New York State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in New York, with full citations and the original source on every page.
No New York rulings match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
I supply merchandise to mall kiosk operators who are independent contractors, and their credit card sales get deposited into my account while they keep their own cash sales — who has to collect and remit the sales tax, and does it matter whether the customer paid cash or credit card?
The supplier collects either way. A distributor that supplies merchandise to independent-contractor kiosk/cart operators ("lessee-vendors") in shopping malls is a "co-vendor" that must pre-collect New…
Are a hedge fund general partner's operating and overhead costs - including employee compensation paid for under a partnership agreement - deductions attributable to business capital or investment capital under Article 9-A?
Business capital, to the extent the costs are covered by the management fee. The management fee is business income, and a written-agreement election lets the general partner irrebuttably presume the r…
My family-owned ferry company runs the only vehicle ferry between two New York towns, is regulated by the county, and serves as an emergency evacuation route -- can we get a refund or credit of the sales and use tax we've paid on our ferry boats?
No refund under the old rule, but a new exemption applies going forward. A private, county-regulated vehicle ferry company does not qualify for the long-standing local-transit-vessel refund in Tax Law…
My client rents portable storage units and separately offers an optional transportation service to move the loaded unit to a new location, billed separately whether under the standard rental agreement or a standalone transportation contract -- is that optional moving fee taxable?
Rental is taxable, optional moving fee is not. A portable storage container company's basic rental, pickup, delivery, and warehouse-storage charges are all taxable as a rental of tangible personal pro…
My property is undergoing state-mandated environmental remediation for old oil-tank contamination -- can I treat the remediation contractor's charges as an exempt capital improvement instead of a taxable maintenance service?
Taxable, with a possible later refund. Environmental remediation work -- excavating and removing petroleum-contaminated soil, installing monitoring wells, and backfilling with clean soil under a state…
Is an out-of-state corporation taxable in New York as a general partner of a partnership that leases New York space, and is its gain from selling an FCC broadcast license a business receipt in the allocation factor?
Yes to nexus, no to the receipts factor. As general partner of a partnership that leased space in the Empire State Building, the corporation is subject to Article 9-A tax. The gain on selling its FCC …
I run pay-per-minute Internet cafe workstations and offer an optional 'premium' upgrade that lets customers edit documents in real desktop software instead of just viewing them -- is the basic Internet time exempt, and is the premium software upgrade taxable?
Split result. A pay-per-minute Internet cafe's basic Internet access charge is exempt from New York sales tax under the state's Internet access exemption, but its optional 'premium service' upgrade --…
My company runs a warehouse that repackages inventory before shipping it to my own retail stores — are the boxes, tape, and wrap I buy for that internal shipping exempt from sales tax as packaging materials?
No exemption. A pet-supply retail chain must pay New York sales or use tax on the boxes, tape, wrap, and other packaging materials it buys and uses to ship inventory from its own warehouse to its own …
I rent fully furnished condominium apartments in a New York City tower complex on month-to-year-or-longer leases, with the same daily housekeeping and amenities offered equally to all residents -- do I owe New York's hotel occupancy tax on the rent?
Not taxable as hotel occupancy. A landlord renting fully furnished New York City condominium-tower apartments on month-to-year-or-longer leases, under a genuine landlord-tenant relationship with no ho…
I rent fully furnished condominium apartments in New York City on month-to-month-or-longer leases with a real landlord-tenant relationship, not hotel stays -- do I owe New York's hotel occupancy tax on the rent?
Not hotel tax, but some add-ons are taxed. A landlord renting fully furnished New York City condominium apartments on month-to-year-or-longer leases, under a genuine landlord-tenant relationship with …
My company subsidizes an outside contractor that runs our employee dining facility, covering whatever costs exceed daily meal sales -- is that subsidy taxable, and can our QEZE (Empire Zone) certification exempt it?
Taxable, no QEZE relief. An employer's payments that subsidize a food-service contractor's operation of the employer's in-house employee dining facility -- covering the gap between meal revenue and th…
I pay an annual fee to a country club just to hold a certificate that lets me apply for membership someday, even though I'm not a member and have no membership privileges — is that fee taxable as club dues?
