State Tax Rulings
Free state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
No rulings match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Did a hospital's specialty beds remain patient-specific exempt equipment under a flat monthly CAP pricing program?
Yes, when the hospital documented the specific patient. The supplier's flat CAP pricing and bulk inventory did not defeat the durable-medical-equipment exemption because physician work orders named pa…
When were a dental supplier's sales of durable medical equipment exempt as patient-specific purchases?
Virginia granted relief only for documented patient-specific items. Dental prosthetic devices and other qualifying durable medical equipment were exempt when purchased on behalf of a named individual,…
Did an Illinois sales-tax exemption number exempt a hotel operator from Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax on a room rented to a charity, school, or government entity?
No. The Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax was imposed on the hotel operator, not the room occupant, so an otherwise exempt charity, religious or educational group, or government entity's Illinois E-numb…
When were separately sold software and hardware maintenance agreements taxable in Illinois?
A maintenance agreement sold separately from the equipment or software generally was not a taxable sale, although the service provider owed Use Tax on parts transferred during service. An agreement in…
Did Illinois tax a $1-purchase-option equipment contract upfront or as installments, and how was a fair-market-value lease taxed?
A contract with a nominal or $1 purchase option generally was a conditional sale. The lessor-retailer owed Retailers' Occupation Tax on installment payments as it received them, and the customer owed …
Did an out-of-state winery with no Illinois location have to register and collect tax when shipping online wine orders directly to Illinois residents?
Yes. Under the law discussed in this 2013 letter, an out-of-state winery selling wine directly to Illinois residents had to obtain a Winery Shipper's License, also called a Direct Shipping Permit. If …
Were an intermodal trucker's separately stated storage, chassis, and fuel charges subject to Illinois sales or service tax?
Generally no, if the transactions involved no transfer of tangible personal property to the customer. IDOR said Retailers' Occupation, Use, Service Occupation, and Service Use Taxes generally did not …
Is domestic (non-bonded) jet fuel sold to a commercial airline for international flights exempt from Colorado tax the way fully tax-exempt bonded jet fuel is?
The Department wouldn't decide. Domestic (non-bonded) jet fuel used only for international flights might qualify for Colorado's fuel excise tax exemption, but only if the federal government exempts no…
Can a commercial dog breeder buy dog food tax-free for its breeding dogs and puppies as a production or farming input?
No. Dog food a commercial breeder feeds its breeding dogs and their puppies (later sold at retail and wholesale) is subject to sales tax. The production exemption in Tax Law 1105-B covers only supplie…
Do installment payments from a nonqualified supplemental retirement plan, received after age 59 1/2 and after retiring, qualify as 'pensions and annuities' for New York's $20,000 income subtraction?
Yes. Because the installments were paid after the petitioner separated from employment and after he turned 59½, and were attributable to personal services he performed for his former employer before r…
Was an LLC that bought one house and hired a contractor to renovate it engaged in a county-licensable BPOL business?
Yes as to doing business, but contractor classification required another review. Forming the LLC, seeking profitable investments, buying a house, obtaining a permit, and hiring a renovator required en…
What annual caps applied to Virginia's Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Investments Tax Credit in 2013 and 2014?
The annual cap was $4.5 million for taxable year 2013 and $5 million for 2014. The statute generally capped the credit at $5 million, but budget actions had imposed lower limits in several years. Tax …
What was Virginia's Land Preservation Tax Credit cap for calendar year 2013 after House Bill 1398?
The cap was $100 million. House Bill 1398 removed the inflation adjustment beginning in 2013, reducing the previously announced 2013 cap of $113,909,000. The law also stopped adding reissued credits t…
When were television-content licensing fees and advertising receipts included in Florida's corporate-income-tax sales factor?
License fees were Florida sales when the cable operator customer was located in Florida, and advertising receipts were Florida sales when the advertiser customer was located in Florida.
When does South Carolina's sales-tax exemption cover material-handling systems and equipment?
Material-handling systems and equipment used in a South Carolina manufacturing or distribution facility can qualify for the sales-and-use-tax exemption if the same taxpayer gives advance notice and in…
Could a federal firearms-training contractor buy weapons and ammunition tax-free because title passed to the government?
