Does a monthly consumer newsletter listing manufacturer refund offers qualify as a tax-exempt periodical, so its sales aren't subject to sales tax?

Plain-English summary

Rose Marie Thompson (Schenectady, New York) publishes a monthly called "Consumer's Bulletin," which mostly lists manufacturer refund offers and also carries reader letters, reader ads, housekeeping hints, a recipe, general-interest items, and an explanation of how refunding works. She asked whether she must collect sales tax on sales of the publication.

The answer: no — it qualifies as a tax-exempt periodical.

• § 1105(a) taxes receipts from retail sales of tangible personal property, but § 1115(a)(5) exempts receipts from selling newspapers and periodicals.
• 20 NYCRR 528.6(c) sets a five-part test for a periodical. It must:
  1. be published in printed or written form at stated intervals, at least four times a year;
  2. not — singly or when successive issues are combined — constitute a book;
  3. be available to the public;
  4. have continuity of title and general nature of content from issue to issue; and
  5. each issue contains a variety of articles by different authors on literature, the sciences or arts, news, an industry, profession, sport, or other field.
• The Department examined the sample issue (Issue 8, November 1980) and found it meets all five requirements. So the Bulletin is a periodical under § 1115(a)(5), and receipts from its sale are exempt from sales tax.

Contrast — an earlier issue was taxed. Months before, an earlier opinion, TSB-H-80(172)S, examined an earlier version of the same "Consumer's Bulletin" and held it a taxable information service — because that issue was essentially a listing of refund offers, its contents weren't real "articles," and it didn't state a publication frequency. The revised issue here cured those defects (a stated monthly schedule and a variety of authored articles), which is why it now qualifies.

What this means for you

Content that looks commercial can still be a periodical. A publication built mostly around refund offers still qualified, because it satisfied the structural test — frequency, not-a-book, public availability, continuity, and varied authorship — not because of its subject matter.

The five-part test is what matters. If your publication comes out at least quarterly, isn't really a book, is offered to the public, keeps a consistent identity, and mixes articles by different authors, it can be an exempt periodical whose sales you don't tax.

Keep a representative sample. The Department decided this by examining an actual issue against the regulation. If you claim the exemption, be ready to show that a typical issue meets each requirement.

Common questions

Q: My newsletter is mostly ads and refund offers — can it still be exempt?
A: It can, if it meets the five-part periodical test in 20 NYCRR 528.6(c). The Department looked at the publication's structure, not just its commercial content, and found this monthly qualified.

Q: How often must I publish to qualify?
A: At least four times a year, at stated intervals. This Bulletin was monthly, which satisfies that requirement.

Q: If my publication qualifies, do I collect tax on subscriptions or single copies?
A: No. Receipts from selling an exempt periodical are not subject to sales tax under § 1115(a)(5).

Citations and references

Statutes, regulations and authority:

• Tax Law § 1105(a) — imposes sales tax on receipts from retail sales of tangible personal property
• Tax Law § 1115(a)(5) — exempts receipts from the retail sale of newspapers and periodicals
• 20 NYCRR 528.6(c) — five-part test defining a "periodical" (published at least four times a year; not a book; available to the public; continuity of title/content; variety of articles by different authors)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/advisory_opinions/sales_ao_1980.htm
• Opinion: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/advisory_opinions/sales/h80_258s.pdf

Original ruling text

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
TSB-H-80(258)S
Sales Tax
December 26, 1980

Taxpayer Services Division
Technical Services Bureau
STATE OF NEW YORK
STATE TAX COMMISSION
ADVISORY OPINION

PETITION NO. S801017A

On October 17, 1980 a Petition for Advisory Opinion was received from Rose
Marie Thompson, 12 Hembold Drive, Schenectady, New York 12303.
The issue raised is whether or not Petitioner is required to collect New
York State sales tax on the receipts from sales of Petitioner's publication,
which is entitled "Consumer's Bulletin".
A sample of Petitioner's publication, Issue 8, November, 1980, was
submitted with the petition. Examination reveals Petitioner's publication to
consist primarily of a listing of refund offers made by various manufacturers.
The publication also contains letters from readers, ads placed by readers,
housekeeping hints, a recipe, items of general interest, and an explanation of
the process of refunding. Information printed in the publication states that it
is published the 15th of each month. Petitioner states that the Consumer's
Bulletin is published more than four times a year, that it is available to the
public, that it has continuity as to title and nature of content from issue to
issue, that it does not, either singly or when successive issues are put
together, constitute a book, and that each numbered issue contains a variety of
articles by different authors devoted to literature, science or arts, some
specific industry or other field of endeavor.
Section 1105(a) of the Tax Law imposes a tax on the receipts from retail
sales of tangible personal property. However, section 1115(a)(5) of the Tax Law
exempts from the operation of such provision receipts from the retail sale of
newspapers and periodicals. The Sales and Use Tax Regulations define the term
periodical, in relevant part, as follows: "(1) In order to constitute a
periodical, a publication must conform generally to the following requirements:
(i) it must be published in printed or written form at stated intervals, at least
as frequently as four times a year; (ii) it must not, either singly or when
successive issues are put together, constitute a book; (iii) it must be available
for circulation to the public; (iv) it must have continuity as to title and
general nature of content from issue to issue; (v) each issue must contain a
variety of articles by different authors devoted to literature, the sciences or
the arts, news, some special industry, profession, sport or other field of
endeavor". 20 NYCRR 528.6(c).
The sample copy of the publication in question meets the requirements set
forth in the above-quoted provision of the Sales and Use Tax Regulations.
Accordingly, the same constitutes a periodical within the meaning and intent of
section 1115(a)(5) of the Tax Law, and the receipts from the sale of such
periodical are exempt from the sales tax imposed under section 1105(a) of the Tax
Law.

DATED: December 4,1980

s/LOUIS ETLINGER
Deputy Director
Technical Services Bureau

JAMES H. TULLY, JR., COMMISSIONER
LOUIS M. JACOBSON, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
FRANK J. PUCCIA, DIRECTOR