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 divorce order requiring an ex-husband to pay the couple's 1999 taxes release his former wife from New Mexico's joint tax assessment?
No. Brenda Murray and her former husband filed a joint federal return and were required to file the New Mexico return on the same basis, making each individually liable for the tax. Their divorce orde…
When was an outdoor sign a taxable movable sale rather than an immovable construction for Louisiana sales tax?
Most removable wall, pylon, billboard, and freestanding signs were taxable movable property, while separately stated installation was not taxed. Permanent foundations and structures could be immovable…
After an S corporation's sole owner moved away, would Virginia tax the owner's share of corporate income and salary tied to continued Virginia sales work?
Yes, to the Virginia-source portions. Regular in-state sales and administration services gave the S corporation nexus and required apportionment. The nonresident owner had to report the apportioned pa…
Could nine corporate affiliates each use a separate $100,000 Land Preservation Tax Credit on one consolidated Virginia return?
Yes. The $100,000 limit applied per taxpayer, not per return. Because each of nine corporations had separately acquired a $100,000 credit, the consolidated group could claim $900,000. If one affiliate…
Did a filed federal return transcript prove that Virginia wage income was not taxable and require cancellation of an estimated 2003 assessment?
No. The transcript showed only that a federal return was filed, not that the IRS determined the Virginia wage income was nontaxable. Without documents disproving the IRS information or Virginia assess…
Were mechanical-bull and climbing-wall rentals taxable when skilled operators kept control, and did the same apply to games needing only attendants?
The mechanical bull and climbing wall were nontaxable services because skilled operators controlled them for safety. Other games needing only attendants remained taxable rentals. As a service provider…
Were setup, on-site maintenance, and pickup charges taxable when a company leased traffic-control equipment to road contractors?
Setup and maintaining charges were taxable as service charges connected with the equipment lease. Separately stated delivery and pickup transportation charges were exempt.
Were remote grid-computing charges taxable in Virginia, and what tax applied if the provider moved or bought service equipment in Virginia?
The remote grid-computing charge was nontaxable because customers received electronic access without tangible property. The provider owed tax on new equipment used in Virginia. Older equipment moved i…
Which furniture marketing items qualified for Virginia's advertising exemption: a showroom video, catalog stands, or room-planner guides?
Only the promotional video qualified. It conveyed advertising to the general public in showrooms and dealer locations. Plain catalog stands were unnecessary supports with no printing, and room-planner…
Did a customer's direct payment permit relieve a real-property contractor from tax on materials used in the customer's construction projects?
No. The contractor was the user and consumer of construction materials, not a dealer selling them to the permit holder. The customer's direct payment permit did not shift that liability. If the custom…
Did Amtrak's federal tax exemption protect an independent contractor performing train inspection, maintenance, and cleaning in Albuquerque?
No. JDJ was an independent for-profit contractor, not Amtrak or its subsidiary, agent, passenger, or customer. Its employees inspected, maintained, watered, and cleaned rail cars during Albuquerque st…
After a seller-finance dealer transfers a note to a qualifying related finance company, who reports tax and how is tax allocated to payments?
The selling dealer kept the full tax in the installment contract and remained responsible for collecting and remitting it as payments arrived. The qualifying RFC did not report tax on each principal p…
Does Kansas give credit for sales tax lawfully paid to another state when purchased property is later first used in Kansas?
Yes. Under K.S.A. 79-3704(c), Kansas gives credit for sales tax lawfully paid to the state where the property was purchased. If the combined Kansas state and local use-tax rate at the place of first K…
Did Virginia sales tax apply to Bloomingdale's orders delivered outside Virginia when title and risk of loss stayed with the seller until delivery?
No. The Richmond Circuit Court declared the 1998-2001 assessment erroneous for goods that never entered Virginia or were delivered outside Virginia while risk of loss remained with Bloomingdale's unti…
Did every discount advertisement mentioning sales tax violate Virginia's prohibition on dealers advertising that they would absorb the tax?
