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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Was a real-estate multiple-listing information service taxable, and how were the printed listing-book materials treated?
The service was taxable for Texas customers after October 1, 1987 and nontaxable for out-of-state customers. Material treatment depended on when purchased and transfer of the books.
Were the recipient's delivery, courier, or messenger services taxable under the 1987 Texas sales-tax change?
No. The described services were not taxable; only courier services requiring a license under the cited private-security law were taxable.
Did a Texas taxpayer owe tax on the full invoice for Ohio work adding a truck body and accessories to a cab and chassis?
Yes. The work was remodeling or the final stage of manufacturing, a taxable service, so tax accrued on the total invoice price.
Could a buyer's self-assessment letter or combined purchase-order certificate protect a supplier that did not collect Texas sales tax?
No. Without a properly completed resale or exemption certificate, the supplier remained exposed to tax, penalty, and interest; the buyer needed a direct payment permit to self-accrue tax.
Did Texas decide whether attorneys had to collect sales tax on debt-collection services before a pending Attorney General opinion was issued?
No. The Comptroller said the issue was unresolved and would not require attorneys to collect tax until the Attorney General opinion was issued.
Were gun-club membership dues subject to Texas sales tax when members received access to recreational or sports facilities such as a firing range?
Yes. The letter said membership dues were taxable when the club provided recreation or sports facilities, including a firing range.
Who owed Texas sales tax when operating-lease payment rights were assigned without a written debt instrument and resold to investors?
The original lessor owed tax on all remaining lease payments when it assigned the lease paper. The factor and its investors had no tax liability under the described arrangement.
Was a custodial staffing arrangement taxable when the provider remained the workers' employer but the customer trained and supervised them?
Yes. Texas treated that arrangement as a taxable real property service. It did not decide the second arrangement, where the customer employed the workers and the provider processed payroll.
Could an insurance adjuster issue a resale certificate when another adjuster worked a loss, and how should the rebilled service be taxed?
The adjuster could issue a resale certificate to the subcontracted adjuster but had to charge sales tax when rebilling the service to its customer.
Did Texas decide whether bookkeeping services would be taxable as data processing services?
No. The Comptroller declined to answer while a proposed data-processing rule was being written and said the rule was expected to take effect January 1, 1988.
Was a monthly association fee included in taxable credit-reporting charges, and was collecting overdue city water bills taxable?
The monthly fee was taxable as part of the credit-reporting service. Although debt collection was generally taxable, collecting overdue water bills for the city was not.
When did Texas treat installed draperies or curtains as taxable personal property rather than an improvement to realty?
Usually they were taxable personal property. They were treated as improvements to realty when permanently integrated or installed by a contractor as part of construction or remodeling.
Were the sale and leaseback payments for a heavily anchored 80-megawatt cogeneration plant subject to Texas sales tax when the agreements called it personal property?
No. Texas treated the plant as real property based on its construction, so neither the sale to the trustee nor the operator's later lease payments were subject to sales tax.
Was Texas sales tax due on soft drinks, chips, novelty ice cream, or other items bought with food stamps, including mixed-payment purchases?
No tax was due on items bought with food stamps. For mixed purchases, food stamps were applied first to taxable items and then to nontaxable food.
Did a Texas maid-service business have to collect sales tax beginning October 1, 1987?
Yes. The letter required the maid service to charge customers 7.5% tax on the service price beginning October 1, 1987.
Could a purchaser's unsigned purchase order qualify for Texas's prior-contract exemption, and were later change-order additions covered?
No. The reviewed order did not qualify, and added taxable items, labor, or services were excluded even if the original agreement qualified.
Was liquid petroleum gas exempt from Texas limited sales tax, and could an itemized fuel expense still be taxed as part of a taxable service?
The gas itself was exempt, but an itemized fuel expense incurred in performing a taxable service was subject to limited sales tax.
Could Texas sales tax apply to a cigarette price that already included federal and state cigarette taxes paid earlier in the distribution chain?
Yes. The letter treated the cigarette taxes as supplier or seller expenses included in the taxable sales price passed to the consumer.
Could a retailer treat an installed home satellite system as a lump-sum improvement to realty and avoid collecting Texas sales tax from the consumer?
No. Texas treated the satellite system as tangible personal property, so the retailer had to collect tax on the equipment and, after October 1, 1987, the installation charge.
Which parts of a camping or outdoor-experience fee were taxable when the provider supplied recreation, meals, and transportation?
