When a printer delivers printed material to a customer in New York who later mails some of it out of state, is sales tax due on the whole charge at the delivery-point rate?

Plain-English summary

Meridian Graphics, Inc., a New York City printer, delivered printed material to a customer in Albany County, New York. The customer argued that because it planned to mail some of the printed material to people outside New York, the printer should collect sales tax at a reduced rate.

The Department ruled the entire charge is taxable at the delivery-point rate — the customer's contention was wrong.

• When printed material is delivered to a purchaser at a location within New York, sales tax at the combined state and local rate must be computed on the entire charge (Tax Law § 1105(a)).
• The local rate is the one in effect at the place of delivery within New York — here, 7% in Albany County.
• Any later mailing by the customer does not change the rate the printer must apply. The taxable event is the printer's delivery to the customer in New York.
• Limited exception: a printer that itself provides mailing services, or that delivers printed matter to a "mailer" (a business that provides mailing services), may use an alternative method described in Tax Department Publication ST-152, Collection and Reporting Instructions For Printers and Mailers. Meridian did neither — it delivered all the material to its customer in New York — so that alternative was unavailable.

What this means for you

A printer's tax rate is fixed by where it delivers, not by where the customer sends things next. If you print and hand the finished material to your customer at a New York location, you charge the state-plus-local rate for that location on the whole job. What the customer does afterward — including mailing pieces out of state — is not your concern for rate purposes.

The out-of-state break belongs to a different fact pattern. New York does give printers a way to account for material that leaves the state, but it runs through the printer-and-mailer rules in Publication ST-152. That applies when the printer provides the mailing service, or delivers to a professional mailer who does. It doesn't apply when the printer simply delivers everything to the customer in New York.

Use the delivery-location rate, and keep it simple. Compute one rate — the combined state and local rate at your delivery point — on the full charge, unless you actually fall within the ST-152 printer/mailer method.

Common questions

Q: My customer told me to charge less because they'll mail some pieces out of state — is that right?
A: No. When you deliver the printed material to the customer at a New York location, you charge the combined state and local rate for that location on the whole charge. The customer's later out-of-state mailing doesn't reduce your rate.

Q: When can a printer use the alternative (lower-tax) method for out-of-state material?
A: Only when the printer provides mailing services, or delivers the printed matter to a "mailer" — a business in the trade of providing mailing services. Those situations are covered by Publication ST-152. Delivering everything to the customer in New York does not qualify.

Q: Which local rate do I use?
A: The local rate in effect at the place of delivery in New York. In this opinion, delivery in Albany County meant a combined 7% rate at the time.

Citations and references

Statutes, regulations and authority:

• Tax Law § 1105(a) — imposes sales tax on receipts from every retail sale of tangible personal property; the combined state and local rate applies to the entire charge for printed material delivered in New York
• Publication ST-152, Collection and Reporting Instructions For Printers and Mailers — describes the conditions and alternative computation method for a printer providing mailing services or delivering to a "mailer"

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pubs_and_bulls/advisory_opinions/sales_ao_1981.htm
• Opinion: https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/advisory_opinions/sales/h81_64s.pdf

Original ruling text

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
TSB-H-81(64)S
Sales Tax
March 30, 1981

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

PETITION NO. S80l023B

On October 23, 1980, a Petition for Advisory Opinion was received from
Meridian Graphics, Inc., 160 Varick Street, New York, New York 10013.
The issue raised is the proper method of computing the sales tax due where
printed material is delivered to a purchaser within New York and where the
purchaser subsequently mails some of the material to points outside New York.
Petitioner, a printer, delivered printed material to a customer in Albany
County, New York. The customer contended that because it would be mailing some
of the printed material to persons located outside New York sales tax should be
collected at a reduced rate.
When printed material is delivered to a purchaser at a location within New
York, sales tax at the combined state and local rate must be computed on the
entire charge. The local rate applicable is that in effect, at the place of
delivery within New York. Any subsequent mailing by the customer does not affect
the rate of tax to be applied by the printer. The rate to be used by Petitioner
to compute the sales tax on charges for printed material delivered to a purchaser
in Albany County is 7%.
Under certain conditions, a printer providing mailing services or a printer
delivering printed matter to a "mailer" - i.e., a person engaged in the business
of providing mailing services - may use an alternative method of computing tax.
These conditions are described and the alternative method is explained in a Tax
Department publication, Collection and Reporting Instructions For Printers and
Mailers (ST-152), which is available at local district tax offices. However, in
this case Petitioner neither provided mailing services for its customer nor
delivered the printed material to a person in the business of providing mailing
services. Delivery of all of the material purchased was made to a customer at a
location within New York. Therefore, the customer's contention that a reduced
rate of sales tax should have been applied was erroneous.

DATED: March 16,1981

TP-8 (4/80)

s/LOUIS ETLINGER
Deputy Director
Technical Services Bureau

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