Taxable, but as an initiation fee, not dues. Annual payments a homeowner makes to a country club solely to maintain a "Membership Eligibility Certificate" -- a prerequisite for someday joining the clu…
As a tenant leasing space in a government-owned airport terminal, do I owe sales tax on a contractor's bill for repairs and maintenance, including the materials the contractor uses -- and does it matter if I buy the materials myself instead?
Fully taxable when the contractor bills for the whole job, but there's a workaround. When JetBlue Airways hires a contractor to repair or maintain its leased terminal space at JFK Airport, the contrac…
Is compensation a U.S. citizen who lives in Canada earns working in New York for the Consulate General of Canada considered New York source income for personal income tax purposes?
Yes, but only to the extent the compensation is included in the individual's federal adjusted gross income. Because the petitioner performs his services solely in New York, that pay is New York source…
My holding company leases a corporate jet to me, and I use it mostly to fly a paying affiliate's people and cargo -- is the lease exempt from New York sales tax as a 'commercial aircraft,' and will a later merger of my holding company into me trigger sales tax on the plane?
Yes, exempt as a commercial aircraft, and the merger transfer isn't taxed either -- but only if the for-hire use holds up. Where an aviation-holding LLC leases a jet to its corporate parent, and the p…
My company bought a corporate jet out of state and dry-leased it to an affiliate that operates it entirely outside New York — do we owe New York sales or use tax now, and would it change if we later brought the plane to New York and used it to provide 'for hire' air transportation to that same affiliate?
No tax now, exemption available later. A company's purchase and dry-lease of a corporate aircraft to an affiliate is not subject to New York sales or use tax where the aircraft is delivered and used e…
My company buys frame relay data service that connects our New York offices to our data center in New Jersey — is that subject to New York sales tax, even though the carrier separately bills for the New York-only segment of the connection?
Not taxable. A financial services company's purchase of frame relay data-transmission service connecting its New York offices to its New Jersey data center is untaxed interstate telecommunication serv…
I publish school yearbooks under contract with schools, clubs, and activity funds in New York -- who has to collect sales tax on the yearbooks, me or my school customer?
It depends entirely on who Petitioner's actual contract customer is. If the customer is genuinely a public school district itself (invoice names the district, contract signed by someone authorized to …
I sell customized emergency-preparedness plans, training videos, brochures, and live drills to schools and businesses -- which parts of my invoice owe New York sales tax?
It depends on what's billed separately. New York taxes AK Productions' physical products -- training videos on tape or disc, brochures, evacuation maps, floor plan diagrams, and emergency signage -- a…
I sell access to software that produces scannable and nonscannable tax and business forms -- is that a taxable sale of software, and is the computer hardware I use to build it exempt?
Yes, it's a taxable sale of software. STF Services Corp.'s SuperForm products (installed from a CD or downloaded from the Internet) let customers fill in and file scannable/nonscannable federal, state…
I run a portable-toilet rental and servicing business — do I owe sales tax on the toilets and supplies I buy to run it, or on the insurance I charge customers for the toilets?
Split result. A portable-toilet servicing company owes New York sales and use tax on its purchases of the toilets themselves (and the parts/paint used to build and maintain them), because providing to…
I electronically process physicians' medical insurance claims and arrange printing and mailing of patient invoices for a fee -- is that a taxable New York information service?
Not taxable. New York held that a health-IT vendor's charges to physicians for electronically submitting patient billing data to insurance companies to file claims, facilitating insurer payments, and …
I pay an annual individual affiliate fee to the Transportation Research Board for library access, meeting discounts, and publications -- does New York charge sales tax on that fee?
Not taxable. Annual individual affiliate fees paid to the Transportation Research Board -- a research-focused nonprofit, not a social or athletic club -- are not subject to New York sales tax, because…
My company waterproofs leaking basement wall cracks by injecting a clay-based sealant through drilled holes and covering the crack with a vinyl moisture barrier panel -- is that an exempt capital improvement or a taxable repair to real property under New York sales tax?