No. A discount advertisement could mention sales tax to assure customers that tax still applied. The prohibited conduct was offering reduction or elimination of the sales tax itself as the incentive. …
Could franchise food stores use Virginia's reduced food-tax rate when immediate-consumption sales did not exceed 80% of gross receipts?
Yes. The stores' food sales for immediate consumption were not more than 80% of total gross receipts, so the restaurant and fast-food exclusion did not apply. Qualifying cold food packaged for home or…
Were franchise, accounting, and insurance fees sales of tangible property because franchisees also received manuals and promotional materials?
No. The main purpose of the transactions was to provide franchise rights, intellectual property, accounting, marketing, advertising, and insurance benefits. Manuals and promotional materials were inci…
Could a successor use an affiliate's net operating loss deductions after a qualifying liquidation or reorganization?
Generally yes. If NOLDs carried over in an I.R.C. § 332 liquidation or § 368(a) reorganization would be allowed for federal purposes, Virginia would allow them, subject to federal limits such as I.R.C…
Were separately stated delivery charges for direct mail subject to Kansas sales or compensating-use tax?
No. Effective July 1, 2007, delivery charges for qualifying direct mail were excluded from Kansas sales and compensating-use tax when separately stated on the invoice or similar billing document. The …
Did a KPERS lump-sum retirement payment and its earnings stay exempt from Kansas income tax after rollover to another qualified account?
Yes. The 2007 amendment to K.S.A. 74-4923 made a KPERS lump-sum retirement payment and its earnings retain their Kansas tax-exempt status after rollover to a qualified retirement account, whether the …
Was an LLC owner and managing member personally liable for restaurant withholding tax when day-to-day managers failed to remit it?
Yes. Cantina LLC was the restaurant's legal employer, and J. Nold Midyette remained its owner and managing member, signed its tax filings, was a signatory on its bank account, directed financial repor…
Are purely financial 'virtual' electricity trades in NYISO's wholesale market subject to New York sales tax, and does a trader who only does virtual trades have to register as a sales tax vendor?
No to both. Virtual electricity transactions in NYISO's market are purely financial and never result in actual generation, delivery, or consumption of electricity, so they aren't taxable sales of elec…
Can medical practitioners purchase neck braces, knee braces, and similar devices tax-exempt as 'for resale' when they provide them directly to patients as part of treatment?
No. Because the practitioners provide these devices only in conjunction with their own paid medical services, not as a separate retail sale, their purchases of the devices are taxable -- they don't qu…
Is a tax-exempt nonprofit's charge for maintenance and repair services on low-income housing projects, billed to for-profit property-owning partnerships, subject to New York sales tax?
No. A section 1116(a)(4) exempt organization is not required to collect sales tax on its sales of maintenance and repair services, even though the property owner it bills is a separate for-profit enti…
Is a vegetable-oil product (CAP18) injected to remediate groundwater contamination at a manufacturing plant exempt from Kansas sales tax?
Exempt. A manufacturer's purchase of CAP18 — a vegetable-oil product injected into the aquifer to remediate and control trichloroethene (TCE) contamination under its plant — is exempt from Kansas sale…
Are electricity-generating peaking units purchased for a Kansas power plant exempt as manufacturing machinery and equipment?
Exempt. Electricity-generating peaking units purchased for a Kansas power plant qualify for exemption as manufacturing machinery and equipment under K.S.A. 79-3606(kk), because electricity power gener…
What happens to Texas seller-finance vehicle tax when notes are sold to a partnership that fails the related-finance-company ownership test?
Selling the notes to the children's partnership would accelerate all remaining motor vehicle tax because it was not a qualifying RFC: its ownership was not at least 80% identical to the dealer's. A me…
How did the Richmond Circuit Court resolve the consolidated DiBelardino and Dutton tax-assessment cases?
The court reached opposite results. It upheld the Department's assessment against Ezio and Stephanie DiBelardino because their Virginia property interests supplied minimum contacts sufficient for due …
Did an out-of-state corporation receiving Virginia Lottery annuity payments owe corporate income tax, and could the Lottery withhold tax anyway?
