Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 200702947L Motor Vehicle Tax 2007-02-26

Can a 48-foot flatbed trailer with Texas token-trailer registration qualify for the interstate motor vehicle tax exemption?

Short answer: Potentially yes. A token-registered flatbed trailer could qualify if used exclusively with a truck or tractor operating under IRP apportioned registration in interstate service. The claimant had to prove the pulling unit's apportioned status, such as with its cab card.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2007. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2007
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.

Plain-English summary

The Texas Comptroller said a 48-foot flatbed cartage trailer could qualify for the interstate motor vehicle tax exemption when registered as a token trailer and operated exclusively with an IRP-apportioned truck or tractor.

Texas generally taxed trailers as motor vehicles. Section 152.089 exempted qualifying interstate vehicles regularly operated in Texas and another state or country when registration fees were apportionable under the International Registration Plan.

For a token-registered trailer, the buyer carried the proof burden at registration. The letter suggested producing the apportioned cab card for the pulling unit to show that the trailer would operate in the required combination.

The STAR index caption mentions dollies and axles, but the ruling body decides a flatbed-trailer question. This page follows the actual document.

What this means for you

Interstate motor carriers

Token registration alone is not enough. The trailer must be used exclusively with an apportioned pulling unit in qualifying interstate operations.

Trailer purchasers and finance companies

Obtain the pulling tractor's IRP documents before title and registration. The exemption claimant must establish eligibility at that time.

Common questions

Q: Is a flatbed trailer normally a motor vehicle for Texas tax?

A: Yes. Section 152.001(3) includes trailers and semitrailers.

Q: What evidence did the letter suggest?

A: An apportioned cab card for the truck or tractor that would pull the trailer.

Q: Why does the filename mention dollies?

A: That is conflicting index metadata; the source body is about a 48-foot flatbed trailer, so the body controls.

Citations and references

  • Tex. Tax Code §§ 152.001(3), 152.089
  • Tex. Tax Code ch. 152

Source

Original ruling text

February 26, 2007

Subject: Sales Tax Questions on a Trailer.

Dear **:

This is in response to your e-mail inquiry concerning whether Texas sales tax
is due on a 48-foot flatbed cartage trailer that will be registered with a
"combination plate".

A flatbed trailer registered as a token trailer (combination plate) and
operated exclusively in conjunction with a truck or truck tractor that is
registered on an apportioned basis under the International Registration Plan
may be exempt from Texas motor vehicle sales and use tax.

The sale of a motor vehicle in Texas is subject to the 6.25 percent motor
vehicle sales tax pursuant to Chapter 152 of the Texas Tax Code. Section
152.001(3) defines a Motor Vehicle as any self-propelled vehicle designed to
transport persons or property on a public highway; and a trailer and
semi-trailer, including a van, flatbed, tank, dumpster, dolly, jeep, stinger,
auxiliary axle, or converter gear.

However, the sale of a motor vehicle (truck, truck-tractor, trailer or
semi-trailer) that is to be regularly operated in Texas and some other state
and for which registration fees qualify to be apportioned under the
International Registration Plan (IRP) is exempt from Texas motor vehicle sales
and use tax as an interstate motor vehicle. An interstate vehicle does not
include a vehicle that has Texas license plates and does not operate under the
International Registration Plan. See Texas Tax Code 152.089

For the purposes of Chapter 152 of the Texas Tax Code, an interstate motor
vehicle includes a truck, truck tractor or any other motor vehicle with a gross
registered weight in excess of 26,000 pounds either separately or in
combination with a trailer or semi-trailer, that is regularly operated in Texas
and some other state or foreign country, and for which registration fees could
be apportioned if the motor vehicle were registered in a state or province of a
country that is a member of the International Registration Plan (IRP).

A trailer or semi-trailer registered as a token trailer (combination license
plate) and operated exclusively in conjunction with a truck or truck tractor
that is registered on an apportioned basis under the International Registration
Plan is exempt as an interstate motor vehicle. Therefore, a flatbed trailer
registered as a token trailer (combination registration) and operated
exclusively in conjunction with a truck or truck tractor that is registered on
an apportioned basis under the International Registration Plan may be exempt
from Texas motor vehicle sales and use tax.

A person claiming the interstate exemption from motor vehicle sales tax for a
trailer or semi-trailer that is to be registered with token trailer
(combination) registration has, at time of registration, the burden to show
(e.g., an apportioned cab card for the pulling unit) that it is entitled to the
exemption by demonstrating that it is currently operating a truck tractor
registered on an apportioned basis under the International Registration Plan
that will be operated in combination with the trailer.

For online access to the sections of the Texas Tax Code noted above go to:
www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/mtr_veh/mv_su.html Scroll down to "Statues" and
click to open

This opinion is based on the facts you submitted. Other facts, though similar,
may yield different results. I hope this information helps. If you have further
questions, please e-mail them to [email protected], or you may reach me
by phone at 1-800-531-5441, ext. 3-4986.

Our goal is to provide you with prompt, professional service. Please take a
moment to complete our on-line survey at
http://aixtcp.cpa.state.tx.us/surveys/tpsurv2

Sincerely,

Ken Koch
Tax Policy Division

From: **
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 9:51 AM
To: Tax Help
Subject: Sales tax questions

Hello.

We are an equipment financing brokerage firm in New Jersey. We have a
Logistics company in Texas, purchasing a vehicle from a Texas Vendor. The
equipment vendor is saying that this equipment is Sales Tax exempt, due to the
fact that the vehicle requires a "combination plate", and I can not find
anything on your website relating to this exemption. The equipment is a 48'
Flatbed Cartage Trailer. Please let me know if this equipment is indeed sales
tax exempt, or not.

Thank you in advance for your help.

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