Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8903L0925G01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-03-13

Were Comfort Ease, Neuroaid, Respond II, Comfort Wave, and similar therapeutic devices exempt from Texas sales tax?

Short answer: Only in a prescription sale to an individual. The products qualified as therapeutic devices, but nonprescription sales and sales to medical practitioners or health-service organizations were taxable.

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This page answers the general question as of 1989. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1989
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

The Comptroller classified the redacted company's Comfort Ease, Neuroaid, Respond II, Comfort Wave, and related products as therapeutic devices.

Those devices were exempt from Texas sales tax when sold to an individual under a doctor's prescription. The same products were taxable when sold without a prescription or when sold to medical practitioners or health-service organizations.

Common questions

Were the nerve-stimulation products therapeutic devices? Yes.

Was every sale exempt? No. The exemption described in the letter required a sale to an individual under a doctor's prescription.

Were provider purchases exempt? No. Sales to medical practitioners and health-service organizations were taxable under the facts presented.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller March 13, 1989

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of March 6, 1989 concerning the taxability of
***** products, including Comfort Ease, Neuroaid, Respond II, and
Comfort Wave.

***** products qualify as therapeutic devices and are exempt when
sold to
an individual under a doctor's prescription. However, non-prescription
sales and sales to medical practitioners or health service organizations
are subject to sales tax.

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 1-800-252-5555. The regular number is 512/463-4600. You may
write me
at Tax Correspondence, Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Sincerely,
Julie Pesl
Tax Correspondence

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