The corporation was not expected to owe Virginia corporate income tax because its apportionment factor was zero. Virginia could still require withholding on Lottery payments. The corporation could fil…
Could an investor exclude a Virginia hotel's factors and use separate accounting through an advance ruling request?
No. The hotel's income and property, payroll, and sales factors flowed through the LLC tiers to the investor. Virginia denied the requested separate-accounting method because the investor had not file…
Could an out-of-state company obtain advance permission to replace Virginia's statutory apportionment formula with separate accounting?
No. Virginia disfavored separate accounting and found no clear and cogent evidence that the statutory formula was unconstitutional or caused Virginia-attributable double taxation. The taxpayer also us…
Did out-of-state parent and guarantor corporations have Virginia income-tax nexus, and where were lease-guarantee fees sourced?
On the stated facts, the out-of-state parent and guarantor lacked Virginia income-tax nexus because they had no Virginia employees or property and performed no more than de minimis activity there. The…
Which state's income tax should a Virginia tugboat company withhold from nonresident crew working on multistate waters?
For the State A residents described, the company had to withhold State A income tax. One federal statute directed water-carrier withholding to the employee's residence or a state where more than 50% o…
Could a taxpayer challenge 2001 and 2002 Virginia residency assessments by filing an administrative appeal in April 2006?
No. Va. Code § 58.1-1821 required an appeal within 90 days of each assessment. The April 2006 filing came after the April 2004 and April 2005 deadlines, so the Tax Commissioner dismissed it as time-ba…
Which contested plant items qualified for Virginia's manufacturing exemption: a continuously applied biocide chemical or an intermittently used winch?
The CL207 biocide qualified because it continuously passed through production equipment, became part of the product, and prevented contamination. The separate winch did not qualify because it was used…
Did filter cartridges that cleaned and recirculated soluble oil on a beverage-can production line qualify for Virginia's manufacturing exemption?
Yes. The filters removed contaminants from soluble oil used by the can-forming bodymaker, protected the cans from defects, and returned the oil to the production line. Virginia found them used directl…
Did floor-to-ceiling folding partitions and permanently mounted identification signs become real property when subcontractors installed them?
Yes. The partitions and signs were attached and adapted to the buildings, and the evidence showed an intent that they remain permanently. Because the subcontractors were the taxable users of materials…
Did this 2007 ruling require an out-of-state printer with a Virginia facility to collect tax on direct-mail printing sold to Virginia advertising franchisees?
Historically, yes. It treated the franchisees as taxable users of direct-mail printing and required the printer, which had a Virginia facility, to collect tax; otherwise the franchisees owed use tax. …
What renewable-fuel and biodiesel retail incentives did Kansas enact in 2007, and when could a consumer blend fuel without a manufacturer license?
House Bill 2145 created Kansas retail dealer incentives for renewable fuels and biodiesel beginning January 1, 2009, with quarterly electronic claims and expiration January 1, 2026. Renewable-fuel dea…
Were FNMA's charges for an online mortgage information service subject to South Carolina sales and use tax under this PLR?
No. Although online information access was generally treated as a taxable communication service, FNMA's charges were exempt because 12 U.S.C. § 1723a protected FNMA from state and local taxation excep…
How did South Carolina tax custom signs, design services, installation, and foundation materials under this private letter ruling?
The sign company was a retailer, so signs and related consultation, engineering, design, survey, and permit charges were taxable. Reasonable separately stated installation was not. Separately stated f…
Is leasing dark fiber taxed as a property lease and lit fiber as a telecommunications service in Connecticut?
Both are taxable, under different rules. Leasing 'dark fiber' -- the fiber-optic cable itself, without the equipment to light it -- is a taxable lease of tangible personal property under Conn. Gen. St…
Could a fleet lessor rely on a Type 9 NTTC from New Mexico's vehicle agency when the agency said it would sublease the vehicles?
Yes, for the assessed GSD leases. The State's transportation division represented that other public entities had to sublease vehicles from it and supplied an official, single-sided Type 9 NTTC that di…
When did Virginia treat a countertop fabricator as a retailer rather than a real-property contractor?
