Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8801L0864F10 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-01-22

Did Texas tax motor-vehicle storage without the owner's consent, and did licensing or general-purpose storage change the result?

Short answer: Motor-vehicle storage was taxable whether or not the owner consented and whether or not the facility required a license. General-purpose storage was outside the provision when customers could store any property and no area was designated for vehicle parking or storage.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1988. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1988
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 January 1988 Texas Comptroller letter applying the then-current Section 151.0101(a)(4). It says the opinion may change if the facts differ. The distinction depends on whether a facility is general-purpose with no designated vehicle area or is a motor-vehicle storage facility; owner consent and licensing did not change the latter classification. Storage, parking, towing, impoundment, consent, licensing, and motor-vehicle rules may have changed; verify current law. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded. 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

Section 151.0101(a)(4) did not apply to a general-purpose storage facility when customers could store any type of property and the facility provided no designated area for motor-vehicle parking or storage.

The provision did apply to motor-vehicle storage facilities, whether vehicles were stored with or without the owner's consent. Licensing under Article 6687-9A did not change the result.

What this means for you

The historical classification followed the facility's designated use, not consent or licensing status.

Common questions

Was involuntary vehicle storage taxable? Yes.

Did a facility have to be licensed for the tax to apply? No.

Was all general-purpose storage taxable under this provision? No, not when the stated no-designated-vehicle-area facts were met.

Citations and references

  • Tex. Tax Code § 151.0101(a)(4) — historical taxable-service provision.
  • Tex. Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. art. 6687-9A — motor-vehicle storage licensing referenced by the letter.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

January 22, 1988

Dear ***:

On behalf of Mr. Bullock, I hope you'll accept my apology for the delay
in
answering your question involving changes in the sales tax law. This
isn't
the way we normally do business.

Our people were, and still are, swamped by a deluge of inquires as they
attempted to interpret provisions of the new law and draft rules which
would
not adversely impact businesses. In many instances, an answer to a
question
just wasn't available when the question arrived.

Section 151.0101(a)(4) does not apply to general-purpose storage
facilities
where the customer is allowed to store any type of property as long as
the
facility does not provide designated areas for motor vehicle parking or
storage. This section of the law does apply to motor vehicle storage
facilities where vehicles are parked and stored with or without the
owner's
consent.

Section 151.0101(a)(4) applies to all motor vehicle storage facilities
regardless whether or not the facility is required to be licensed under
Tex.
Rev. Civ. Stat. Ann. art 6687-9A.

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 our
toll-free
number 1-800-531-5441. The regular number is 512/463-4600. You may
write me
at the Tax Policy Division.

Sincerely,
Eddie C. Washington
Tax Policy Division

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