Is sandblasting sand (or similar raw materials like rock, gravel, dirt) taxable when purchased, and does it matter whether the sand has been sorted, washed, or crushed?

Plain-English summary

This is a corrected letter — the Comptroller explicitly withdrew an earlier August 7, 1998 response on the taxability of sandblasting sand and replaced it with this one.

The corrected rule: the purchase of unprocessed rock, gravel, dirt, and sand is not taxable. Critically, "unprocessed" is defined broadly here — materials that are merely sorted, sized, screened, washed, and/or dried are still considered unprocessed materials for tax purposes, even though those are real physical operations performed on the raw material. What does count as processing, and therefore makes the material taxable, is crushing or mixing.

Applying this to the taxpayer's actual question — sandblasting sand — the answer is that its taxability depends entirely on which operations were performed on it: if it was only sorted, sized, screened, washed, or dried, it's untaxed; if it was crushed or mixed, it's taxable as a processed material.

What this means for you

Aggregate, quarry, and construction materials suppliers

The line between taxable "processed" and nontaxable "unprocessed" raw aggregate materials (dirt, sand, gravel, caliche, rock, limestone) is narrower than it might seem: cleaning, sorting, sizing, and drying operations do NOT convert unprocessed material into taxable processed material, but crushing or mixing does. Track exactly which operations your product goes through, since that — not the material's use (e.g., sandblasting) — determines taxability.

Accountants and tax professionals

This letter is a useful, concise statement of the processed-vs-unprocessed aggregate materials line, and a reminder that even the Comptroller's own responses on this topic have needed correction — worth double-checking against current guidance for any specific aggregate product.

Common questions

Q: Is unprocessed sand or gravel taxable when purchased?
A: No, per this letter.

Q: Does washing, sorting, sizing, or drying count as "processing" that would make the material taxable?
A: No, per this letter — those operations keep the material in the "unprocessed" (nontaxable) category.

Q: What operations DO make aggregate material taxable?
A: Crushing or mixing, per this letter.

Q: Is sandblasting sand always taxable or always exempt?
A: Neither — per this letter, it depends entirely on whether the specific sand has been crushed/mixed (taxable) or only sorted/sized/screened/washed/dried (not taxable).

Citations and references

No specific Tax Code section or Comptroller rule number is cited in this letter; the Comptroller applied its general processed-vs-unprocessed aggregate materials policy to these facts.

Source

• STAR search: https://star.comptroller.texas.gov/search?doc_type_code=L&tax_type_code=SST
• Opinion: https://star.comptroller.texas.gov/view/9809701L

Original ruling text

September 3, 1998

To: ***

Subject: Question Regarding Taxability of Sandblasting Sand

Dear ***:

I need to correct my August 7th response regarding the taxability of

sandblasting sand. This is the corrected response.

The purchase of unprocessed rock, gravel, dirt, and sand is not taxable.

Materials that are merely sorted, sized, screened, washed, and/or dried are not

considered processed materials.

Materials that are crushed or mixed are taxable as processed materials.

Therefore, the taxability of sandblasting sand depends on whether it is

processed or unprocessed sand.

This opinion is based on the facts you submitted. Other facts, though similar,

may yield different results.

I hope this information helps. If you have further questions, please e-mail me

at [email protected], or you may reach me by phone at 1-800-531-5441,

ext. 5-0030.

Sincerely,

David Somerville

Tax Policy Division