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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Is personal property brought into Utah temporarily, like broadcast equipment for the 2002 Winter Olympics, subject to Utah property tax?
It depends on timing and ownership. Property present in Utah on the January 1 lien date is taxable regardless of how long it stays. Property that arrives after the lien date is taxable as…
Is a production credit association, a federal instrumentality under the Farm Credit System, immune from Texas franchise (state) tax?
No. The Comptroller denied the production credit association's request for a Texas state tax exemption. On February 20, 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court decided Director of Revenue of Missouri v. CoBank…
Does an out-of-state manufacturer that sells to New York customers, using only an independent sales representative who visits every few months, have to register as a New York sales tax vendor?
Yes. Even a single independent manufacturer's representative who periodically visits New York customers on the manufacturer's behalf creates enough nexus to require the out-of-state manufacturer to…
How would a qualifying project calculate income and its Florida capital investment tax credit, including after joining a consolidated return?
Project income was its annual taxable income determined under generally accepted accounting principles and section 220.13. If the taxpayer later joined a Florida consolidated return, it had to…
Could a charity use its Florida exemption to directly buy materials for a park construction project under a contractor purchasing-agent agreement?
Yes, for materials directly ordered, invoiced to, paid for, titled to, and insured by the charity for incorporation into the park. The exemption did not remove materials from a contractor's…
When did a sale of depreciable assets qualify as the sale of an entire business under the bulletin's sales-tax exemption?
The exemption applied when all assets of the entity or a discrete nonunitary business were sold under a written contract and the buyer continued the business.
What South Carolina tax payments could taxpayers make by credit card under RPB 01-2's 2001 electronic-filing program?
The Department accepted delinquent-tax payments and allowed specified SCnetFile users to pay certain individual income, use, extension, and estimated taxes by card.
If a trusted, long-time bookkeeper hides the fact that she stopped filing our tax returns, is our company still hit with the negligence penalty?
Mostly no — the protest was GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Sandia Oil Company ran gasoline distributorships and convenience stores in five states. Its bookkeeper of 17 years, Lucy Strong,…
Is installing internet wiring and wall plugs in a building taxable in Texas, and does it matter whether the building is residential or commercial?
Labor to install internet wiring and wall plugs as part of new construction, or as a repair/remodel of a residential property, is not taxable if billed lump-sum (though the installer pays tax on the…
Did a bank have to include its federal IRC section 1397E Qualified Zone Academy Bond credit in California franchise-tax income?
No. FTB ruled that the bank did not have to recognize its federal IRC section 1397E Qualified Zone Academy Bond credit as income for California franchise-tax purposes. California had not…
How were investment and employee increases calculated for Kansas business and job development credits at an existing facility?
For an existing qualified business facility, investment and qualified employees were averaged using their values on the last business day of each month in the taxpayer's tax year, then reduced by…
Was a country club entitled to a refund because members paid tax on dues while the incorporated club paid tax on its own purchases?
No. The incorporated country club and its members were separate legal persons: members paid sales tax on dues, while the club paid tax as final user of supplies and utilities it purchased. Those…
Does delivering goods into Nebraska in my own trucks create corporate income tax nexus?
No. Under Revenue Ruling 24-01-1, delivering goods into Nebraska using a company's own vehicles, from a point outside the state, is a protected activity under Public Law 86-272 (15 U.S.C. §381) and…
When did an equipment finance lease become subject to documentary stamp tax if payment duties began 16 days after shipment?
The lease became taxable on the sixteenth day after shipment. The master lease expressly incorporated the equipment schedule; together they supplied an unconditional payment obligation, payment…
Which office design, installation, furniture-moving, and storage charges are subject to Kansas sales tax?
Design is exempt; installation is taxable. The Department ruled that design services for laying out existing or new offices are not subject to Kansas sales tax, and neither is the labor to move…
Does a self-employed lawn mowing person have to charge sales tax if they only make a small amount of money and don't sell materials?
