Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9008L1042G13 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1990-08-29

When were interior-design drawings taxable as graphic arts rather than nontaxable decorating services?

Short answer: Drawings resulting from decorating services were not taxable; plans created for sale or drawn to another person's specifications were taxable.

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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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

Decorating services and drawings resulting from those services were not taxable. Plans created from the designer's ideas for sale, and drawings based on another person's specifications, were taxable graphic arts on the total charge.

What this means for you

The result depended on whether the customer bought decorating services with incidental drawings or the drawing product itself.

Common questions

Service-related drawings taxable? No. Plans created for sale? Yes. Client-specified drawings? Yes.

Citations and references

  • Comptroller Rule 3.312(a).

Source

Original ruling text

COMPTROLLER OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS
STATE OF TEXAS
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78774

BOB BULLOCK
Comptroller August 29, 1990

Dear ** :

I am responding to your recent letter regarding the taxability of
your design services. You indicate that you draw interior space
designs that you subsequently sell to individuals or corporations.
Your design is not mass produced.

If you are an interior designer providing decorating services for
a client, your services are not taxable. Any drawings resulting
from this service also would not be taxable.

If you are creating an interior space design based on your own
ideas and specifications for the purpose of marketing the plan
(drawings), then the interior space designs that you draw and sell
are taxable as graphic arts. I have enclosed a copy of Rule 3.312
on Graphic Arts and Related occupations. Subsection (a) of this
rule defines graphic arts and requires that tax be collected on
the total charge for the art.

Furthermore, if you are drawing designs based on someone else's
specifications, then your charges to the client for the drawings
also are taxable as graphic arts.

The above response is based on the facts provided. Additional or
different facts may cause this response to change.

If you have any questions, please contact Tax Correspondence. You
may write to the above address or call toll free 1-800-252-5555.

Sincerely,
Brad Gabbart
Tax Correspondence

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