Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8909L0954G13 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-09-29

Could a motor-vehicle dealer buy logo-bearing keyrings, trunk nameplates, and license-plate frames tax-free for resale?

Short answer: No. Texas treated dealer-name or logo-bearing keyrings, trunk nameplates, and license-plate frames as advertising and promotional items rather than resale purchases. The dealer was told to continue collecting sales tax when selling those items.

Apply this to your situation

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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

Keyrings, trunk nameplates, and license-plate frames bearing a motor-vehicle dealer's name or logo were used for advertising and treated as promotional items.

The dealer could not purchase them tax-free for resale. The letter also instructed the dealer to continue collecting sales tax when selling those items.

The ruling body does not mention calendars despite the broader STAR subject label, so this page does not extend the holding to calendars.

Common questions

Could the dealer buy the logo items with a resale certificate? No.

Why not? They were treated as advertising and promotional items.

Did the letter require tax on sales of the items? Yes.

Did the body decide calendars? No.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN 78774

September 29, 1989

Dear ***:

Mr. Al Van Allen of this office has asked me to respond to your
recent letter concerning the taxability of keyrings, trunk name
plates and license plate frames bearing dealers names or logos.

Keyrings, trunk name plates and license plate frames bearing the
dealer name or logo are considered to be used for advertising
purposes and as such are treated as promotional items. They may
not be purchased tax free for resale. You should continue to
collect sales tax on the sale of these items.

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
512/463-4684. You may write me at the Tax Correspondence
Division.

Sincerely,
Curt Swenson
Tax Correspondence Division

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