State Tax Rulings
Free state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Did Florida documentary stamp tax apply when a lender signed a credit confirmation in Florida but the borrower signed and delivered it outside Florida?
No. The lender's Florida signature was not the borrower's promise to pay, and the borrower signed and delivered outside Florida. An unsigned extension notice renewing the maturity date was also nontax…
Who can get a temporary beer and wine permit for a special event in South Carolina as of January 27, 2011 (per SC IL #11-2)?
As of January 27, 2011, temporary beer and wine permits for fairs and special functions are no longer limited to nonprofit organizations — individuals and entities, including businesses, may also appl…
Could estate beneficiaries subtract lump-sum survivor annuity death benefits from Virginia taxable income?
Yes. The payments qualified because each came from an annuity contract between the deceased annuitant and an insurance company, was paid to a beneficiary in a lump sum, and was subject to federal inco…
When did Kansas's environmental assurance fee on petroleum products resume in 2011?
This Kansas Department of Revenue notice (approval date January 25, 2011) advises all Kansas Environmental Assurance Fee filers that, effective March 1, 2011, the environmental assurance fee of $.01 p…
Is Build America Bond interest subject to Louisiana individual income tax?
Louisiana-issued state or local Build America Bond interest and credit income was exempt. Interest and credit income from Build America Bonds issued by other states or their local governments was taxa…
Must an out-of-state oil-well service company register for Kansas sales and withholding taxes when its employees perform work at Kansas wells?
Yes. Sending employees into Kansas to service oil and gas wells creates physical presence and Kansas tax nexus, so the company must register as a retailer and for the taxes identified through the Kans…
What does a film or TV production company have to do -- in terms of headquarters status, spending thresholds, and documentation -- to claim Tennessee's 15% production incentive credit, and does the $1 million spending threshold apply once or to every production?
A 7-part ruling walking through the full eligibility framework. The Department confirmed the Taxpayer qualifies as a Tennessee 'headquarters facility' for purposes of the 15% movie/episodic-TV product…
Did a Virginia longarm quilter have to collect sales tax on labor when customers supplied the quilt top, backing, and batting?
Yes. Joining and quilting the customer-supplied layers changed tangible personal property and therefore constituted fabrication. Virginia required the quilter to collect sales tax on the full sales pr…
Could a multistate service company using payroll apportionment claim Virginia's BPOL deduction for gross receipts from business conducted in other states?
Potentially. The company had to situs total receipts to the local definite place of business first, using payroll apportionment because specific situs was impractical. It could then deduct an apportio…
Did federal protection for multistate vessel pilots prevent Virginia tax on a nonresident pilot's partnership income from work in Virginia waters?
No. The federal rule protected compensation for piloting duties from tax outside the pilot's residence state, but the pilot association reported its fees less expenses as partnership ordinary income. …
Did Virginia's manufacturing exemption cover a food processor's renovation forklifts, floor scrubbers, storage racks, furniture, and maintenance purchases?
No on the remaining contested items. Virginia upheld tax because the forklifts were first used for building renovation, floor scrubbers and maintenance items were ancillary rather than directly used i…
Which subcontracted hosting, maintenance, and exhibit costs could a Virginia government contractor remove from its use-tax audit?
Virginia removed both groups at issue. Hosting and maintenance were nontaxable because the subcontractor kept the application on its server and delivered no tangible property. The exhibits were tangib…
Could S corporation shareholders subtract dividends from an IC-DISC that operated from an Illinois enterprise-zone address but had no payroll or property there?
No, based on the facts submitted. The IC-DISC was a Section 304(a) corporation, so the applicable enterprise-zone test used its property and payroll factors—not its sales or commission income. The req…
Which sales, purchases, exemptions, and credits did Virginia allow or reject in a quarry's multi-issue 2004-2007 tax audit appeal?
Virginia ordered several specific sales and purchase adjustments, made others conditional on verification, and rejected many claims that lacked invoices, valid exemption certificates, use records, DEQ…
Were antibacterial hand soaps, gels, sprays, lotions, wipes, sanitizers, and foams exempt Virginia nonprescription drugs?
