Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9103L1085E01 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1991-03-07

Were the seller's various post-surgical support garments exempt from Texas sales tax as braces?

Short answer: Yes. After examining the submitted product information, Texas said every listed support garment met Rule 3.284's definition of a brace and qualified for exemption.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1991. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1991
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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 Comptroller reviewed information about various post-surgical support garments and concluded that all the submitted items qualified for sales-tax exemption. Each met the definition of a “brace” in Rule 3.284.

The letter also explained that an unrelated Tax Amnesty Program notice could be ignored if the recipient had no purchases to report.

What this means for you

The exemption finding was tied to the specific product information submitted and the products' classification as braces under Rule 3.284.

Common questions

Were the submitted support garments exempt? Yes.

Why? Each met the cited rule's definition of a brace.

Did the amnesty notice itself mean tax was owed? No; the letter said to disregard it if there was nothing to report.

Citations and references

  • 34 Tex. Admin. Code Rule 3.284 — medical equipment and devices; definition of a brace

Source

Original ruling text

March 7, 1991

Dear *:

I have examined the information you provided on the various post
surgical support garments and am of the opinion that they qualify
for exemption from sales tax. Each item you mentioned meets the
definition of a "brace" in the enclosed rule 3.284.

The material you received is part of the Tax Amnesty Program. It
is designed to give folks who may owe some tax on purchases but
who don't otherwise need a sales tax permit a way to report the
tax. If you have nothing to report, please disregard the notice.

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

If you have questions or need more information, please call our
toll-free number 1-800-531-5441. My direct line number is 512-
463-4680 (FAX (512) 47471643]. You may write to me in care of
Tax Administration Division.

Sincerely,

Al Van Allen
Tax Administration Division

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