Lawn mowing and yard maintenance are taxable real property services in Texas even when no materials or supplies are billed — but Tax Code § 151.347 exempts a self-employed individual whose total…
When a pipeline spill job involves backhoe work, pipeline repair, and hazardous waste removal billed by one contractor, does everything get taxed as one improvement-to-realty charge, or can each service be taxed separately?
A contractor's single pipeline-spill job that bundles backhoe/excavation services, pipeline repair, and hazardous waste removal is not automatically taxed as one lump improvement-to-realty charge…
Are limousine transportation services subject to Kansas sales tax, and does the operator owe tax on its equipment and supplies?
Not taxable service; taxable inputs. The Department ruled that transportation services provided by a limousine business are not subject to Kansas sales tax. Because the operator is providing a…
When a medical kit bundles taxable items (like gloves or scissors) with exempt items (like wound dressings), is the whole kit taxable or exempt?
A bundled medical, dental, or first-aid kit's overall taxability is determined by the predominant cost of its contents: if the taxable items in the kit cost more than the exempt items, the whole kit…
Does incinerating waste into ash for disposal count as tax-exempt manufacturing/processing under Texas law?
No. Incinerating waste material into ash purely for disposal purposes is not tax-exempt "processing" under Texas Tax Code § 151.318, so a related-party limited partnership performing the…
Does a Georgia LLC owe Texas franchise tax if it only monitors Texas residents' health by phone from Georgia, and does needing a certificate of authority decide the question?
Monitoring Texas residents solely by telephone from Georgia is not, by itself, doing business in Texas, and the certificate-of-authority question is separate. A Georgia LLC provided life-expectancy…
What 2001 county classifications did South Carolina publish for job credits, corporate tax moratoriums, and reduced fee-in-lieu investment?
It published three 2001 job-credit ranking lists, the counties then qualifying for two corporate income-tax moratorium provisions, and six counties eligible for a reduced $1 million fee-in-lieu…
Are labor services to install or repair land improvements that surround a residence subject to Kansas sales tax?
Exempt labor, taxable materials. The Department ruled that installation and repair labor on land improvements that immediately surround a residence - sidewalks, driveways, patios, fences, sodding,…
Must a systems company collect Tennessee sales tax on a lump-sum price when it sells equipment to a contractor and may install part of the system?
Yes, when title or possession passed to the contractor in Tennessee. The entire lump-sum bid was taxable, including programming, testing, certification, and any otherwise nontaxable installation…
Is renting a portable sign trailer taxable as equipment rental, or nontaxable advertising, in Texas?
Whether a portable sign — trailer-mounted or not — is a taxable rental of tangible personal property or a nontaxable advertising service depends entirely on who controls the sign's message: if the…
Were disposable perfusion and blood-management supplies sold to hospitals exempt from Florida sales tax?
Yes, when the devices were intended for one-time, single-patient use and bore the federal legend restricting sale to or on the order of a licensed practitioner. Reusable heart-lung machines, cell…
Are unused country-club dining minimums taxable dues, and may a club buy operating supplies tax-free because members pay tax on dues?
Unused mandatory dining minimums were taxable membership dues because payment was required to retain membership. The country club also had to pay sales tax on sand, seed, fertilizer, pool chemicals,…
Did a nonprofit licensed only for basic child care qualify for Texas's residential child-care facility vehicle exemption?
No. The exemption required a facility licensed for 24-hour residential care of both basic-care children and emotionally disturbed children living together in one residential group, with the vehicle…
Is it taxable to hire a vendor to dismantle manufacturing equipment out of state, move it to Texas, and reinstall it?
Charges to dismantle, move, and reassemble manufacturing equipment relocated to Texas are a nontaxable moving service — not taxable, and a lump-sum vendor doesn't need to break the invoice down…
Can the assignee of a retailer's financing contracts claim a bad-debt sales tax refund by stepping into the retailer's shoes?