No. Virginia classified the labeled products as cosmetics or toiletry articles because their primary purposes were cleansing, grooming, softening, or promoting attractiveness. Alcohol or triclosan use…
When does a Kansas retailer report sales tax on layaway and partial-payment purchases, and are retained layaway fees taxable?
Tax is due when the goods are delivered, not when layaway deposits or periodic payments are received. For a standard layaway, the retailer reports tax on the total selling price when the final payment…
Were F.O.B.-origin sales from a Virginia concrete plant exempt because the buyer's interstate carrier delivered the products to North Carolina?
No. The sales terms made the buyer responsible for shipping and ended the seller's delivery obligations after loading and approval at the Virginia plant. The buyer's carrier appeared to act as a contr…
Could a New Jersey taxpayer use I.R.C. § 1341 or amend a prior return after repaying income previously reported under a claim of right?
No. New Jersey had no counterpart to I.R.C. § 1341, so the taxpayer could not amend the earlier return or use the federal alternative recalculation. A repayment could offset other income only in the s…
Were video-production and editing services subject to Florida sales tax when the finished video was delivered electronically?
No, when delivery occurred only by file-transfer protocol or email. Delivery on a hard drive, CD, flash drive, DVD, or other physical medium was taxable because tangible personal property was transfer…
What does a company have to show to qualify as a 'bona fide Tennessee advertising agency' so that a film or TV production company's payments to it count toward Tennessee's 15% movie/TV production tax incentive?
Yes, the venture qualifies — and the Department laid out the test for any similar agency. Payments by a qualified film/TV production company to a Tennessee advertising agency count as 'qualified expen…
Were separately stated optional and mandatory maintenance charges taxable when tied to a qualifying software license?
Assuming the software license met every condition in 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.1935(a)(1), the GIL says charges for support, maintenance, and updates under the qualified license were not subject to Retail…
Were software-maintenance charges taxable when separately invoiced but governed by the same contract as a qualifying software license?
Assuming the software license met every condition in 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.1935(a)(1), the GIL says support, maintenance, and update charges provided under that qualified license were not subject to R…
Did an employee abandon Virginia domicile by moving to another state for work while keeping a Virginia home, vehicles, and driver's license?
No. Although the taxpayer moved and rented an apartment in State A, he kept his Virginia house and vehicle registrations and renewed a Virginia driver's license in 2007. Virginia found that he had not…
How much documentary stamp tax applied when a $100 foreclosure bid was split among three certificates of title for three parcels?
Each certificate owed $0.70, for $2.10 total, because each parcel's allocated share of the $100 bid was below $100. With no other consideration, the court-approved bifurcation was not a taxable assign…
Did an Illinois restaurant charge tax on the menu price before an unreimbursed discount or voucher?
No for an unreimbursed discount. ST 11-0003-GIL says only the discounted amount actually received by the restaurant was taxable when no supplier or other party reimbursed the discount. If the seller r…
Did a Florida city's direct-purchase procedures exempt equipment and materials for an energy-efficiency public-works project?
Yes, if the city followed its agreement and purchase-order procedures: direct order, invoice, public-fund payment, title, and risk of loss. The city also had to issue Certificates of Entitlement to ve…
When could refrigerated trailers leased for interstate commerce qualify for Illinois's rolling-stock exemption?
Qualification depended on use, not merely on the item being a trailer. ST 11-0002-GIL says the rolling-stock exemption could cover property sold to an interstate carrier for hire, or to a lessor under…
Which separately stated charges could be excluded from Illinois automobile-rental gross receipts?
The GIL did not classify every listed rental-car fee without reviewing the contracts. Under the 2011 rules, all consideration for an automobile rental of one year or less entered gross receipts unless…
Could a Virginia county impose BPOL tax on real-property lessors operating inside a town that could not itself tax those lessors?
Only with the town's permission. The county's pre-1974 tax history allowed it to tax real-property lessors generally, while the town's history did not. But a county BPOL tax ordinarily does not apply …
Could a Virginia county impose BPOL tax on real-property lessors operating inside a town that could not itself tax those lessors?
