Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9001L0982G09 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1990-01-25

Was booth furniture taxable when rented together with trade-show booth space, and what if a separate furniture company supplied it?

Short answer: A promoter or facility owner could include tables and chairs with real-property booth or building rental without charging tax. A separate company that did not own or manage the facility had to collect tax on the furniture rental.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1990. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1990
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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 show promoter's booth-space rental was treated as a real-property rental. The promoter could include booth furniture such as tables and chairs without charging sales tax, similar to a furnished-apartment rental.

The city likewise did not have to charge tax when it rented the building and furniture together. But if the promoter or exhibitors rented booth furniture from a separate company that did not own or manage the facility, that company had to collect sales tax on the furniture rental.

Common questions

Was booth space treated as real property? Yes.

Could the promoter include tables and chairs tax-free? Yes, when supplied with the booth-space rental.

What if an outside furniture company supplied them? The outside company had to collect tax.

Source

Original ruling text

January 25, 1990

Dear ***:

I'd just like to take a minute to follow-up to our phone conversation
with a written response.

Show promoters who rent booth space to exhibitors are considered
to be renting real property. That means the promoters may also
rent booth furniture such as tables and chairs to their exhibitors
without charging sales tax. This is based on the same provision
in the tax law that allows a person to rent a furnished apartment
without having to pay sales tax to his landlord each month.

By the same token, the City of *** is not required to charge
you tax when you rent both a building and furniture from them. If
either you or your exhibitors rent booth furniture from a company
that does not own or manage the facility, they would be required
to collect sales tax on the furniture rental.

I am enclosing a copy of the appropriate rule for your file.

This opinion is rendered based on the facts you presented. Other
facts, though similar, may yield different results.

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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