Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8508L0659C06 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-08-29

Were membership fees charged by a video dating and social club subject to Texas sales tax?

Short answer: No. The club's membership fees were not taxable where members used video technology and resumes to screen potential dates.

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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 limited to a social club whose members used video technology and resumes to screen potential dates. It concludes that the club's membership fees were not taxable, cites no numbered statute or rule, and expressly says different facts could change the opinion. Current dating-service, social-club, membership-fee, video-service, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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

Membership fees charged by the video dating and social club were not taxable. Members used video technology and member resumes to screen potential dates.

Common questions

Were the club's membership fees taxable? No.

What kind of club did the letter address? A social club using video technology and resumes so members could screen potential dates.

Would the same answer necessarily apply to a different service model? The letter does not say. It expressly warns that additional or different facts could change the opinion.

Citations and references

The reproduced letter cites no numbered statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

August 29, 1985

Dear ***:

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

"The purpose of this letter is to request written confirmation about
whether membership fees collected by a video dating and social club
are exempt from sales taxes.

If you have any questions or need some additional information, do
not hesitate to call us."

Response: As we discussed, this is a social club which uses a video
technology and resumes of members to allow other members to screen
potential dates. The club membership fees would not be taxable.

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

Please feel free to contact us if you have additional questions. You
may write us, call toll free 1-800-252-5555 from anywhere in Texas.

Sincerely,

Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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