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.
Were South Carolina timeshare and membership-resort accommodation exchanges subject to accommodations sales tax?
Yes. When South Carolina accommodations were furnished through a membership or timeshare exchange, the provider owed accommodations sales tax on the reasonable rental value of the exchanged stay plus …
Are a company's services helping nursing homes with the Medicaid resident-admissions process taxable in Connecticut as business management or business management consulting services?
Not taxable. A company's services helping nursing homes handle the Medicaid resident-admissions process are not taxable business management or business management consulting services under Conn. Gen. …
How did Texas treat use tax and later title transfer when a vehicle bought and taxed in another state was brought into Texas?
Historically, Texas use tax arose when the vehicle entered Texas, with credit for Michigan tax already paid. The letter's later $10 gift-tax result is superseded because 2009 law restricted which no-c…
Which purchases by a nonprofit domestic-violence shelter are exempt from Kansas sales tax — food, educational materials, or repair materials?
It depends on the item. Kansas has no exemption for the food a domestic-violence/rape shelter buys to provide meals, so those purchases are taxable. Free educational materials the shelter distributes …
Are annual membership dues charged by a newly formed private-club restaurant subject to Utah sales tax, when members vote for a board that sets the dues?
No, the dues are not taxable. Utah excludes annual membership dues to private organizations from its definition of taxable "admission or user fees," but only if the membership dues are paid by members…
Did an out-of-state company create Texas franchise-tax nexus by providing capital-lease financing without representation or financial activity in Texas?
No, on the stated facts. The company had no Texas representation and provided only capital-lease financing. The Comptroller said it was not subject to franchise tax. But Texas credit checks, gathering…
Does a public warehouse that stores and ships customers' inventory provide 'fulfillment services,' and do its out-of-state customers get New York franchise tax or sales tax nexus by using it?
Yes, and the customers get no nexus. Distribution Unlimited's public-warehousing activities -- storing manufacturers' and distributors' inventory and shipping it by common carrier on the owner's instr…
Which advertising-agency services are exempt from Kansas sales tax and which are taxable?
Some are exempt, some are taxable. Under K.S.A. 79-3606(pp), services rendered by an advertising agency are generally exempt from Kansas sales tax. But when the agency produces and sells tangible outp…
Is a commission-only encyclopedia sales representative an employee (exempt) or an independent contractor who owes New Mexico gross receipts tax on his commissions?
He owed the tax. A commission-only Encyclopaedia Britannica sales representative who set his own schedule, chose his own leads, paid his own expenses, and got a 1099 was an independent contractor, not…
For manufacturing equipment installed as real property, are replacement parts taxed differently than ordinary construction materials, and can labor/parts billed together be split by 'reasonable allocation'?
No on both points. Exempt manufacturing equipment and its replacement parts are treated as sales of tangible personal property no matter how they're installed, so parts aren't taxed under the real-pro…
Who paid Texas tax on a leased vehicle, what happened at an operating-lease buyout, and who owed local property tax?
The lessor paid motor vehicle sales tax on its purchase, while the lease contract was not taxed. If the lessee bought the vehicle at the end of a true operating lease, that was a second taxable sale b…
Does a nonprofit that is a 501(c)(7) social club — not a 501(c)(3) charity — owe New Mexico gross receipts tax on liquor sales to its members, and can it avoid the penalty for following a bookkeeper's wrong advice?
Yes, it owed the tax, and only partly avoided the penalty. New Mexico's gross receipts tax exemption requires an actual IRS grant of 501(c)(3) status; this land-grant heirs' association was a 501(c)(7…
Are coin-operated vacuum machines and tire-inflation machines at car washes and gas stations exempt from New York sales tax?
It depends on the machine and the location. Coin-operated vacuum services at a car wash facility (self-service or otherwise, as long as no employee assists) became exempt from sales tax on December 1,…
How were distributions from funds treated as series of one trust sourced for former Texas franchise-tax apportionment?
The trust's principal place of business controlled for both former tax components. Because each fund was described as a series of the trust, the Comptroller presumed the funds were not separate entiti…
When was electricity sold to a for-profit nursing home exempt from Florida sales tax?
Electricity used for residents, their dwelling units, and resident-only common areas was exempt even at a for-profit nursing home. But if one meter also served a commercial activity such as a bank or …
Can a New Mexico couple claim full income-tax refunds by arguing wages aren't taxable, the Sixteenth Amendment wasn't ratified, and the graduated income tax violates the state constitution?
No. The refunds were denied. Wages are income — New Mexico builds its income tax on federal adjusted gross income, and 'gross income' means all income from whatever source, including compensation for …
If a Utah cabinet maker's materials end up installed as real property in another state, does Utah give credit for use tax paid to that other state, or is Utah tax simply not owed at all?
No Utah tax was due at all, on these facts -- so there was nothing to credit. Utah Code Ann. § 59-12-104(33) exempts property sold in Utah that is later shipped out of state and incorporated into real…
Could a former lessee use the previously leased vehicle as a trade-in deduction when buying a different vehicle from a dealer?
