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.
Are complete-nutrition and specialized nutritional shakes exempt from Colorado sales tax as 'food,' or taxable as dietary supplements?
They're exempt food. Four nutritional shakes — a complete-nutrition shake, a specialized-nutrition shake, a diabetic shake, and a post-workout shake — all qualify as exempt 'food' because each carries…
Is a web-based subscription service for sending, receiving, and tracking large digital files subject to Colorado sales or use tax, or is it a non-taxable service?
It's a non-taxable service. A web-based subscription for sending, receiving, and tracking large digital files is a service — not a rental of software or servers — so it is not subject to Colorado sale…
Could a flooring distributor remove sampled sales using late resale certificates or customers' direct use-tax payments?
Only in part. Virginia removed sales supported by valid certificates or verified customer records, but kept sales backed by incomplete or unverified certificates. Customers' direct use-tax payments di…
Who owed Virginia communications tax when a provider billed lodging facilities in January 2007 for December 2006 services?
The January 2007 bills were subject to the new 5% communications sales and use tax even though the services were provided in December 2006. Under Virginia's transition guidance, the bill date controll…
Who owed Virginia communications tax when a provider billed lodging facilities in January 2007 for December 2006 services?
The January 2007 bills were subject to the new 5% communications sales and use tax even though the services were provided in December 2006. Under Virginia's transition guidance, the bill date controll…
Could an Illinois taxpayer subtract nonqualified long-term care insurance reimbursements that were included in federal adjusted gross income?
No. Because the nonqualified policy reimbursements were included in federal adjusted gross income, they also entered Illinois income. Section 203(h) allowed only expressly listed subtractions, and Ill…
Are Illinois's state Gas Revenue and Gas Use Taxes alternatives to a municipality's natural-gas tax, or can the local tax apply in addition?
The local tax can apply in addition. Illinois's statewide Gas Revenue Tax applied to persons distributing, supplying, furnishing, or selling gas for use or consumption and not for resale at the lower …
What Virginia tax interest rates applied during the first quarter of 2012?
Virginia's first-quarter 2012 rates were 5% for tax underpayments and 5% for overpayments. The reduced rate for qualifying assessments under administrative appeal was 0% after nine months until the De…
What Illinois rules should a wholesaler use to validate resale certificates and customers' certificates of registration?
The GIL did not answer the wholesaler's detailed questionnaire item by item. It directed the seller to 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.1405 and Subpart N for certificates of resale and sales for resale, and to …
Which medicines, prosthetic devices, diabetic supplies, and medical equipment qualified for South Carolina sales-tax exemptions?
The ruling did not create one blanket medical exemption. Tax treatment depended on the item, buyer, prescription requirement, patient use, payment source, and seller. Prescription medicines sold by pr…
Could severe medical problems extend Virginia's deadline to claim a 2004 income-tax overpayment as a 2005 credit?
No. Applying an overpayment to the next year was subject to the same three-year limit as a refund. The taxpayer's missed extended filing date made the extension invalid, and the September 2008 return …
Did using an Illinois third-party marketing company create Illinois sales-tax nexus for an out-of-state e-commerce service provider or its clients?
Unresolved. Illinois declined to determine nexus through a GIL or PLR because it said the relevant facts are often best gathered by an auditor. The company managed websites, warehousing, fulfillment, …
Was an unused railroad line still operating property for Virginia local property tax before formal abandonment?
Yes. Although the line was unused and parts were paved over, the railroad retained an easement allowing freight service and did not permanently withdraw the property until its September 2010 abandonme…
Where were an interstate motor carrier's tractors and trailers subject to Virginia local tangible-property tax?
The city could not assess additional 2007 tax because its assessment period had expired. For 2008-2010, however, situs depended on where tractors and trailers were normally garaged or parked, consider…
How does Illinois tax fabricated structural steel sold without installation, incorporated under a construction contract, or shipped out of state?
It depends on the product, design work, contract, and delivery. A fabricated item substantially similar to stock or standard property produced Retailers' Occupation Tax on the full selling price witho…
Does an Illinois aircraft dealer owe Use Tax when an inventory aircraft is used for demonstrations and remains unsold for more than 18 months?
