Assistance Advisement,
the backup material and this response, deleting names,
addresses, and any other details which might lead to
identification of the taxpayer. Your response should be
received by the Department within 15 days of the date of this
letter.

If you have any questions, please contact me at (850) 4888026.

Kind Regards,

Alan R. Fulton
Senior Tax Specialist
Technical Assistance and Dispute Resolution

Control No. 42144