Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9005L1019C12 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1990-05-09

Did wild-game-bird feeders qualify as exempt agricultural machinery or equipment when sold for use on a Texas farm or ranch?

Short answer: No. The agricultural exemption covered machinery and equipment used exclusively on a farm or ranch to produce agricultural products sold in the regular course of business, and the wild-game-bird feeders did not qualify. STAR also warns that later law added registration-number requirements for certain agricultural exemptions effective in 2012.

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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

Texas exempted machinery and equipment used exclusively on a farm or ranch to produce agricultural products sold in the regular course of business.

Wild-game-bird feeders did not qualify for that exemption on the facts presented, so their sale was taxable.

STAR adds a later-law alert: H.B. 268 created a Comptroller registration-number requirement for persons claiming exemptions on certain agricultural and timber products, effective January 1, 2012. That later procedural change does not alter this letter's conclusion that the feeders themselves failed the exemption test.

Common questions

Did the feeders qualify as agricultural equipment? No.

What use did the exemption require? Exclusive farm or ranch use in producing agricultural products sold in the regular course of business.

Citations and references

  • H.B. 268, 82nd Legislature, Regular Session (2011), as described in STAR's alert.

Source

Original ruling text

ALERT: This document may be affected by changes to the Tax Code which was amended by H.B. 268, 82nd Reg. Legislative Session, 2011. The amendment required persons claiming a sales tax exemption for certain agricultural and timber products to apply for and provide a registration number issued by the Comptroller, effective 01/01/2012.

May 9, 1990

Dear *:

Thank you for your letter dated May 2, 1990 concerning sales of
wild game bird feeders to persons claiming that the feeders
qualify for exemption from sales tax as agricultural equipment.

The sales tax law exempts machinery and equipment used exclusively
on a farm or ranch in the production of agricultural products sold
in the regular course of business. The wild game bird feeders do
not qualify for this exemption.

This opinion is based upon the facts you presented. If there are
additional or different facts, this opinion may change.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any additional
questions. You may write me, call toll free 1-800-252-5555 (Ext.
3-4685) from anywhere in the United States or phone 512/463-4685.

Sincerely,

Julie Pesl
Tax Correspondence

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