Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 8910L0973A01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1989-10-06

Were children's books sold by a nonprofit educational organization exempt under Texas's 1989 exemption for periodicals and writings?

Short answer: No. The books were taxable. Effective August 28, 1989, the stated exemption covered writings published and distributed by charitable, religious, nonprofit philanthropic, and historical organizations, but it did not extend to educational organizations.

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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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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 requester asked about children's books that the requester had written and another organization had printed.

The Comptroller said the book sales were taxable. Effective August 28, 1989, Texas exempted periodicals and writings published and distributed by charitable and religious organizations and by nonprofit philanthropic and historical organizations. The letter expressly said that exemption did not extend to educational organizations.

Common questions

Were the children's book sales exempt? No.

Did the 1989 publication exemption cover educational organizations? No.

Which organizations did the letter identify as covered? Charitable, religious, nonprofit philanthropic, and historical organizations.

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, 78774

October 6, 1989

Dear ***:

Thank you for your letter of September 22, 1989, concerning the
taxability of children's books written by you and printed by the
**.

These book sales are taxable. As of August 28, 1989, sales of
periodicals and writings published and distributed by charitable
and religious organizations as well as non-profit philanthropic
and historical organizations are exempt. This exemption does not
extend to educational organizations.

This opinion is based on the facts presented. If there are addi-
tional or different facts, the opinion may change.

If you have any questions or need more information, you may call
toll-free 1-800-252-5555, ext. 3-4683. The regular number is 512/
463-4600. You may write me at Tax Correspondence, Comptroller of
Public Accounts

Sincerely,
Eddie C. Washington
Tax Correspondence

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