Texas State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in Texas, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Who had to pay or collect Texas use tax when a non-Texas lessor leased helicopters to a Texas company and the aircraft entered Texas?
If the lessee picked up the helicopters outside Texas, the lessee owed the use tax and the lessor did not collect it. If the lessor delivered into Texas, the lessor had to collect and remit.
Was alcohol purchased from an out-of-state supplier for processing surgical biopsies and Pap smears exempt from Texas tax?
No. Texas treated the alcohol as a taxable medical-facility supply, and the purchaser could accrue and remit the tax on its sales-tax return.
What did an airline need to show for out-of-state purchases temporarily stored at a Texas facility before being transported out of Texas for use solely elsewhere?
Section 151.011(e) excluded qualifying temporary storage from use tax, regardless of delivery method or payer. The airline needed purchase-specific certificates where required and detailed inbound, st…
Was tax due on complimentary laundry and dry-cleaning services provided without charge to key hotel staff under hotel valet contracts?
No sales tax was due on the complimentary cleaning because there was no charge. The cleaner did owe use tax on materials bought tax-free and given with that cleaning.
How did Texas sales tax apply when a contractor bought mixed-use inventory tax-free, used some materials in lump-sum real-property repairs, and later lost or had materials stolen?
The contractor could buy mixed-use inventory with a resale certificate and accrue tax when items were used in lump-sum jobs. It still owed tax on the purchase price of items lost or stolen after remov…
Were metallurgical testing services performed on customer-consumed and customer-manufactured parts subject to Texas sales tax?
No. The testing service was nontaxable, so the provider did not collect tax from customers but owed sales or use tax on taxable items consumed in providing the service.
Did publicly displaying out-of-state or Mexican goods at a Texas trade show fall within the temporary-storage exclusion from taxable use?
Not unless the goods were being held for sale in the regular course of business. Public trade-show display alone did not fit the exclusion from use.
How did Texas tax and source ticket sales for home games, mail orders, subcontractors, and games outside Texas?
Home-game tickets used the event city's rate and allocation; out-of-state games were not subject to Texas sales tax, with special use-tax and agent rules.
Was the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority exempt from Texas sales and use tax on its share of a Texas electric plant?
No. Texas excluded other states' governmental entities from exemption, and exempt cooperative members did not make the Oklahoma authority exempt.
Was property contributed by two companies to capitalize a new partnership subject to Texas sales and use tax?
No. The transfers were nontaxable when ownership interests substantially matched contributed values and no consideration other than those interests was received.
Could an electric cooperative recover tax on its ownership share of generating-project property purchased after its operating agreement?
Yes, for purchases from the agreement date based on its ownership percentage, using supplier refunds and a project-specific exemption certificate; earlier purchases did not qualify.
Did holding goods for export over 30 days defeat a refund, and how were bonded imports treated?
A customs broker's prompt receipt and holding for shipment could overcome the storage presumption; imports retained import status while in bond, and resale could still prevent use tax after removal.
Could an airline buy or temporarily store materials tax-free before shipping them to Saudi Arabia?
Yes, under the stated conditions. Airline-carried items qualified under the common-carrier exemption; sea shipments needed export proof, and qualifying out-of-state purchases could be stored temporari…
How should a computer-maintenance company buy and tax repair parts used under old and newly taxable service agreements?
It could keep parts in tax-free resale inventory. Parts used for agreements entered before October 2, 1984 required accrued use tax; the Comptroller agreed with the stated procedure for taxed agreemen…
Were separately billed spool removal, wire-line repair, replacement, and installation charges taxable?
Yes. All described charges were taxable repairs; out-of-state work required use tax on the total when the customer returned the unit to Texas.
How was use tax computed when a permit holder withdrew inventory and transferred interests to joint owners?
Taxable value was the transferor's purchase price, not the current market value charged to joint owners. The rate was the one in effect when the item was purchased, and overpaid tax from using the wro…
Were data-processing leases and sales to the U.S. Government taxable, and did an out-of-state seller need a Texas permit?
The federal government could rent, lease, or buy tangible property for its own use without tax. The Virginia seller needed no Texas permit or collection duty on isolated direct-shipped sales because i…
Did a secured lender owe Texas sales or use tax after repossessing equipment and buying it back at an unsuccessful auction?
No. Sales tax did not apply when the property owner bought back its own equipment at auction, and no use tax was due on later business use if the original purchaser had paid the tax.
Were railroad crossties shipped into Texas exempt as supplies essential to operating locomotives and trains?
Yes. The Comptroller treated railroad ties as supplies essential to train operations under Section 151.331, so the seller did not collect Texas use tax when the purchaser issued an exemption certifica…
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These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by Texas'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.