Yes. Demonstration or interim use by a retailer was exempt while the aircraft remained inventory and available for sale, but the 18-month period began when the aircraft was purchased. If it was not so…
How did Illinois treat an out-of-state repair manager that hired local contractors for plumbing, electrical, painting, and building repairs?
Illinois did not expressly decide the repair manager's nexus or final tax liability. It explained that contractors permanently incorporating property into real estate were end users owing Use Tax on c…
Could subsidiaries with no positive Virginia apportionment factor join a consolidated return, and could the parent use a liquidated subsidiary's NOL?
The subsidiaries could not join the 2006-2007 Virginia consolidated returns because neither had a positive Virginia apportionment factor or Virginia-source income. Incorporation, Virginia-based direct…
Are a laser-surgery treatment-card fee and a per-procedure patent-license fee subject to NY sales tax?
Yes, both are taxable. The $10 plastic treatment card that must be inserted to operate the laser is itself tangible personal property with real utility (it activates the equipment), not a mere token o…
Do Illinois bulk-sales notice and withholding rules apply when a lender merely repossesses or forecloses on property securing a defaulted loan?
Generally no when the successor does no more than repossess or foreclose on property covered by the note, mortgage, or security interest. Illinois said no statutory 'sale or transfer' then occurs, so …
Could the Virginia Tax Commissioner decide whether a county should value a used recreational vehicle at purchase price or NADA value?
No. Although the Department can hear certain local-tax appeals, Virginia law expressly bars the Tax Commissioner from determining the value of property subject to local mobile property tax. The Depart…
Must a private fixed-base operator on a federal installation collect Kansas sales tax on aviation fuel, and may its supplier accept a resale exemption?
Yes. A private fixed-base operator on a federal military base or other federal land must register and collect Kansas sales tax on taxable aviation-fuel sales; its location does not create an exemption…
Did joint-bank records prove that a Virginia resident separately paid all itemized deductions from a nonresident spouse?
Not yet. The resident's payroll entered the joint account used for mortgage and real-estate-tax payments, but nine unexplained transfers also entered that account. Without proof that the transferred f…
Could Virginia include a nonresident servicemember spouse's federally excluded combat pay when allocating joint itemized deductions?
No. Virginia could proportionally allocate joint deductions and exemptions between the resident taxpayer and nonresident spouse when the items were not separately accounted for. But the ratio had to u…
Are charges to assemble a manufactured product, such as an office chair, subject to Kansas sales tax?
Yes. Charges to assemble a manufactured product from component parts are subject to Kansas sales tax. A retailer's assembly charge is part of the taxable selling price, including when separately state…
How did Virginia tax pond fountains, aeration equipment, weed-control services, fish, plants, and installation?
Fountain and aeration treatment depended on whether installation made the equipment part of the realty: a contractor paid tax on permanent fixtures, while equipment remaining tangible was a taxable re…
Did refinancing through a lender's subsidiary qualify for Virginia's same-lender recordation-tax exemption when the parent serviced the loan?
No. The original lender's subsidiary made the refinanced loan, while the parent merely serviced it and received the monthly payments. Because the parent and subsidiary were separate legal entities, th…
Could a Virginia resident claim all dependent exemptions but only a proportional share of joint itemized deductions with a nonresident spouse?
Yes. Claiming all dependent exemptions on the resident's separate state return showed the spouses' mutual agreement and separate accounting, so those exemptions were allowed. But the resident did not …
Did a former employer's failure to withhold New Mexico tax excuse income tax, penalty, and interest on a profit-sharing distribution?
No. The hearing officer upheld the tax, penalty, and interest because the profit-sharing distribution was taxable income, no New Mexico tax was withheld, and the taxpayer did not amend his state retur…
Was Bonnie Yearley's Navajo Nation income exempt while she lived with and cared for her father on the reservation but remained domiciled in Gallup?
Yes. Section 7-2-5.5 required that a qualifying tribal member earn income from work within tribal boundaries and live within those boundaries; it did not require the member to abandon a New Mexico dom…
What is South Carolina's tax interest rate for the period ending March 31, 2012 (per SC IL #11-20)?
