Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8910L0964E09 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-10-09

Did a county genealogical society owe Texas sales tax on books and other writings that it published and sold?

Short answer: No. Effective August 28, 1989, qualifying nonprofit religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, and scientific organizations did not owe tax on writings they published and distributed. The letter applied that exemption to the genealogical society's own books and writings but said nonprofit educational organizations were excluded.

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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

Effective August 28, 1989, books, magazines, newsletters, and other writings published and distributed by certain nonprofit religious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, or scientific organizations were not taxable. The stated exemption did not include nonprofit educational organizations.

The Comptroller applied that rule to the county genealogical society and said sales tax was not due on books and other writings that the society published and sold.

Common questions

Were the society's own books and writings taxable? No.

What date did the exemption take effect? August 28, 1989.

Did the stated exemption cover nonprofit educational organizations? No.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller October 9, 1989

Dear *:

Thank you for your letter regarding taxability of books and
publications published and sold by the * County Genea-
logical Society.

Effective August 28, 1989, books magazines, newsletters and
other writings that are published and distributed by certain
non-profit organizations are not taxable. This includes reli-
gious, philanthropic, charitable, historical, or scientific
organizations. But it does not include non-profit educational
organizations.

Sales tax would not be due on books and other writings published
and sold by your organization.

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 additional information, you may
call toll free 1-800-252-5555 or the regular number 512/463-4600.
My extension is 3-4666. You may write to Tax Correspondence,
Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Sincerely,
Jo An Dieck
Tax Correspondence

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