Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8801L0868A11 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-01-26

Were arson-investigation services taxable under Texas's insurance-services rule?

Short answer: Yes. Texas treated arson investigation as a taxable insurance service effective October 1, 1987.

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 an insurance-services rule effective October 1, 1987. It says the opinion may change if the facts differ but does not provide a rule number or describe the investigation. Arson-investigation, insurance-service, fire-loss, claims, expert-service, and sourcing rules may have changed; verify current law and the precise scope of work. STAR documents may no longer represent current policy even when not marked superseded.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

The Comptroller said arson investigation was a taxable service under the insurance-services rule, effective October 1, 1987.

What this means for you

The short historical letter gives no service details, so it should not be used to classify unrelated fire, engineering, law-enforcement, or expert work.

Common questions

Was arson investigation taxable? Yes.

When did the stated treatment take effect? October 1, 1987.

Citations and references

The letter refers to the insurance-services rule but gives no rule number.

Source

Original ruling text

January 26, 1988

Dear ***:

On behalf of Mr. Bullock, I hope you'll accept my apology for the delay
in answering your question regarding insurance services. This isn't the way
we normally do business.

Our people were, and still are, swamped by a deluge of inquiries 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.

You ask if arson investigation is taxable under the insurance services
rule. Please be aware that arson investigation is a taxable service
under the insurance services rule effective October 1, 1987.

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 Telephone Bank Operations.

Sincerely,

Telephone Bank Operations

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