Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8709L0838G06 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1987-09-28

Were supervised child care, day camps, and sports instruction taxable as amusement services in Texas?

Short answer: No at the time of the letter. Child-care facilities, day camps, gymnastics, and swimming instruction were not treated as taxable amusement services.

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 a taxpayer-specific September 1987 Texas Comptroller letter about supervised child care with activities, transportation, and field trips. It says the opinion may change if the facts differ. The body does not discuss meals despite STAR's caption. Its statement that the services were not amusement services 'at this time' is expressly historical; verify current law. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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 provider offered supervised child care that included physical-fitness activities, nutrition training, arts and crafts, transportation to and from the facility, and organized field trips.

The Comptroller said child-care facilities, day camps, and sports instruction such as gymnastics and swimming lessons were not considered amusement services and were not taxable at that time.

The letter's body does not address meals.

What this means for you

The historical letter did not convert a supervised child-care program into a taxable amusement service merely because it included recreation, instruction, transportation, or field trips. Its wording "at this time" cautions that the answer was tied to then-current law.

Common questions

Was supervised child care taxable as amusement? No at the time of the letter.

What about day camps? They were not treated as amusement services.

Were gymnastics and swimming lessons taxable amusement services? No under the letter.

Did the ruling decide the taxability of meals? No.

Citations and references

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

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TX 78774

September 28, 1987

Dear *:

Thank you for your letter of September 11, 1987, concerning
***.

I understand that *** offers supervised child care, including
physical fitness activities, nutrition training, arts and crafts, trans-
portation to and from the child care facility and organized field trips.

Child care facilities, day camps, and instructions in sports, i.e., gym-
nastics and swimming lessons, are not considered amusement services and
are not subject to tax at this time.

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 me at
1-800-252-5555 toll free from anywhere in Texas. The regular number is
512/463-4600. You may write me at the Tax Policy Division.

Sincerely,
Adina Whittemore
Tax Policy Division

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