Only with the town's permission. The county's pre-1974 tax history allowed it to tax real-property lessors generally, while the town's history did not. But a county BPOL tax ordinarily does not apply …
Are third-party laboratory testing services for pharmaceutical development subject to Kansas sales tax, and does the customer need an exemption certificate?
No. Laboratory testing is not one of the services enumerated as taxable under the Kansas retailers' sales tax act, so the testing charge is not subject to tax and the customer does not need an exempti…
Did Edward Marshall owe negligence penalty and interest after failing to report New Mexico gross receipts from his 2006 services?
Partly. Marshall was negligent because he failed to report about $26,000 earned from New Mexico services, and Department employees were not required to identify a separate gross receipts tax issue dur…
Did four 15-ton refrigeration units installed at a warehouse become real-property fixtures or remain business tangible personal property?
Virginia did not make a final fixture classification. The city erred by focusing on the seasonal tenant's production use rather than the owner's intent, but the owner had not supplied objective eviden…
Were furniture and equipment purchased under a Department of Defense dormitory contract exempt as qualifying federal-contract property?
Yes, for the separate furnish-and-install scope where the items were direct contract costs and title vested in the federal government. The real-property construction contract itself was not a qualifyi…
Could a Virginia county tax all BPOL gross receipts of a tree-service and construction company whose county office performed only administration?
No. The company had definite places of business in both the city and county, but its county office performed only ancillary recordkeeping and administration. Services were directed and controlled from…
Could an Illinois individual subtract current-year federal itemized deductions on the Illinois income tax return?
No. Illinois individual income tax began with federal adjusted gross income, which was computed before itemized deductions, and Section 203 allowed only express modifications. Section 203(a)(2)(I) all…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #10-15)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #10-15. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified,…
Are a utility's charges for water service and sewer service subject to NY sales tax?
Water service is exempt; sewer service is taxable. Water delivered to customers through pipes or mains is exempt from sales and use tax under Tax Law 1115(a)(2), so the water-works company's charges f…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-11(1)C: How does a prepaid debit card processor source its card-sale fulfillment fees and its transaction fees for the Article 9-A receipts factor?
Source by activity. The fulfillment fees a prepaid debit card processor earns from selling cards are other business receipts (the cards are intangible rights to redeem), sourced to where the card is s…
Was a taxpayer an actual Virginia resident in 2005, making her State A retirement income taxable, when evidence indicated more than 183 Virginia days?
Yes on the existing record. Virginia concluded that the taxpayer maintained a Virginia abode for more than 183 days in 2005, making her an actual resident even if State A domicile continued. Her feder…
Could trailer buyers recover Illinois Use Tax after the seller was later assessed tax by another state?
No on the facts described. ST 10-0128-GIL says Illinois allowed a credit only when tax properly due to another state had already been paid at the time Illinois Use Tax was paid. A later assessment by …
Did Illinois classify a sweetened liquid mental-clarity supplement as food, a soft drink, or medicine?
Unresolved. ST 10-0127-GIL did not expressly say whether the referenced liquid supplement qualified for the lower rate or the general-merchandise rate. It explained that a sweetened nonalcoholic bever…
Did Illinois approve a pad-printing equipment package for the graphic-arts machinery exemption?
No specific approval was issued. ST 10-0126-GIL says the request lacked enough item-by-item purpose and use information, so the Department declined the PLR. It explained that the historical exemption …
How did Illinois tax hostess reward credits, free products, half-price items, and shipping in party-plan sales?
A hostess reward credit based on party sales entered taxable gross receipts when applied to merchandise, at the dollar amount credited. If the company instead gave merchandise away, the company owed U…
Under Virginia's original 2011 prepaid wireless E-911 guidelines, which transactions carried the fee and how did dealers collect and report it?
Beginning January 1, 2011, the historical guidelines imposed a $0.50 fee on each retail purchase of prepaid wireless calling service, including prepaid unlimited service and bundled sales containing p…
Could a county tax blue-book aircraft values when the resident claimed he owned only FAA titles for aircraft that no longer physically existed?