The answer depended on the fabricator's annual gross receipts. If at least 50% came from countertop sales without installation, it was principally a retailer; if at least 50% came from furnished-and-i…
How can taxpayers find South Carolina advisory opinions by subject (per SC IL #07-15)?
Use the index attached to SC Information Letter #07-15 to find South Carolina advisory opinions. It indexes the advisory opinions issued by the Department from 1987 to June 30, 2007, and it explains t…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #07-14)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #07-14. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified,…
Is a court-ordered qualified settlement fund subject to the Connecticut corporation business tax?
No. A 'qualified settlement fund' -- here a court-supervised fund holding disgorgement and penalties from an SEC enforcement action, as defined in 26 C.F.R. § 1.468B-1 -- is not subject to the Connect…
What Virginia state and local tax legislation did the Department summarize for the 2007 General Assembly session?
This was a broad historical guide, not a taxpayer-specific ruling. It summarized 2007 legislation involving transportation funding, federal income-tax conformity, filing thresholds and deductions, pas…
Were separately billed HVAC system-commissioning charges taxable when the seller provided them with the equipment?
Yes. The commissioning work inspected and tested HVAC equipment sold under the seller's overall quote. Because it was provided in connection with the equipment sale, it was part of the taxable sales p…
How did Virginia apportion a nonresident broker's commissions from finding Virginia real estate?
Virginia treated the commissions as Virginia-source business income because the broker located and helped acquire Virginia real property and performed more than protected solicitation. For a sole prop…
Was a State A domiciliary a Virginia resident when illness kept him in Virginia for more than 183 days?
For 2001, yes: illness and rehabilitation kept him at a Virginia abode for more than 183 days, making him an actual resident even though the stay was involuntary. For 2002, no: he spent fewer than 183…
What is South Carolina's tax interest rate for the period July 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007 (per SC IL #07-13)?
8%. SC Information Letter #07-13 sets South Carolina's interest rate on tax underpayments and overpayments at 8% for the period July 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007. Interest is compounded daily, e…
Does a company that arranges satellite TV for hotels, but doesn't transmit it, owe Connecticut's satellite gross earnings tax?
No. A company that arranges and resells satellite television programming to hotels -- collecting payments and earning a commission, but not itself transmitting the signal -- is not subject to Connecti…
Did Florida documentary stamp or nonrecurring intangible tax apply to the submitted line-of-credit documents?
Not as the submitted documents stood. None independently contained both an unconditional obligation to repay a sum certain and the borrower's signature, and none expressly incorporated another reviewe…
When did a Virginia shareholder change domicile, and how were a lump-sum payment and S corporation income taxed?
The taxpayer changed domicile on December 1, 2003, when the out-of-state lease became effective—not September 30. Virginia found the December related-party lump sum was not an arm's-length prepayment …
Could a federal service contractor buy video-conferencing equipment tax-free for resale to the government?
No, for the 2003 project. The video-system subcontract's true object was tangible personal property, but the prime federal contract's true object was ongoing IT and information services. The prime con…
Could a taxpayer reopen two sales-tax audits to submit records its former bookkeeper had not provided?
Only the timely audit. The appeal from the December 24, 2003 assessment was filed years after Virginia's 90-day deadline, so that audit could not be reopened or supplemented. The appeal for the Septem…
Did a retailer's lower appraisal overturn a county's business tangible personal property valuation?
No. The taxpayer and county used accredited appraisers but reached different values because one included capitalized acquisition and installation costs. Appraisals are subjective, and the local assess…
Did a taxpayer's lower appraisal overturn a county's business tangible personal property valuation?
No. Both sides submitted professional appraisals, but appraisal differences were subjective and the county's assessment was presumed correct. The county had exercised due diligence by hiring an outsid…
Was Virginia's 2006 assessment recovering an incorrect 2003 out-of-state tax credit issued too late?
No. The refund date was when Virginia applied the amount to the taxpayer's 2004 estimated payments, not when he signed the 2003 return. The incorrect California credit came from information listed by …
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.