No -- the refund denial was sustained. The assignee of a retailer's negotiable notes or assignable conditional sales contracts cannot 'step into the shoes' of the retailer to claim a bad-debt sales…
When a utility separately bills customers for the city gross receipts tax, does that add-on charge itself get taxed again?
Yes. If an electric utility separately bills a customer a line-item for the Tax Code § 182.022 gross receipts tax (the tax on the utility's receipts from using city property) in addition to the…
Could a Florida parent revoke its consolidated-return election after changing its core business and expanding into out-of-state operations?
Yes. The group had disposed of legacy segments, entered new lines, reorganized, and expanded beyond its former Florida-centered business. Because separate filing produced the same or more Florida…
What CPI percentage did South Carolina publish for a local government's 2001 general-operating millage calculation?
It published 3.4% as the 2000 CPI-U increase used to determine how much a local governing body could increase its 2001 general-operating millage under the cited rule.
When were drain-line bacteria and application devices exempt as Florida pollution-control bioaugmentation products?
The bacteria qualified as bioaugmentation products used to meet a DEP-implemented wastewater rule, but exemption applied only at fixed locations that manufactured, processed, compounded, or produced…
How did Texas apportion the pre-2008 franchise tax to the state, and does it follow the Multistate Tax Compact's formula?
Texas apportioned the pre-2008 franchise tax using a single gross-receipts factor — Texas gross receipts over total gross receipts — and did not adopt the Multistate Tax Compact's three-factor…
May a church let its sponsored Cub Scout troop use the church's Kansas sales-tax registration or exemption documentation?
No. Kansas did not issue exemption numbers to churches or Scout organizations, and one entity could not use another entity's sales-tax registration number. A qualifying church used Form ST-28O for…
When did a corporate jet's Van Nuys–LAX positioning leg count as part of an interstate flight rather than an intrastate move?
When dispatch already served a specific interstate flight. Operational stops, deadheading or later delay did not break it; a just-in-case move stayed intrastate.
Which local jurisdiction's sales tax rate applies to a telephone answering service — the location where the phone company technically routes the original call, or the customer's own business or home address?
The customer's own business or personal-residence address, not the location where the phone company technically routes the original ring. A telephone answering service isn't the same thing as…
Were tolls charged for access to a privately operated Utah toll road subject to sales tax as transportation charges or admission and user fees?
No. The Commission said the operator charged customers for access to improved real property and did not transport passengers or property for hire, so the common-carrier transportation tax did not…
Does a group selling coupon books have to collect Kansas sales tax on the sales?
Yes - taxable. The Department ruled that any organization selling coupon books - even a group of school students that sells no other tangible personal property or taxable services - must collect…
Is cable television installation labor subject to Kansas sales tax at a residence versus a commercial building?
Depends on where. The Department ruled that cable television installation services performed at a residence are not subject to Kansas sales tax, under the residential exemption for installation…
Which charges by a Kansas construction-equipment rental company were taxable, and when could a contractor rental be exempt?
Rental companies were retailers and collected sales tax on the total customer billing, including damage waivers, delivery, pickup, labor, and fuel. Rentals to contractors were taxable unless the…
Were custom, wired-in security and alarm system installations Florida real-property contracts or sales of tangible property?
They were real-property contracts. The systems were custom-designed for each location, screwed into place, and connected through concealed structural wiring. The installer had to pay tax on…
How does an out-of-state company apportion service revenue to Texas for the franchise tax when it cannot break down receipts by state?
Service receipts are apportioned to where the services are performed, and a company that cannot trace revenue to each state may use another reasonable method. A Georgia-based corporation performed…
Is equipment that transports electricity from the generation plant to customers exempt manufacturing machinery when it is not located 'at the plant'?
No -- the refund denial was sustained. The Secretary's Designee held that the manufacturing machinery and equipment exemption in K.S.A. 79-3606(kk) reaches transportation equipment only when it is…
Were hotel room-block attrition and cancellation penalties subject to Florida sales, surtax, or tourist development tax?
