Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8504L0634A01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-04-11

Were charges for laboratory blood typing and dentists' wax impressions taxable within a child-identification service?

Short answer: No. The Comptroller said charges for blood typing and wax dental impressions were not taxable, whether the company retained the resulting information or transferred it to clients.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1985. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1985
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

A child-identification business added blood typing performed by a local laboratory and wax dental impressions made by local dentists. The Comptroller said the charges for both services were not taxable.

The result did not change based on who kept the information: the charges remained nontaxable whether the business retained it or transferred it to clients.

STAR's subject metadata also mentions videotapes, photographs, blood samples, storage, and retrieval, but the reproduced ruling body decides only blood typing and wax dental impressions. Those other items are not separately resolved here.

Common questions

Did transferring the information to the client make the charge taxable? No. Did retaining it make the charge taxable? No. Did the body decide tax on videotapes or photographs? No; those appear only in the broader STAR subject label.

Citations and references

The reproduced letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

April 11, 1985

Dear ***:

Thank you for your recent letter which is restated with responses below.

Our company has recently expanded our services to include blood
typing by a local lab and wax dental impressions by local dentists.
Please advise me in writing if these services are to be taxed.

Response: The charges for typing blood and creating wax dental
impressions are not taxable. This would be true if you retained
possession of the information or transferred it to your clients.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call us at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas.You may write us at the
Tax Administration Division.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN,

Our company has recently expanded our services to include blood typing
by a local lab and wax dental impressions by local dentists. Please
advise me in writing if these services are to be taxed.

Sincerely,

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