Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8906L0950E12 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-06-28

Which nonprofit organizations qualified for the revised Texas exemption for books and other writings?

Short answer: Religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, scientific, and similar nonprofits qualified under the letter; nonprofit educational organizations did not.

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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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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 revised statute exempted sales of books, magazines, newsletters, and other writings published and distributed by specified nonprofit organizations. The letter listed religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, and scientific organizations.

It expressly said nonprofit educational organizations were not included in that exemption.

Common questions

Were religious organizations included? Yes.

Were nonprofit educational organizations included? No, according to the letter.

What materials did the exemption cover? Books, magazines, newsletters, and other writings published and distributed by qualifying organizations.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

June 28, 1989

Dear ***:

I just want to take a minute to respond to your question on the
exemption for religious publications. The legislature addressed
the Supreme Court's objections by broadening the exemption to add
secular purpose.

Under the revised statute, tax will not be due on the sale of
books, magazine, newsletters and other writings that are
published and distributed by certain non-profit organizations.
This includes religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, or
scientific organizations. But it does not include non-profit
educational organizations.

Feel free to call or write me if you have questions. You can
reach me by calling toll free 800-531-5441 or FAX (512) 475-0900.

Sincerely,
Al Van Allen
Taxability Section
Legal Services Division

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