The amusement-service and meal portions were taxable; transportation was not. A single unseparated lump sum was fully taxable.
How did Texas treat an out-of-state vehicle lease when the vehicle was brought into Texas and another state also taxed the lease?
Texas imposed use tax when the out-of-state leased vehicle was brought into Texas, with tax due at registration rather than month by month. Because Texas participated in the Multistate Tax Compact, it…
What Texas tax rates applied in 1987 to pager sales, airtime, leases, connection fees, voice retrieval, protection, repairs, and maintenance?
The letter listed 7.5% for an outright pager purchase and 7% for each described service, lease, protection, repair, or maintenance charge.
Were sales of cement kiln dust subject to Texas limited sales tax even though cement production tax was not paid on the kiln dust?
Yes. Sales tax applied unless the buyer provided a properly completed exemption, resale, or direct-payment exemption certificate.
Did Texas require a bond from a political subdivision or municipality acting as a tax collector for the first time?
No. The Comptroller said political subdivisions and municipalities would not be required to post a bond when they were first-time collectors.
Were throwaway vials taxable when sold empty to a business that filled them with antigens and distributed the contents and container together?
No. Texas treated the throwaway vials as nonreturnable containers sold to a person who filled and transferred them with their contents.
When were craft-show sales by senior citizens or nonprofit organizations exempt, and when did an individual seller need a Texas sales-tax permit?
The senior-group exemption required all four statutory conditions. Otherwise sales were taxable unless the narrow occasional-sale rule applied.
Did a renewed Houston garbage-collection contract qualify for Texas's prior-contract sales-tax exemption?
No. The relevant city contract renewed after the July 21, 1987 cutoff, so the requester had to add tax to members' bills for garbage collected on or after October 1, 1987.
Was turf-irrigation installation treated as landscaping, and what happened when it was part of a landscaping job?
Installation was excluded from landscaping, but its charge had to be separately stated when included in a landscaping job or the entire charge was taxable.
Were postage charges taxable when a retailer mailed a taxable item and billed the customer for mailing?
Yes. Tax applied to the total seller charge, including postage, regardless of whether the fulfillment house was in Texas; postage alone remained nontaxable when the item was not sold or was nontaxable…
Were supervised child care, day camps, and sports instruction taxable as amusement services in Texas?
No at the time of the letter. Child-care facilities, day camps, gymnastics, and swimming instruction were not treated as taxable amusement services.
Which listed agricultural software programs qualified for Texas sales-tax exemption as production, processing, packing, or marketing aids?
Four listed programs qualified; six recordkeeping programs did not. Buyers claiming exemption had to provide a completed exemption certificate.
Did Texas's October 1987 expansion of taxable services make inspections of building components taxable?
No. The Comptroller said real-estate inspections of structural components such as plumbing, wiring, HVAC units, and roofs would not be taxable under the new law changes.
Did Texas use tax apply when a Texas resident bought repair services outside the state and realized the repair in Texas?
Yes. The letter said Texas residents owed use tax on goods and services bought from out-of-state sellers when the repair was realized in Texas, even if the seller did not have to collect it.
When did Texas begin taxing credit-reporting and information services, and what did credit reporting include?
October 1, 1987. Credit reporting included compilations about credit history, worthiness, standing, insurability, reputation, and specified personal information.
Did Texas's 1987 tax-law changes make lump-sum septic installation or septic cleaning taxable?
No. Charges for lump-sum septic-tank sales and installation and for septic cleaning remained nontaxable after the stated 1987 changes.
Which refuse-collection billing cycle first became taxable when Texas began taxing the service on October 1, 1987?
The first billing cycle beginning on or after October 1 was taxable. A September 15 cycle was not; an October 15 cycle was.
Were skin-care treatments, waxing, makeup applications, take-home products, and massages taxable in Texas?
Treatments, waxing, and makeup applications were not taxable. Take-home items and most massages were taxable, subject to stated massage exceptions.
Was a lump-sum charge for concert lighting, sound, equipment setup, operation, and removal taxable in Texas?
No. The service remained nontaxable when one lump-sum amount covered company-owned equipment and the personnel who set up, operated, and removed it.
Were dumpster-service charges and landfill tipping fees subject to Texas sales tax?
The dumpster-service charge was taxable, but the separate landfill tipping fee was not because the Comptroller did not treat it as a solid-waste collection charge.
Could a restaurant seek a refund for qualifying natural gas or electricity use before food-preparation electricity became taxable on October 1, 1987?