Taxable repair, not a capital improvement. A basement waterproofing contractor's method of injecting a clay-based sealant through drilled wall holes and covering the crack with a vinyl moisture barrie…
I'm an out-of-state jewelry retailer that sells through satellite and cable TV home-shopping arrangements to New York viewers -- do those broadcast and airtime-purchase relationships give me nexus, requiring me to register and collect New York sales tax?
No nexus from the TV distribution deals alone, but the Department stopped short of a final answer. Gems TV USA Limited, a Delaware corporation with no New York locations, employees, warehouse, or plac…
Cadman Towers, a Mitchell-Lama not-for-profit housing cooperative with 421 apartments and 16,000 shares, plans to voluntarily dissolve and reconstitute as a new for-profit BCL corporation (Cadman Towers Owners) with 101,038 shares, letting shareholders finally sell at market value instead of at restricted Mitchell-Lama prices. Each old share converts to a different number of new shares (to satisfy an IRS 'reasonable relationship' test), and old apartment leases become proprietary leases tied to the new shares. Does this conversion trigger New York's Real Estate Transfer Tax, both on the building itself and on the new shares issued to shareholders?
Yes, RETT applies at two separate points, with a partial credit to reduce the overlap. Cadman Towers, Inc., a 421-unit, 16,000-share not-for-profit residential cooperative organized under the Private …
I manufacture and permanently install baggage-handling systems at airport terminals leased by airlines from government-owned airports -- do I owe New York sales or use tax on the materials, labor, and installation charges?
Usually exempt as a capital improvement, but only with the right paperwork. G&T Conveyor's permanently bolted, custom-built baggage-handling systems installed in airport terminals qualify as capital i…
Can a business exclude, from its taxable receipt, credits it gets for trading in old computer hardware and for unused prepaid maintenance services when it buys new hardware from the same vendor?
Only the hardware trade-in qualifies. Because the seller resold (rented back) the old hardware to the buyer for an extra fee before taking final possession, the trade-in credit for that hardware is ex…
Does a newly formed C corporation that bought New York manufacturing assets qualify as a 'new business' under section 210.12(j), making its investment tax credit refundable?
Yes. A new C corporation that bought New York manufacturing assets is a 'new business' eligible to refund its investment tax credit, because it is not over-50% owned by an Article 9-A/32/33 taxpayer (…
Is installing point-of-sale cash register systems, related hardware, and power/cabling equipment in retail stores subject to New York sales tax, and does testing the pre-loaded software count too?
Mostly yes. Installing point-of-sale cash registers and computer hardware peripherals is a taxable installation service, and the hardware itself is taxable when sold. Installing UPS power-supply equip…
Is a construction company's use of a leased crane and operator a taxable equipment rental or a nontaxable purchase of a construction service?
It's a service, not a taxable rental — as long as the crane provider keeps dominion and control. Because the crane provider's own employees set up, operate, and tear down the crane, and the provider (…
Is a general contractor's purchase of construction debris removal and dumpster services on a capital-improvement project subject to New York sales tax?
It depends on the service. Construction debris and cleanup removal purchased by a contractor in conjunction with a capital-improvement project is exempt from sales tax (with the right paperwork), but …
Are charges for millwork shop drawing services for custom woodwork on a construction project subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. Millwork shop drawings and the on-site project manager's coordination work are taxable 'interior decorating and design services' under Tax Law § 1105(c)(7), since the company preparing them isn't…
Does a company that bolts advertising display/directory units to mall floors owe sales tax on installing them, on selling the advertising space on them, or does it even need to register as a New York sales tax vendor?
The floor-bolted display units are taxable installations of tangible personal property (not exempt capital improvements) since they can be unbolted without material damage, but the company's separate …
Our Mitchell-Lama co-op board originally planned to privatize by transferring the building to a brand-new corporation -- but got private letter rulings from both the state and NYC saying that transfer would trigger about $14 million in combined transfer taxes. So instead we restructured the plan to simply AMEND OUR EXISTING CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION to convert from a nonprofit Mitchell-Lama entity into a for-profit private cooperative, with no separate transferee corporation at all. Does avoiding a literal transfer to a new legal entity get us out of New York's Real Estate Transfer Tax?
