Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8806L0882C11 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1988-06-15

Which charges for designing, building, installing, repairing, storing, removing, and reinstalling luminaires were taxable in Texas?

Short answer: Texas taxed designing and building a luminaire, its first installation, repairs, and travel billed as part of a taxable repair. It treated storage, later installation, removal, operator charges, and related travel time as nontaxable.

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 an official Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts letter published on the State Tax Automated Research (STAR) system. Letters on STAR can be the basis of a detrimental reliance claim only for the taxpayer to whom the letter was directly issued (see 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded. Taxpayer-identifying details are redacted. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Texas tax professional about your specific situation.
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

Texas separated a luminaire company's charges into taxable and nontaxable categories.

Taxable: designing and building the luminaire, first installation, repairs, and travel time billed as part of a taxable service such as repair.

Nontaxable: storage, later installation, removal, operator charges, and the related travel time.

What this means for you

Luminaire and specialty-equipment businesses

Itemize each phase of the transaction. The letter treats first installation differently from subsequent installation and ties travel to the service with which it is billed.

Customers

Check whether travel and installation charges relate to taxable construction or repair work or to the nontaxable later-storage/removal activities described here.

Common questions

Q: Are design and construction taxable?
A: Yes.

Q: Is first installation taxable?
A: Yes, while subsequent installation was listed as nontaxable.

Q: Are storage and removal taxable?
A: No, under the letter.

Q: When is travel time taxable?
A: When billed as part of a taxable service such as repair; the related travel for the listed nontaxable activities was nontaxable.

Citations and references

The letter gives the activity-by-activity treatment but cites no specific Tax Code section or Comptroller rule by number.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller June 15, 1988

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of June 2, 1988, concerning the taxability of
the
transactions set out in your letter.

The charges for designing and building the luminaire are taxable. The
charge for installing the luminaire for the first time is also taxable.
Charges for repairing the luminaires are taxable. Charges for travel time
is taxable when billed as a part of a taxable service like a repair.
Charges for storing, subsequent installation, removal of the item,
operator,
and related travel time are not taxable.

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 Tax Correspondence, Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Sincerely,
Eddie C. Washington
Tax Correspondence

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