Generally no. The true object of each instructors-and-equipment line item was firearms training, not government acquisition of weapons, so the contractor was the taxable consumer even when title passe…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-13(7)C / (6)I: Do payments by members who fund a QETC's research and development qualify for the qualified emerging technology company capital tax credit?
No. The members who funded the company's research and development cannot claim the QETC capital tax credit, because they were owners of the company from inception, holding more than a 10% interest, an…
Are monthly fees for litigation-support and e-discovery hosting of a client's own documents subject to NY sales tax?
No. A provider that collects, processes, organizes, and hosts a client's own documents on a web platform -- letting the client retrieve, view, tag, redact, highlight, and annotate them -- is providing…
Could a home-inspection subcontractor deduct services resold by WIN when WIN issued the Type 5 NTTC after the audit's 60-day deadline and said it had paid tax?
No. Alan Moya performed home inspections solely as an independent subcontractor for WIN, which resold the services. Moya had no NTTC when his 2008 and 2009 returns were due and did not obtain one by t…
Could part-year Virginia residents claim a prorated state standard deduction after itemizing on their federal return?
No. Because the couple elected to itemize deductions on their 2010 federal return, Virginia law required them to itemize on their Virginia part-year return too. They could not use a prorated Virginia …
Were the initial sale and later reissuance of true equity memberships in a recreational club taxable as admissions?
No. The membership contributions bought equitable ownership interests rather than dues or admission rights because members received ownership certificates, voting rights, and rights to club assets on …
Are the various per-record fees a medical-records company charges (copying, retrieval, certification, postage, etc.) subject to Colorado sales tax?
None of them are taxable. The Department ruled that every enumerated fee a medical-records release-of-information company charges — basic, retrieval, certification, photo/per-page, handling, postage, …
Could an independent case manager use a timely Type 2 NTTC accepted in good faith to support a service-resale deduction that normally required a Type 5 NTTC?
Yes, for 2008. Teresa Maestas provided case-management services as an independent contractor to Visions, which resold them to the Department of Health and paid gross receipts tax. Visions mistakenly i…
What items and transactions qualified under Virginia's 2013 Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday guidelines?
During the historical May 25-31 holiday, qualifying hurricane-preparedness items priced at $60 or less and portable generators priced at $1,000 or less were exempt. The guide covered discounts, layawa…
Which of these are taxable in Colorado: garden seeds and plants, glucose tablets, rehydration products, glucose/urinalysis test strips, pregnancy and ovulation test kits, and a coupon book?
A mixed bag, item by item. (1) Garden/vegetable/fruit seeds, flower seeds, fruit trees, and vegetable plants are EXEMPT only if used in a COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURAL operation (§ 39-26-716(4)(b)); bought …
Which fees on a utility bill — connection, reconnection, disconnection, late payment, returned check — are subject to Colorado sales tax?
For a TAXABLE (commercial) gas or electric account, the fees split by whether they're part of getting the service. Connection, reconnection, and disconnection fees are generally TAXABLE — they're inse…
Was a monthly server-support/maintenance fee covering free Microsoft patches and upgrades taxable under Colorado's 2010–2012 software rules?
Probably not taxable — though the Department gave only general guidance. The question covered the window from March 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012, when 'standardized' (prewritten) software was taxable no m…
Did taxpayers avoid penalty and interest for 2001-2003 because they expected refunds, later paid the principal, and no Department employee suggested a managed audit?
No. Vincent and Tesslin Vigil were required to file New Mexico returns for 2001-2003 because they were residents required to file federal returns. Their belief that they usually received refunds and t…
Could a town receive a Communications Sales and Use Tax Trust Fund share after missing the original 2006 certification deadline?
Yes. The town had missed the original certification deadline, but later law allowed a Department ruling to adjust fund distributions. Communications-provider records, town records, and bank statements…
How did Virginia tax a leased drill and equipment transferred between commonly owned businesses?