No -- restructuring the plan as a certificate-of-incorporation amendment (instead of a transfer to a newly formed corporation) does NOT avoid RETT; the Department taxes it the same way. East Midtown P…
Does a technology company's purchase of computers and hardware used to build and improve its own ad-serving software platform qualify for New York's sales-tax research and development exemption?
No. Building and improving software for the company's own use in delivering services -- even highly technical, years-long development work -- is not "research and development in the experimental or la…
If a company buys a concrete pump truck solely to lease it to an affiliate, is the purchase exempt from sales tax, and are the affiliate's lease payments taxable?
The purchase itself is exempt as a purchase for resale, but the lease payments the affiliate pays are subject to sales tax unless the affiliate re-rents the truck to its own customers without retainin…
Are different types of commercial signs — monument signs, pylon signs, channel letters, backlit letters, electronic displays, banners, and window graphics — taxable installations of tangible personal property, or exempt capital improvements to real property?
It depends on the sign: a monument sign set in a concrete foundation can qualify as a tax-exempt capital improvement, but pylon signs bolted to piers, channel letters, backlit letters, electronic disp…
If a New York government agency owns a building that will have both public (school) and private (residential/retail) uses, is the developer's construction still exempt from sales tax on materials?
Yes. Because the exempt government agency keeps ownership of the whole building, materials that become a permanent part of the structure are sales-tax exempt for both the public-school and private-use…
If a company sells point-of-sale equipment and bills staging, software installation, testing, and setup as one lump-sum 'project management' line item, is the whole charge taxable, or can the software-related part be carved out as exempt?
The entire lump-sum charge is taxable, because the normally tax-exempt software installation/modification services were bundled into one line item with the taxable hardware sale and setup rather than …
When a company buys a fractional ownership interest in a private jet through a trust, and an aircraft management company keeps control over pilots, maintenance, and scheduling, is that purchase a taxable rental of the aircraft or an exempt transportation service?
It's an exempt transportation service, not a taxable purchase or rental of tangible personal property, because the aircraft management company -- not the fractional owner -- retains dominion and contr…
Is downloading a video from a website, whether paid or free, subject to New York sales tax?
No. Videos downloaded electronically over the Internet to a customer's computer or device are intangible property, not taxable prewritten software or a taxable information/entertainment service, so th…
If a Florida sign manufacturer pays Florida use tax on materials it later installs as a capital improvement in New York, can it get a credit against the New York use tax it owes on the same materials?
Yes, but only for materials installed as an actual New York capital improvement, only if the tax was legally due and actually paid to Florida (not merely assessed), and only up to the amount of New Yo…
Is a foreign life insurance corporation with no New York premiums subject to New York tax because it holds a limited partnership interest with a basis over $1 million in a partnership doing business in New York?
Yes, with an exception. A foreign life insurer with no New York premiums is subject to Article 33 tax because its limited-partner basis in a New York partnership exceeded $1 million (deeming it to par…
If a company leases an aircraft and uses it mostly for charter flights to the public and its owners, with the rest for its own affiliates' business travel, does the lease qualify for New York's commercial aircraft sales-tax exemption?
Yes -- because at least 50% of the aircraft's use is transporting people for compensation at market-reflective rates, it qualifies as a commercial aircraft, so the lease payments, related maintenance …
My bank offers a specialized real estate financing product: the seller deeds the property directly to us (not the client), we lease the property back to the client at payments equivalent to mortgage principal and interest, and we deed the property to the client once the loan is paid off. Is real estate transfer tax due only once -- on the seller-to-bank deed -- or does it also apply to the lease and to our later deed back to the client at the end of the financing term?
RETT is due only once, on the initial seller-to-bank conveyance -- not on the lease or the bank's later deed back to the client. A UK bank offered specialized real estate financing: a client contracts…
Is a private investigation firm's charges for detective and surveillance work taxable, whether billed to an individual, directly to an insurance company, or to an insurance adjusting company?
Yes in all three scenarios -- charges for licensed private-investigator detective and surveillance services are taxable whether billed to an individual, directly to an insurance company, or to an insu…
Does New York sales tax apply to an expert-network company's subscription charges for one-on-one phone consultations with industry experts, custom written research reports, and invitation-only seminars?
