Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8704L0813E08 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1987-04-22

Could patients buy or rent the described electronic muscle stimulator tax-free as therapeutic equipment in Texas?

Short answer: Yes, with a doctor's prescription. The Comptroller classified the stimulator as a therapeutic device; nonprescription purchases and practitioner purchases were taxable.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1987. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1987
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 1987 Texas Comptroller letter classifies one redacted electronic muscle stimulator as a therapeutic device under Rule 3.284. Exemption applied to patient purchases or rentals only with a doctor's prescription; nonprescription and practitioner purchases were taxable. Product specifications are absent from the record. Verify current therapeutic-device, prescription, practitioner, rental, and local-tax rules. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. Identities 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

The Texas Comptroller classified the described electronic muscle stimulator as a therapeutic device. Patients could purchase or rent it tax-free with a doctor's prescription.

Nonprescription purchases were taxable. Purchases by practitioners were also taxable.

What this means for you

The exemption depended on both the product classification and the transaction: the buyer or renter had to be a patient with a doctor's prescription. The same device purchased by a practitioner did not receive the stated exemption.

Common questions

Was the electronic muscle stimulator a therapeutic device? Yes.

Could a patient buy it tax-free? Yes, with a doctor's prescription.

Could a patient rent it tax-free? Yes, with a doctor's prescription.

Was a nonprescription purchase exempt? No.

Was a practitioner's purchase exempt? No.

Citations and references

  • Comptroller Rule 3.284 — therapeutic-equipment rule enclosed with the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller April 22, 1987

Dear **:

Thank you for your recent letter and attachments. We will consider the
*** Electronic Muscle Stimulator to be a therapeutic device.

As such, it may be purchased or rented by patients tax free on a doctor's
prescription. Nonprescription purchases and purchases by practitioners
would be subject to sales tax.

I am enclosing Rule 3.284 for your reference.

Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions. You
may
write me, call toll free 1-800-252-5555 from anywhere in Texas or phone
512/463-4600.

Sincerely,
AL Van Allen
Tax Policy Section
Tax Administration Division

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