No. Under the sample contract, the attrition and cancellation charges were penalties or liquidated damages and did not guarantee use or possession of hotel rooms. They were not subject to sales tax,…
Does the expanded Kansas manufacturing machinery and equipment exemption cover an automated capacitor bank and the labor to install it?
Exempt. The Department ruled that an automated capacitor bank, and the labor to install it, come within the expanded Kansas manufacturing machinery and equipment exemption in K.S.A. 79-3606(kk)…
Is a commuter shuttle company's temporary service transporting employees and guests between different 2002 Winter Olympics venues exempt from Utah sales tax?
Yes, with a county-by-county limitation. A regular commuter shuttle company that's already an SIC Code 4111 'establishment' (mass transit over regular routes, confined to a municipality/contiguous…
Was a mortgage securing a guaranty connected with tax-exempt nonprofit health-facility bonds subject to documentary stamp tax?
No. The mortgage arose from and secured a guaranty supporting the payment of tax-exempt health-facility bonds. Even though the mortgage did not directly secure repayment of the bonds, sections…
Is charging customers to take a class over the internet, or to build a custom e-learning course, taxable in Texas?
Charging a customer to take a class over the internet is not subject to Texas sales tax, and neither is a charge to write original course content or lesson plans. Developing a custom interactive…
Can a caterer claim the manufacturing exemption on the gas and electricity its stoves and ovens use to prepare meals for events?
No. Gas and electricity used by a caterer to prepare or store food for immediate consumption do not qualify for the sales tax exemption under Tax Code § 151.317(a)(3), because a caterer that…
Could a customer use its Florida direct-pay permit to self-accrue tax on taxable security services?
Yes. Although the permit's title referred to tangible personal property, the self-accrual rule covered leases and purchases and did not bar taxable services. The security company could accept the…
Is a chemical solvent that an oil and gas operator injects into a marginal well, and which stays in the produced oil/gas, exempt from Texas sales tax?
Yes. Micelle mutual solvent — a chemical injected into a marginal well to boost production, which becomes part of the hydrocarbons removed from the well and is sold along with the oil or gas — is…
Are tickets to a nonprofit sports league's championship game exempt from Texas sales tax, and does hiring a for-profit company to help produce the event jeopardize that?
Tickets to a championship game sold by a 501(c)(6) nonprofit sports league qualify for the Texas sales tax exemption for amusement services exclusively provided by a nonprofit under Tax Code §…
Is a trade acceptance draft purchased by a company investment capital under section 208.5, or business capital, for Article 9-A?
It is investment capital. A trade acceptance draft purchased by company C is a 'qualifying corporate debt instrument' and is not subsidiary capital in C's hands, so it constitutes investment capital…
Was a modular turbine intake-air cooling system tangible personal property, allowing resale purchases and tax-free out-of-state delivery?
Yes. The system was industrial machinery or equipment and therefore tangible personal property. Components incorporated into it could be bought for resale; Florida-delivered systems were taxable on…
What tax payments could taxpayers make by credit card under South Carolina's temporary RPB 01-2?
It covered delinquent taxes and specified SCnetFile payments for individual income, use, extension, and estimated taxes during the 2001 rollout.
What information did RPB 01-1 allow a personal representative to omit from South Carolina Probate Court Form 350?
After marking whether a federal estate-tax return was required, the filer could omit values on specified schedules but still had to itemize the property.
Could a regulated utility use South Carolina's headquarters credit against its Section 12-20-100 license tax?
Yes. The Department concluded that a qualifying taxpayer subject to the regulated-utility license tax under Section 12-20-100 could apply its corporate-headquarters credit against that liability.
What withholding-tax deposit schedules did South Carolina describe in RIB 01-2?
It said agents with a federal withholding obligation could generally use federal deposit dates, while specified nonresident agents and agents without federal responsibility used the state…
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