Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8905L0936D02 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-05-09

Did a doctor's prescription make a standard reclining chair exempt from Texas sales tax?

Short answer: No. The recliner was not designed as a therapeutic appliance or device, so the prescription did not create an exemption.

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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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

A standard La-Z-Boy recliner remained taxable even when purchased with a doctor's prescription.

The chair did not meet the letter's definition of a therapeutic appliance or device because it was not designed to alleviate pain or for use during treatment or cure of sickness, disease, suffering, or deformity.

Common questions

Did the prescription itself create an exemption? No.

Why did the chair fail the medical-device exemption? It was a standard recliner, not an item designed for therapeutic treatment or pain relief.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TX 78774

May 9, 1989

Dear *:

Thank you for your letter of May 4, 1989 concerning the taxability
of a La-Z-Boy recliner purchased with a doctor's prescription.

There is no basis for exemption from sales tax for this chair. It
does not meet the definition of a therapeutic appliance or device,
which is an item designed to alleviate pain or designed for use
during the treatment or cure of human sickness, disease, suffering
or deformity.

This opinion is based upon the facts you presented. If there are
additional or different facts, this opinion may change.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional
questions. You may write me, call toll-free 1-800-531-5441 from
anywhere in the United States or phone 512/463-4685.

Sincerely,
Julie Pesl
Tax Correspondence

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