Not in the described separate transactions. If the dealer bought the old lease vehicle from the lessor and separately sold the customer another vehicle, the customer's purchase contained no trade-in. …
When did a Texas resident stationed elsewhere owe use tax on an out-of-state vehicle registered for Texas use?
At Texas titling and registration. The vehicle was registered for use in Texas, and § 152.041 prevented the county from accepting a title application unless tax was paid. The Comptroller therefore app…
When a financial institution outsources its whole computer and data processing operation, which of those services are exempt as 'outsourced' -- and what about work it used to do for its clients rather than for itself?
Only the 'own use' work is exempt. When a financial institution outsources its entire computer and data processing operation to an unrelated provider, the services the institution formerly performed f…
Is gas consumed by pollution-control equipment to treat manufacturing by-products exempt from Kansas sales tax?
Yes. K.S.A. 79-3606(n) exempts tangible personal property consumed in production or manufacturing — including the treating of by-products or wastes derived from a production process. The Department ru…
Does a worker who does piece-work engraving on the side owe New Mexico gross receipts tax on it, even though her employer already paid tax on the engraved goods, and can she treat the pay as exempt wages?
Yes, she owed the tax, and no, it wasn't exempt wages. A worker paid by the piece to engrave — using her own tool, on her own schedule — was an independent contractor, not an employee, so her engravin…
Is Texas sales tax due on software sold over the internet and downloaded from a Texas-hosted server, when the customer downloading it is located outside Texas — and what records does the vendor need to keep to support that?
No Texas tax is due when an out-of-state customer downloads software from a Texas server. The vendor must keep records showing the customer was located out of state at the time of the download — the a…
Did PLR 98-1 impose South Carolina sales or use tax on a digital imaging company's electronic work for newspaper advertising inserts?
No. On the stated facts, the imaging company produced and transferred images entirely electronically and delivered no tangible personal property in South Carolina, so its charges were not subject to s…
When a ski resort buys a complete, installed passenger tramway system in a turnkey deal, which parts of that purchase — the tramway itself, its cement foundations, the lift house — qualify for Utah's passenger tramway sales tax exemption?
It splits by component. The tramway itself — including its towers and any relocatable accessories or lift houses — is tangible personal property under Utah Admin. Rule R865-19S-58, both before and aft…
Is a university's annual campus vehicle registration fee, separate from its parking fee, subject to New York sales tax?
No -- the vehicle registration fee is not subject to sales tax, because it's a genuinely separate charge for identifying and documenting vehicles on campus (unrelated to parking privileges), not a fee…
When two construction companies form a joint venture and each contributes equipment, is that equipment subject to sales or use tax?
It depends entirely on the structure of the arrangement, not on the fact that it's a joint venture. If a partner simply contributes equipment as its capital stake in exchange for a share of the ventur…
Are an underwater/topside inspection and reporting subconsultant's services for government infrastructure projects subject to New York sales tax?
It depends on what the inspection and reporting is for. If the services support a real-property repair or maintenance project, they're taxable as maintaining real property; if they support a capital i…
If accumulated sick-leave hours were earned entirely during an out-of-state job, but the lump-sum payout check arrives after the employee has already moved to New York and become a resident, is that payment taxed as New York income?
No. Because the payment was for sick leave accumulated entirely during the taxpayer's prior Florida employment, before he became a New York resident, Tax Law § 639(b) treats it as accruing to the nonr…
If a New York domiciliary sells his last U.S. home and moves permanently onto a sailboat that sails away from the United States, can he still be treated as a New York nonresident for income tax purposes even though he never legally establishes a new domicile?
Yes. The Department found that Petitioner remained domiciled in New York because he never proved he had established a new fixed domicile elsewhere - living aboard a boat not tied to any particular new…
After bank regulators ordered an alien bank to cease all U.S. operations, do its wind-down and loan-servicing activities through an agent subsidiary still make it 'doing business' and taxable under Article 32?
It depends on the facts. The Daiwa Bank was ordered by bank regulators to cease all U.S. banking operations and surrendered its New York license. Activities its subsidiary (acting as Daiwa's agent) pe…
Is a subscriber programmed-music/audio service delivered by satellite subject to Kansas sales tax, including equipment charges?
Yes. Kansas taxes the gross receipts from cable, community antennae, and other subscriber radio and television services under K.S.A. 79-3603(k). The Department ruled that the service the company recei…
Are retail sales of hair care products subject to Kansas sales tax?
Yes. Kansas taxes the gross receipts from retail sales of tangible personal property under K.S.A. 79-3603(a), and the Department ruled that Kansas sales and use tax law provides no exemption for the h…
Are sales of multi-nutrient health foods and vitamins subject to Kansas sales tax?
Yes. Kansas taxes gross receipts from retail sales of tangible personal property under K.S.A. 79-3603(a), and the Department ruled that Kansas law provides no exemption for the sale of multi-nutrient …
Does finishing unfinished space in a previously constructed building qualify as exempt original construction in Kansas?