Yes, if the utility met Rule 3.295's exemption requirements. No exemption applied to billing periods beginning on or after October 1, 1987.
Were maid and housekeeping services taxable at commercial and residential locations, and how were private-household employees treated?
The letter treated a maid-service business's total charge as taxable beginning October 1, 1987 at both commercial and residential locations. A maid or cook employed by a private household to provide t…
How did Texas tax licensed security services and items used or transferred in providing them, and what later-law alert applies?
The 1987 letter taxed total security-service charges and distinguished consumed from transferred items; a 2019 alert removes consultants and guard-dog companies.
Was a fee for removing a customer's name from mailing and telephone solicitation lists a taxable information service?
No. Customers received no compiled information and solicitors paid nothing for the names, so the service was nontaxable; the provider paid tax on supplies.
When did Texas begin taxing janitorial and custodial services, and how was the tax charged?
October 1, 1987. The provider had to add the appropriate location-based tax rate to its service charge and complete a sales-tax application.
Was an armored-car provider's entire charge taxable when it arranged New York pickup, commercial air transport, and final Texas delivery?
Yes. The full charge was subject to use tax based on delivery location; direct customer contracting with the airline removed only the air portion.
When did Texas tax a city's garbage charge, and what if the service was funded or bundled differently?
From October 1, 1987, a separate city garbage charge was taxable; general-revenue funding created no sale, and a flat bundled utility charge was not separately taxed.
Did a debt collector have to charge Texas sales tax for collection services performed for a 501(c)(3) organization?
No, if the organization supplied an exemption certificate. The letter allowed the collector to accept that certificate instead of tax.
Was a lessor exempt from Texas motor vehicle tax when it leased vehicles to the Federal Land Bank without exempt license plates?
No. The Comptroller said the lessor owed Texas motor vehicle sales tax unless the vehicle was leased to a public agency and operated with exempt license plates. Because the Federal Land Bank vehicles …
When did Texas consider the benefit of a credit-reporting service received in Texas?
Texas's then-current view treated the benefit as received in Texas when the credit applicant was in Texas and the reporting company's customer also did business there.
How did Texas tax paging and cellular invoice items including equipment, airtime, installation, repairs, protection, long distance, and resale transactions?
Most listed services and equipment charges were taxable. The letter exempted specified installation before October 1987, late and NSF fees, and limited protection charges.
Was the described information service taxable before October 1, 1987, and what proof was needed for a seller's refund?
It was not taxable before October 1, 1987. The seller had to show tax was not collected, or that customers were refunded or credited, to support its refund.
How did Texas apply the October 1, 1987 software-tax change to licenses, rentals, and maintenance?
A completed perpetual-license sale escaped tax, but post-October 1 rental amounts were taxable and prepaid maintenance had to be prorated for post-change use.
Did Railroad Commission regulation of an armored-car company's rates prevent Texas sales tax from applying to its customer charges?
No. The total customer charge became taxable October 1, 1987, even though another government agency regulated the carrier's sales price.
Was a separate customer charge for manufacturer-supplied shop drawings used as installation instructions taxable in Texas?
Yes. The shop drawings were a taxable sale of tangible personal property even though they were separately charged installation instructions.
What proof and timing rules applied when a Texas seller refunded sales tax after goods were exported to Mexico?
Owner-held property was presumed stored after 30 days and lost export exemption if used in Texas; refund claims faced a four-year limit, and broker certifications needed an original signature but no n…
Did an out-of-state lessor with equipment in Texas have to collect tax despite having no Texas office or representative?
Not initially, but beginning October 1, 1987 Texas-situated leased property made the lessor a Texas retailer required to collect and remit tax.
Were all charges for uniformed security officers taxable in Texas when roughly 80% of the price covered employee wages and benefits?
Yes. Effective October 1, 1987, the total customer charge was taxable without deducting the provider's labor, materials, or other expenses.
Was an auction purchaser entitled to avoid Texas sales tax by later arranging out-of-state shipment?
No on the corrected facts. Because the auctioneer did not deliver the goods to a common carrier, the purchaser took ownership in Texas and the tax was correctly charged.
Were human telephone-answering and voice-mailbox services taxable, when did the 6% state rate begin, and how did prior-contract relief work?
Voice mailboxes were taxable telecommunications services; traditional answering remained unresolved. The 6% rate began October 1, 1987.
When did Texas begin taxing window washing as a real property service?
October 1, 1987. The Comptroller said window washing would become taxable as a real property service within building and grounds cleaning.
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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.