3%. SC Information Letter #11-20 sets South Carolina's interest rate on tax underpayments and overpayments at 3% for the period October 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012. Interest is compounded daily, ex…
Could a qualifying industrial vacuum loader bought in 1999 still use Illinois's former pollution-control-facility exemption when the owner later sought title?
Potentially, but the GIL did not rule that this taxpayer's vehicle qualified or waive tax, penalty, or interest. Illinois said the pollution-control-facility exemption covered qualifying sales through…
Are fees for internet access to healthcare recall information, location databases, and unique database prefixes subject to Illinois sales or use tax?
Illinois declined the requested PLR because its regulations addressed the issue, then stated the general rules. Information or data transferred or downloaded electronically was not tangible personal p…
Who decides a property's actual value when Virginia deed recordation tax differs from the stated consideration?
The circuit-court clerk. Virginia recordation tax used the greater of consideration or actual property value, and assessed value carried a strong presumption but was not conclusive. The Department ask…
Could Virginia include a nonresident servicemember spouse's federally excluded combat pay when allocating joint deductions and exemptions?
No. Virginia could proportionally allocate joint deductions and exemptions when the resident and nonresident spouses did not separately account for them, but the calculation had to use federal adjuste…
Could Virginia include a nonresident servicemember spouse's federally excluded combat pay when allocating joint itemized deductions?
No. Virginia could proportionally allocate deductions when the resident and nonresident spouses did not separately account for them, but the calculation had to use federal adjusted gross income. Comba…
Did an out-of-state employer have to withhold Illinois tax from a temporary nonresident employee working entirely in Illinois?
Yes. The nonresident inspector worked for two or three months entirely at an Illinois fabrication shop. Section 304(a)(2)(B) therefore treated the wages as compensation paid in Illinois, even though t…
Did a military logistics contractor have a definite place of business at the city supply center for BPOL tax?
Yes, on the stated facts. Hundreds of employees and an on-site supervisor continuously worked in designated, segregated military space on tasks lasting at least 30 days; the contractor also used a loc…
Did Virginia's reduced food-tax rate apply to hospital meal-management fees or raw ingredients?
The general rate applied to management fees connected with prepared hot patient meals, because for-profit healthcare facilities consumed those meals as part of patient care. Raw food ingredients could…
Were furnished corporate apartments a county definite place of business with rental receipts sitused there for BPOL tax?
Yes. The provider leased apartments from owners and sublet them directly to client occupants under its own agreements. Furnishings, utilities, housekeeping, and other amenities did not change the esse…
How did South Carolina change the tax treatment of software maintenance contracts effective September 1, 2011?
Effective September 1, 2011, a software maintenance contract purchased at the same time as taxable software remained taxable, unless the software sale was exempt. A maintenance contract purchased afte…
When must a South Carolina real estate agent or listing service notify the Department about a short-term rental property (per SC IL #11-19)?
A real estate agent, broker, or listing service that handles taxable short-term (less-than-90-day) rental accommodations for an owner must notify the South Carolina Department of Revenue when the owne…
How did Kansas sales and use tax apply to an out-of-state direct-mail advertiser with Kansas sales agents and mailers sent to Kansas homes?
The advertiser had Kansas nexus because agents and employees operated in the state, so it had to register and report Kansas consumers' use tax. The taxable event was its purchase of direct-mail packet…
Are facial moisturizers and cosmetic makeup that contain an SPF of 2 or greater exempt from NY sales tax?
No. These products -- facial moisturizers and liquid/powder makeup that happen to contain a sun-protection ingredient (SPF 2+) -- are cosmetics, and cosmetics are taxable under Tax Law 1115(a)(3) even…
Are the 10-year installment payments a company makes from its nonqualified deferred compensation plan to two former employees, who are now nonresidents of New York, subject to New York personal income tax and withholding?
No. Because each employee elected to receive Plan distributions as substantially equal annual installments over a 10-year period, the payments qualify as 'retirement income' under 4 U.S.C. § 114(b)(1)…
May a Kansas pet-food manufacturer buy nonreturnable pallets and shrink wrap without sales tax?
