Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8508L0659C14 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1985-08-09

Were a nonprofit's public and season-ticket-holder parking charges exempt from Texas sales tax?

Short answer: No. Daily public parking and parking sold to season-ticket holders were taxable, even though the organization was exempt under Section 501(c)(3).

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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 Texas Comptroller record containing a 1985 parking letter and an attached 1984 amusement-ticket letter for nonprofit organizations. The 1985 letter distinguishes taxable parking from the separate amusement-services exemption discussed in the earlier letter. The parking ruling specifically covers daily public parking and parking sold to season-ticket holders; the STAR subject's reference to monthly parking is not supported by the reproduced body. Current nonprofit, parking, amusement, event-ticket, and sales-tax rules may differ, and STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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

Parking tickets sold by the Section 501(c)(3) organization for daily public parking and to boxholders with season tickets were taxable. The letter explained that H.B. 122 did not give governmental entities or nonprofit organizations a parking-services exemption comparable to the amusement-services exemption.

An attached 1984 letter reached a different result for rodeo and stock-show event tickets: sales by the nonprofit organization were not subject to the then-new amusement-services tax.

Common questions

Did nonprofit status exempt the parking charges? No.

Which parking charges did the letter address? Daily public parking and parking sold to boxholders with season tickets.

Were the nonprofit's rodeo and stock-show event tickets taxable under the attached earlier letter? No. That letter applied the nonprofit amusement-services treatment to those ticket sales.

Citations and references

  • Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) — the organization's stated federal exemption status.
  • Texas H.B. 122 and Tex. Tax Code Sec. 151.3101 — cited to distinguish parking services from the amusement-services exemption.

Source

Original ruling text

August 9, 1985

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of August 2, 1985, concerning the taxability
of automobile parking tickets sold by the ORGANIZATION A, an organization
exempt under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The parking tickets sold to the public for daily parking and to boxholders
holding season tickets are taxable.

The legislature did not provide an exemption for parking services provided
by governmental entities and non-profit organizations in H.B. 122 as it did
for amusement services in Sec. 151.3101.

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

August 30, 1984

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of August 13, 1984, regarding taxation of
ticket sales for rodeo and stock show events.

Since the organization that you represent, ORGANIZATION ABC, is a
nonprofit organization, the sales of tickets to events are not subject to the
newly-enacted sales tax on amusement services.

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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