Virginia adjusted the drill assessment to include only untaxed lease payments made during the audit period because the equipment was leased, not owned. It upheld use tax on equipment bought from a sep…
Could a dental supplier remove durable medical equipment from an audit before documenting the specific patients?
No, not without records. Virginia's dental-equipment exemption required proof that each item was purchased by or on behalf of a specific patient, while bulk purchases remained taxable. Because the sel…
Which CAP-program specialty-bed leases qualified for Virginia's patient-specific medical-equipment exemption?
Leases supported by patient information qualified; three unsupported invoices did not yet. CAP pricing and supplier inventory did not defeat the exemption because physician work orders and lease recor…
Could a drilling contractor overturn a consumer use-tax sample because a new business line caused many untaxed purchases?
Not as to the sample. Virginia found the one-year purchase sample representative because the new activity's remaining exceptions were normal recurring purchases and the contractor had not supplied the…
Did a multi-year work assignment and resident return in another state end a worker's Virginia domicile?
No. Although he lived and filed as a resident in the work state, the assignment appeared temporary and he kept a Virginia home available for his use, voted in Virginia, renewed a Virginia driver's lic…
Could part-year Virginia residents claim a credit for tax paid to the state where they lived later in the same year?
No for income earned while they lived in the other state. That income was not subject to Virginia tax and therefore did not qualify for Virginia's other-state credit. The couple also failed to identif…
Which drink-packaging and bar-coding equipment counted as taxable manufacturing machinery rather than exempt logistics equipment?
Equipment forming the retail package counted as manufacturing; later shipping and logistics equipment did not. Six-packs for Drink Mix 1 and ten-packs for Drink Mix 2 met consumer product standards an…
When did certified pollution-control equipment become exempt from Virginia local business property tax?
For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, properly certified pollution-control property was exempt from local taxation. Earlier years depended on the locality's ordinance; without a local e…
Could a student-loan group end its Florida consolidated-return election after federal law eliminated its former primary business?
Yes. Federal-law and business changes eliminated the group's historical core activity and sharply changed its Florida operations, establishing good cause for separate filing beginning in 2011, subject…
Did a corporation lose its Illinois net-loss carryforwards merely because it stopped doing business in Illinois before later returning?
No. Ceasing Illinois business did not, by itself, destroy tax attributes acquired under Section 207. If a loss otherwise carried under the statutory periods and ordering rules to a year when the corpo…
Which dues, fees, and assessments charged by a member-owned shooting club were taxable admissions?
Annual dues, tournament fees, and insurance fees were taxable admissions. Late fees, application fees that bought a genuine equity interest, and impact fees used solely for qualifying capital expendit…
Did a commercial landlord have to remit rental sales tax when its tenant paid rent but refused to pay the tax?
Yes. The landlord had to collect and remit tax when it received taxable rent. A tenant's refusal to pay or unsupported exemption claim did not eliminate the landlord's liability for uncollected tax.
Which dealers had to make Virginia's June 2013 accelerated sales-tax payment, and how was it calculated?
Dealers with at least $26 million of taxable sales or purchases during the prior July-June fiscal year generally had to pay 90% of their June 2012 sales-and-use-tax liability as an accelerated June 20…
Which surgical products sold to hospitals qualified for Florida's prescription and single-patient medical-product exemption?
Products required to be dispensed by a licensed practitioner's prescription or order and intended for one patient without reuse were exempt. Reusable identification items and brushes, plus nonprescrip…
Was a corporate vice president personally liable when the company failed to remit employee withholding taxes?
Yes. The officer knew of the unpaid withholding while the company continued operating and provided no objective evidence that he lacked authority to prevent the failure. An IRS decision not to hold hi…
Were per-program streamed and downloaded video sales subject to Virginia communications or retail sales tax?
No. Virginia treated the seller's streamed and downloaded video as digital products delivered electronically, excluded from the communications tax whether the customer received a permanent or time-lim…
Was a deed of trust securing a federal land credit association's loan exempt from Virginia recordation tax?
