Ezel / Tax Rulings / FL
FL TAA 95C2-006 Intangible Personal Property Tax 1995-02-08

Was a membership that merely licensed the taxpayer to enjoy a privilege in a specific area subject to Florida intangible personal property tax?

Short answer: No. The membership was merely a license allowing the taxpayer to enjoy a privilege in a specific area, so it was not subject to Florida intangible personal property tax. The ruling contrasted it with a separable membership and share of stock, which would be taxable.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1995. Ezel answers yours, under current Florida tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1995
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 is an official Florida Technical Assistance Advisement applying the 1995 intangible-tax rules to a specific redacted membership certificate. Under section 213.22, it binds the Department only for those facts. Membership rights, transferability, separability from stock ownership, the nature of the privilege, valuation, or later law could change the result.
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

The membership was not subject to Florida intangible personal property tax.

The Department described the membership as merely a license to enjoy a privilege in a specific area. It contrasted that arrangement with a certificate where membership in an organization and ownership of a share of stock are separable, which would be taxable.

What this means for you

The tax treatment depended on the legal character of the membership rights, not just the document's label as a certificate.

Common questions

Q: Was this membership taxable?
A: No.

Q: What kind of membership did the ruling say would be taxable?
A: A certificate where organizational membership and ownership of a share of stock were separable.

Q: What was this taxpayer's membership instead?
A: A license to enjoy a privilege in a specific area.

Citations and references

  • Fla. Stat. § 199.012 — intangible personal property
  • Fla. Stat. § 213.22 — Technical Assistance Advisements

Source

Original ruling text

Feb 08, 1995

Re: Technical Assistance Advisement No. 95(C)2-006
Intangible Personal Property Tax Certificate of Membership
XXX (Membership)
XXX (Taxpayer)

Dear :

This is in response to your recent request for a technical
assistance advisement.

Issue

Is the Taxpayer's Membership subject to Florida intangible
personal property tax under the provisions of s. 199.012, F.S.?

Discussion and Law

A certificate of membership where the membership in an
organization and the ownership of a share of stock are separable
would be subject to Florida intangible personal property tax.
The Membership in question is merely a license for the Taxpayer
to enjoy a certain privilege in a specific area.

Conclusion

Based upon statutory provisions and information furnished
in your request, the Taxpayer's Membership would not be subject
to intangible personal property tax in Florida.

This response constitutes a Technical Assistance Advisement
under s. 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 s. 213.22, F.S. Our response is
predicated on 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 than
expressed in this response.

You are further advised that this response and your request
are public records under Chapter 119, F.S., which are subject to
disclosure to the public under the conditions of s. 213.22, F.S.
Your name, address, and any other details which might lead to
identification of the taxpayer must be deleted by the Department
before disclosure. In an effort to protect the confidentiality
of such information, we request you notify the undersigned in
writing within 15 days of any deletions you wish made to the
request or the response.

Sincerely,

Nadine C. Posey
Tax Audit Specialist III
Technical Assistance

NCP/mh

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