Not without proof of tangible aircraft. FAA records showed titles in the resident's name, but local mobile property tax applied to physical property that could be perceived and was sitused in the coun…
Were custom-printed checks and deposit tickets sold by a bank subject to Retailers' Occupation Tax or Service Occupation Tax?
Generally Service Occupation Tax for genuinely custom print items. ST 10-0124-GIL says a special-order product of general utility that performs substantially like a stock item was a taxable retail sal…
How did Illinois tax a remodeling contractor's resale of furniture and other items that remained personal property after installation?
The contractor was acting as a retailer when it sold items that remained tangible personal property rather than becoming part of the real estate. ST 10-0123-GIL says those items could be purchased for…
Were automobile-dealer direct-mail program fees subject to Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax?
Apparently not under Retailers' Occupation Tax. ST 10-0122-GIL says there did not appear to be Retailers' Occupation Tax liability on the program fees billed by the automobile company to participating…
Were subscriptions to a hosted business-information database and web tools taxable in Illinois?
Conditionally no. ST 10-0121-GIL says a company providing access to a database of information without transferring software or other tangible personal property would incur no Illinois Retailers' Occup…
Could a manufacturer deduct related-member factoring losses under Virginia's subject-to-tax or valid-business-purpose exceptions?
Virginia did not allow a full subject-to-tax exception because only the affiliate income apportioned to and taxed by other states qualified. But it granted the valid-business-purpose exception: the le…
How did Virginia's related-member addback rules apply to pre-2004 factoring, post-2004 factoring losses, and interest on receivables financing?
Pre-2004 factoring and loan transactions were not subject to addback because the statutes were not yet effective. For 2004 and later, factoring losses were intangible expenses subject to addback unles…
How did Virginia tax a glass contractor's government sales when glass was sold alone versus furnished and installed in real property?
Glass sold without installation to a federal, Virginia, or Virginia local government was exempt when bought on an official purchase order and paid directly from public funds. But when the contractor f…
Did an out-of-state parent owe Virginia corporate income tax from licensing intangibles to a related seller whose Virginia activity was solicitation?
No Virginia income tax was due on the stated facts. The related seller's two Virginia employees only solicited orders, and the other subsidiaries had no Virginia factors. The parent's intangible licen…
Did a government contractor's staffed trailer on a military base create a definite place of business and situs for BPOL service receipts?
Yes. Although the trailer had no public sign, mail, solicitation, or advertised phone number, the contractor maintained a continuous presence, furniture, computers, a phone, meetings, and administrati…
Did Illinois's rolling-stock exemption cover cellular data charges for GPS tracking on interstate trucks?
No. ST 10-0120-GIL says the rolling-stock exemption was available only under Illinois sales, use, service occupation, and service use taxes—not the Telecommunications Excise Tax. The Department could …
Was propane used in forklifts exempt as manufacturing machinery or eligible for Illinois Manufacturer's Purchase Credit?
Propane and other fuel did not qualify for the manufacturing machinery and equipment exemption itself. Under the historical Manufacturer's Purchase Credit rules described in ST 10-0119-GIL, a qualifyi…
Under Virginia's superseded 2010 motion-picture-credit guidelines, which productions and expenses qualified and how was the refundable credit claimed?
Under these superseded guidelines, qualifying productions spending at least $250,000 in Virginia could receive a 15% base refundable credit, a 5% distressed-area bonus, resident-payroll credits of 10%…
Did a government contractor's staffed trailer on a military base create a definite place of business and situs for BPOL service receipts?
Yes. Although the trailer had no public sign, mail, solicitation, or advertised phone number, the contractor maintained a continuous presence, furniture, computers, a phone, meetings, and administrati…
Does the 2009 law (Part N-1) narrowing NY's aircraft exemptions apply to an aircraft bought out-of-state before the law's effective date but first used in NY afterward?
No. Part N-1 of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2009, which narrowed both the nonresident use-tax exemption and the commercial-aircraft exemption, applies only to sales made and uses occurring after its Jun…
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