Yes. Federal law exempted the federally chartered land credit association and its mortgage instruments from state and local taxation other than real-property tax. Because Virginia's recordation tax is…
Can Virginia Public Document 13-57 still be used as the Department's 2013 sales-tax-change guidance?
No. Virginia's official page states that P.D. 13-57 was superseded by revised Guidelines issued as P.D. 13-103 on June 14, 2013. The revision followed legal advice that the additional 0.7% Northern Vi…
Did registering to vote in another state change domicile when the taxpayer remained physically overseas?
No. The taxpayer registered to vote in another state but spent 2008 abroad and provided no evidence that he was physically present in the claimed state during 2008 or 2009. Because a new domicile requ…
Did living in another state for 2008 end Virginia domicile, and could the taxpayer claim credit for that state's tax?
Virginia found that the taxpayer remained domiciled in Virginia because she kept stronger permanent ties here, including a Virginia vehicle and a license renewed in October 2008, even though she lived…
Who had to report door-to-door frozen-food sales, and was the company's 3% payment-processing fee taxable?
The distributors were independent contractors selling on consignment, but Virginia could still require the registered food company to report and remit tax on their door-to-door sales. The company had …
When must a remote retailer register and collect Kansas sales or use tax after the 2013 changes?
Kansas Notice 13-05 (May 2013) explains that Sections 9 and 18 of 2013 Senate Bill 83 expanded when certain remote retailers must register with the Department and collect and remit Kansas retailers' s…
Could a headquarters CITC project calculate project income with a payroll-based share of the taxpayer's Florida taxable income?
Yes. The Department accepted the proposed payroll-factor method because the headquarters functions generated income that was not readily separable, but warned that materially different current or adde…
Did checking an online box create the signed software-license agreement needed for Illinois's canned-software license exemption?
No. In this 2013 GIL, IDOR said checking a box to accept online license terms was not a written agreement signed by both licensor and customer. Canned software and updates generally were taxable unles…
How did Illinois tax dealership entrance towers or signs that were installed on concrete foundations?
If an entrance tower or sign was permanently affixed to real property, the installer was a construction contractor and the end user of the materials, owing Use Tax on cost rather than sales tax on the…
How did Illinois tax a facilities manager's fixed service fees, repair materials, construction work, and subcontracted services?
IDOR did not classify every fee. Permanently installed materials made the provider a construction contractor owing Use Tax on material cost, with no authority to bill the customer 'sales tax.' For oth…
Could a salvage business buy stamped cigarettes from a closing smoke shop and resell them to Illinois retailers without a distributor license?
It could buy the stamped cigarettes, but it could not resell them to retailers without an Illinois cigarette distributor's license. Retailers were required to obtain cigarettes for retail sale from li…
Were a private vehicle-repossession contractor's receipts from federally chartered credit unions immune from New Mexico gross receipts tax?
No. Federally chartered credit unions are federal instrumentalities immune from direct state taxation, but West Rock was a separate for-profit repossession contractor. New Mexico's gross receipts tax …
Did Virginia reverse local property-tax assessments based on revised fixed-asset schedules?
No. Virginia found no basis to change its earlier decision because the business still had to give the city adequate records proving which assets were replaced, obsolete, or absent on each tax date. Wi…
Were vehicles taxable in Virginia when a Virginia dealer prepared them before out-of-state delivery?
No. The vehicles qualified for Virginia's interstate-commerce exemption because the manufacturer retained title under FOB-destination terms until delivery to the out-of-state hospital. The Virginia de…
When were software modifications, maintenance, upgrades, and training exempt from Virginia sales tax?
Separately stated labor to modify prewritten software was exempt even if delivered on tangible media. Maintenance and upgrades were exempt only when agreements and verifiable records established elect…
How these rulings are useful
- See how the rule applies: A letter ruling shows how a state revenue department actually applied the tax law to a specific business and set of facts.
- Plan with confidence: Find a ruling with facts close to yours before you charge, remit, or claim an exemption.
- Binding only on the requester: A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who asked. It is persuasive, not a substitute for your own ruling or professional advice.
- Research across states: Compare how different states treat the same issue, from SaaS and food exemptions to nexus and contractor purchases.