Yes. Nonreturnable wood pallets and shrink wrap used to handle, ship, and store bagged pet food qualify as ingredient or component parts under K.S.A. 79-3602(p) and are exempt under K.S.A. 79-3606(m).…
Could Exerplay deduct playground equipment sold to governments and nonprofits when it installed the equipment permanently in concrete?
Mostly no. Playground structures, benches, tables, and poured-in-place surfacing that Exerplay permanently attached to the ground became fixtures and construction materials, so the government and 501(…
Is a fixed-price guided Segway tour a taxable rental of tangible property or an exempt tour service in NY?
It's a taxable rental. Tour services aren't an enumerated taxable service, but here the primary thing the customer buys is the right to use the Segway. The customer has physical possession of the Segw…
Was real property contributed by a corporation for a 42% LLC interest exempt from Virginia recordation tax?
No. Both combining corporations survived, the new entity was an LLC rather than the corporation required for the cited federal reorganizations, the transfer was corporation-to-LLC rather than parent-t…
What Illinois sales-tax amount applies when grocery customers redeem trading stamps for free or nominal-price cookware?
The retailer transferring the cookware owed Retailers' Occupation Tax and collected Use Tax based on the cookware's retail value, even when the customer received it for stamps or a nominal cash amount…
How did South Carolina change the tax treatment of warranty and maintenance contracts effective September 1, 2011?
Effective September 1, 2011, a warranty or maintenance contract bought at the same time as taxable tangible personal property remained taxable, unless the property sale was exempt. A contract bought a…
Were Internet-delivered call-tracking services exempt from Virginia sales tax or taxable as communications services?
Both rules applied differently. Call tracking delivered caller information through the Internet with no tangible property and was exempt from retail sales and use tax. But routing toll-free calls met …
If you move your domicile out of New York but still own your New York apartment while it's under contract for sale, and you spend more than 183 days in New York that year, are you still taxed as a New York statutory resident?
Not necessarily. New York held that a couple who changed their domicile to Connecticut did not maintain a permanent place of abode in New York because their real estate listing agreement legally barre…
Did transferring an aircraft from its owner to the owner's revocable trust before death trigger Illinois Aircraft Use Tax even without consideration?
Yes. Illinois treated the transfer from the individual owner to the revocable trust as a taxable transfer between separate legal entities, even though no money changed hands and the owner could amend …
Could a restaurant avoid Virginia tax, interest, or penalty because the employee handling sales-tax compliance was hospitalized?
No. The restaurant had collected sales tax from customers, held it in trust for Virginia, and failed to file returns or remit the money. The responsible employee's lengthy hospital stay did not change…
Is a lump-sum charge to operate and manage water and wastewater treatment facilities subject to NY sales tax?
No. The company contracts to fully operate, manage, and maintain water and wastewater treatment plants -- staffing them with state-certified, licensed operators and running the facilities in complianc…
Were website-generated automobile sales leads taxable information services in New Jersey when billed per lead or by subscription?
Yes. A website's nonexclusive list of prospective buyers, contact details, and desired vehicles was a taxable information service because the seller collected the information and could provide it to m…
Could a South Carolina LLC pass the former biomass energy credit through an S corporation to individual shareholders, and where did the annual cap apply?
Yes. The former biomass credit could pass from the LLC to its S-corporation member and then to individual shareholders. The $650,000 annual cap applied at the LLC level, and allocations had to follow …
Was an out-of-state national bank with only a Virginia mortgage-loan office subject to bank franchise tax and exempt from BPOL tax?
Yes. After a circuit-court decision, Virginia reversed its earlier policy and treated the national bank's mortgage office as sufficient for bank franchise tax even without Virginia deposits. The bank …
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-11(10)C: Is an out-of-state seller of tangible gifts protected from corporate franchise tax by Public Law 86-272 when some orders are filled by unaffiliated New York third-party vendors?
No, it is not subject to franchise tax. A North Carolina company that sells only tangible gifts and awards into New York -- some shipped by unaffiliated New York third-party vendors it never takes tit…
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.