Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8508L0659C02 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-08-28

Were Ensure, Nutriment, and the Complete B tube-feeding formula exempt from Texas sales tax?

Short answer: Yes. Ensure and Nutriment were exempt food products, and Complete B was also exempt based on its marketing and food ingredients.

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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 1985 Texas Comptroller taxpayer-response letter addressing Ensure, Nutriment, and Complete B. The STAR subject metadata names different product variants, but the reproduced body is authoritative and does not address Ensure Plus or Enrich. Complete B's treatment depended on the stated marketing and composition, and the letter expressly says different facts could change the opinion. The body cites no numbered statute or rule. Current food-product, nutritional-product, tube-feeding, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Letters on STAR can support detrimental reliance only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued under 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice.
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

Ensure and Nutriment were exempt as food products. Complete B was also exempt as a food product based on the requester's statement that it was marketed as a tube-feeding formula made of blended meat, vegetables, milk, and fruit.

Common questions

Were Ensure and Nutriment taxable? No. The letter treated both as exempt food products.

Why was Complete B exempt? It was described as a tube-feeding formula composed of blended meat, vegetables, milk, and fruit.

Did the reproduced ruling address Ensure Plus or Enrich? No. Those names appear in the STAR subject metadata, not in the ruling body.

Citations and references

The reproduced letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

August 28, 1985

Dear ***:

Thank you for your recent letter regarding the taxability of "Ensure",
"Nutriment" and "Complete B".

Both Ensure and Nutriment are exempt as food products.

In our phone conversation you told me that "Complete B" is marketed as a
tube feeding formula and is composed of blended meat, vegetables, milk
and fruit. Therefore "Complete B" would be exempt as a food product.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are additional or
different facts, the opinion may change.

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 Administration Division

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