No, as long as the oral consultations and written reports are based on each consultant's own personal knowledge and experience rather than a shared database or recycled prior reports -- these are nont…
Will a nonresident property owner become a New York domiciliary for personal income tax purposes just by registering to vote in a New York town?
Not automatically. Voter registration is only a secondary factor in a domicile analysis, considered only if the primary factors - business involvement, time spent at the residence, personal effects ke…
Do jobs created for an Empire Zone location but temporarily worked at a non-Empire-Zone facility qualify for the Empire Zone wage tax credit, and for how many years?
Only inside the zone. Jobs at the Empire Zone building qualify for the wage tax credit; the same jobs temporarily worked at a non-zone facility do not qualify until the employees move into the zone, a…
Are the coin-operated fees a laundromat charges customers to wash their own dogs in a self-service dog-wash machine subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. Because New York's sales tax regulations classify animals as tangible personal property, washing a dog in a coin-operated machine is a taxable service of maintaining tangible personal property, s…
Are bottled coffee drinks like Starbucks Frappuccino and chocolate drinks like Yoo-Hoo exempt from New York sales tax as food and beverages, or taxable as soft drinks?
Bottled Starbucks Frappuccino coffee drink is exempt from sales tax because it's essentially flavored cold coffee, but Yoo-Hoo chocolate drink is taxable because it's treated as a noncarbonated, flavo…
Is replacing a corroded metal chimney chase cover with a new stainless steel one a taxable repair, or does it qualify as an exempt capital improvement to real property?
It's a taxable repair or maintenance service, not an exempt capital improvement, because replacing a worn-out chase cover simply restores the chimney chase to good condition rather than adding new val…
Is a daily investment-analysis newsletter about corporate bonds, delivered by email, fax, or hard copy on a subscription basis, exempt from sales tax as a periodical?
Yes. The daily fixed-income-market newsletter qualifies as an exempt periodical because it's published regularly with varied bylined articles and is available to the public by subscription, and its el…
Are frozen, pre-made dinners sold by a dietician from a retail freezer case -- with no seating or on-site heating -- subject to New York sales tax?
No. Because the frozen dinners are sold cold, pre-made rather than made-to-order, with no seating or on-site heating facilities -- the same way frozen dinners are commonly sold in ordinary food stores…
We're a not-for-profit local development corporation set up under section 1411 of the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law to manage and develop the Brooklyn Navy Yard for job creation. If we mortgage our leasehold interest to finance new industrial space, is that mortgage exempt from New York's mortgage recording tax?
Exempt. The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation is a not-for-profit local development corporation (LDC) incorporated under section 1411 of the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, established to rel…
Does a conveyor that moves wet concrete aggregate from inside a plant to outdoor stockpiles, where it continues drying before sale, qualify for New York's production-equipment sales tax exemption?
Yes. Because the wet aggregate keeps drying to meet sale specifications after leaving the plant, the conveyor moving it to the stockpiles is still part of production, so it qualifies for the productio…
Is washing and disinfecting sports and protective gear (hockey pads, helmets, horse blankets, fire turnout gear) in an industrial machine a taxable 'maintaining/servicing' service or an exempt 'laundering' service?
No, this cleaning service isn't taxable. Washing, disinfecting, and deodorizing the fabric, leather, and padded portions of sports and protective gear counts as exempt laundering, not taxable maintain…
Does a nonresident investment fund that buys artwork outside New York and loans it, free of charge, to a New York museum owe New York use tax on that artwork?
No use tax is owed, as long as the fund was a nonresident (not doing business in New York) when it bought the artwork — the nonresident-purchaser exemption covers using the art here through a free mus…
For a smaller neighborhood health club charging initiation/membership fees plus separate charges for personal training, baby-sitting, and massage, which fees are subject to New York State or New York City sales tax?
Initiation fees, membership dues, personal training, and baby-sitting are not subject to any sales tax, but massage therapy sessions are subject to New York City's local service tax (though not New Yo…
Browse New York rulings by topic
These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by New York's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.