Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8708L0850D07 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1987-08-25

How did Texas tax landscaping and lawn-care charges and the fertilizer, chemicals, plants, supplies, and equipment used in the service?

Short answer: Tax applied to the total service charge. Providers could buy chemicals, fertilizer, and plants for resale when transferred to customers, but owed tax on supplies and equipment not transferred.

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 is an August 1987 Texas Comptroller letter giving general landscaping and lawn-care guidelines while the agency was still developing industry guidance. The author expressly said she did not have all the answers. The treatment is historical; verify current taxable-service and resale 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 STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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

Tax was due on the total charge for landscaping or lawn-care service.

The provider could give a resale certificate for items transferred to the customer as part of the taxable service. The letter gave chemicals and fertilizer applied to lawns and plants actually resold as examples.

The provider had to pay tax on supplies or equipment that were not transferred to customers.

What this means for you

The historical distinction followed whether an item passed to the customer. Transferred materials could receive resale treatment; items the provider consumed or retained could not.

Common questions

Was the total landscaping or lawn-care charge taxable? Yes.

Could applied fertilizer and chemicals be bought for resale? Yes, when transferred to the customer as part of the service.

What about plants actually resold? They could also be bought under a resale certificate.

Who paid tax on nontransferred supplies and equipment? The service provider.

Citations and references

  • No statute or rule number is cited in the ruling text.

Source

Original ruling text

August 25, 1987

Dear **:

Mrs. Aguirre has asked me to write to you concerning sales tax on landscaping
and lawn care services.

We are in the process of developing guidelines for the industry.

I don't have all the answers, however I can give you some general guidelines.

Tax will be due on the total charge for landscaping service or lawn care
service. The service provider may give a resale certificate in lieu of tax on
any item transferred to their customer as a part of the taxable service. For
example, they may give a resale certificate in lieu of tax on chemicals and
fertilizer applied to lawns and on plants actually resold. They should pay tax
on any supplies or equipment not transferred to their customers.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call me at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. The regular number is
512/463-4614. You may write me at the Tax Policy Division.

Sincerely,

Adina Whittemore
Tax Policy Division

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