Ezel / Tax Rulings / TX
TX 9202L1166C02 Sales and/or Use Tax (State,Local,MTA) 1992-02-25

Were separately stated travel time and trip expenses for piano repair and maintenance taxable in Texas?

Short answer: Yes. The Comptroller said transportation and other expenses connected with taxable repair or maintenance services were taxable, so tax had to be collected on the travel-time and expense charges.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1992. Ezel answers yours, under current Texas tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 1992
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 Code Rules 3.1 and 3.10); documents on STAR may no longer represent current policy even if not marked superseded.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 piano service provider asked whether separately stated trip charges connected with piano repair and maintenance were taxable.

The Comptroller said yes. Texas sales-tax law taxed transportation and other expenses connected with performing a taxable service. The provider therefore had to collect tax on charges for both travel time and travel expenses.

What this means for you

Repair and maintenance businesses

Separately listing a trip charge does not remove it from the taxable service price. If the underlying repair or maintenance is taxable, connected travel charges were taxable under this letter too.

Accountants and tax professionals

The source gave no specific Code or rule number. Its holding was limited to travel time and expenses connected with taxable piano repair and maintenance.

Common questions

Were travel-time charges taxable? Yes.

Were out-of-pocket trip expenses taxable? Yes.

Did separately stating the charges change the result? No.

Citations and references

The letter cited no specific statute or rule.

Source

Original ruling text

February 25, 1992

Dear **:

I found out that you had difficulty getting through on our toll free tax
information number. This time of year is busy for us, and we have had some
problems with our phone system.

We want to answer every call promptly, so I do apologize for any
inconvenience in this matter.

You asked if you must collect sales tax on separately stated trip charges
related to repairing and maintaining pianos. The sales tax law specifically
taxes charges for transportation and other expenses connected to the
performance of a taxable service, such as repair or maintenance service.
You should collect the sales tax on the amount you charge your customer for
your travel time and expenses.

Mona Shoemate of our Tax Administration Division tells me that she
discussed this information with you on the phone, but if you have any
questions about sales tax, please call her at 1-800-531-5441, extension
5-0537. She will be glad to help.

We try hard to give the best service to the taxpayers of Texas, so if I
can be of any further assistance please let me know.

Sincerely,

JOHN SHARP
Comptroller of Public Accounts

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