Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9005L1026G01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1990-05-16

Were books, pamphlets, and other writings published and distributed by a charitable nonprofit exempt from Texas sales tax, and could previously collected tax be refunded?

Short answer: Yes. The charitable nonprofit's own books, pamphlets, and other writings were exempt under a new exemption effective August 28, 1989. Other taxable property it sold, leased, or rented remained taxable. For writings sold after the effective date, it could refund tax to customers and then amend its sales-tax returns.

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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

Because the organization was nonprofit and formed for charitable purposes, its own books, pamphlets, and other writings were exempt when published and distributed by the organization.

The exemption took effect August 28, 1989. Other taxable items the organization sold, leased, or rented remained taxable.

If the organization had collected tax on qualifying writings sold after the effective date, it could first refund that tax to customers and then amend its sales-tax returns to show the corrected amounts.

Common questions

Were the nonprofit's own publications taxable? No.

Were all items sold by the nonprofit exempt? No.

When did the publication exemption take effect? August 28, 1989.

Could the nonprofit amend returns immediately? It first had to refund the tax to customers.

Source

Original ruling text

May 16, 1990

Dear **:

Mr. Washington asked me to look into your question concerning tax
on publications produced and sold by the COMPANY A.

Since the COMPANY A is non- profit and was organized for charitable
purposes, the books, pamphlets, and other writings published
and distributed by the COMPANY A are not taxable. However, tax is
due on other taxable items sold, leased, or rented by the organization.

This new exemption went into effect August 28, 1989. If you collected
tax on writings sold after that date, you may refund that tax to your
customers. Once you have refunded the tax, you may then amend your
sales tax returns to reflect the correct figures.

If you have any questions or need more information, please call
me. The toll-free number is 1-800-531-5441. The regular number
is 512/463-4614 or you may write me at the Taxability Section of
Legal Division. [(FAX) 512-475-0900]

Sincerely,

Adina Whittemore
Taxability Section
Legal Division

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