No, on these facts. Kansas exempts labor to install or apply property in the original construction of a building, and regulation K.A.R. 92-19-66b(f) sets a four-part test for treating the completion o…
Is transferring tangible personal property to a new corporation, partnership, or single-member LLC as part of a corporate restructuring, in exchange for stock or a membership/partnership interest, a taxable retail sale in New York?
No -- none of the three restructuring scenarios (contributing property to a new corporation for stock, to a new partnership for a partnership interest, or to a new single-member LLC for a membership i…
Are admission charges for Cirque du Soleil's theatrical acrobatic performances exempt from New York's admissions tax as live circus performances?
Yes, but only because of a brand-new exemption -- effective December 1, 1997, New York expanded its admissions tax exemption to cover live circus performances specifically, not just dramatic or musica…
What Utah taxes — property, sales/use, and corporate — will apply to a new S-corporation manufacturing business locating equipment, raw materials, and operations in a Utah county?
The Commission gave only general guidance since it lacked specific facts about the business, but covered all three tax areas asked about. Property tax: real and personal property in Utah is assessed a…
If the upper floors of a multi-story building are gutted down to the floor slab of each floor — but the building's ceilings, floors, and end walls stay standing — does rebuilding those upper floors count as untaxed new construction, the same way gutting a one-story building down to its slab would?
No. The one-story rule (demolish to the slab with no walls/framing remaining = new construction) does not simply carry over floor-by-floor in a multi-story building. Gutting upper floors down to each …
Is a forensic engineering firm's technical consulting for plaintiff attorneys — in lawsuits where the defendant's insurance coverage isn't the point of the litigation — automatically exempt from Texas sales tax as a non-insurance service, just because the client is a plaintiff's lawyer rather than an insurance company?
No blanket exemption exists just because the client is a plaintiff's attorney rather than an insurer or defense side — the sales tax law and Rule 3.355 draw no distinction based on who purchases the s…
Were utility late-payment fees finance charges excluded from South Carolina taxable gross proceeds under RR 98-4?
No. RR 98-4 treated electric, cable, and telephone late-payment fees as default charges rather than finance charges, so they entered taxable gross proceeds. RR 09-6 later superseded this ruling and ex…
If a software company accepts a customer's tax-exemption certificate that doesn't actually fit the transaction, can it avoid the negligence penalty when the deduction is later disallowed?
No. The negligence penalty was upheld. Sybase accepted a Type 9 exemption certificate — good only for sales of tangible personal property to governments or charities — on a roughly $2 million software…
A distributor buys 'zero-value' rechargeable phone cards from an out-of-state company, distributes them through take-one display racks and to churches/schools/clubs as fundraiser items, and earns a commission only when a customer later loads value onto the card by mailing a check or paying by credit card directly to the out-of-state company. How is Texas tax handled on the cards themselves and on the value customers later load onto them?
The blank cards themselves are tangible personal property subject to Texas use tax when the distributor buys them — but cards bought for resale (to the public via display racks, or to churches/schools…
Are $1 telephone debit cards sold through vending machines subject to Texas sales tax and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) assessment, and how does tax get collected when the card's per-minute value is set at the time of use rather than sale?
Yes — as of this 1998 letter, $1-or-less vending-machine calling cards were treated as prepaid telecommunications services subject to Texas sales tax and the (then-existing) 1.25% TIF assessment; tax …
How is Texas sales tax figured on manufacturing and installing signs — is it always taxed as tangible personal property, or does it depend on whether the sign becomes part of the building and whether the job is new construction or remodeling?
Three questions decide it. First, does the sign stay identifiable as tangible personal property (tax on the full labor+materials charge), or become an improvement to real property? Second, if it's rea…
Is chartering a helicopter, with the pilot included, a taxable lease of the aircraft, or a nontaxable service?
It's a nontaxable service. Chartering an aircraft with a pilot included is not a taxable lease, regardless of whether the charge for the pilot and the aircraft is separately stated or billed as one su…
When were wholesale electricity purchases and sales exempt from Florida sales and gross receipts taxes?
The corporation's wholesale purchases and sales were untaxed when they were genuine resales under the utility interchange agreement. The agreement eliminated the gross-receipts-tax certificate require…
How could a Florida investigator recover tax mistakenly collected on nontaxable insurance investigations?
Insurance investigations were not subject to the detective-services tax. Because the investigator could not first finance large customer refunds, the Department allowed it to obtain assignments of ref…
If a Texas partnership elects to be taxed as a corporation federally, is it subject to franchise tax, and can a corporate general partner deduct the partnership's losses?
The partnership is still not subject to franchise tax, and the corporate general partner cannot use the partnership's losses. A Texas limited partnership elected under Treasury Regulation § 301.7701-3…
When a multi-level marketing company (MLMC) sells products to its own independent distributors for their personal use (not for resale), should it collect sales tax on the wholesale price the distributor actually pays, or the retail price?
The MLMC should collect tax on the amount it actually charges the distributor for personal-use purchases — not the retail price — but only if the distributor tells the MLMC at the time of ordering tha…
If a company becomes a co-plaintiff to help a plaintiff collect a court judgment, and its compensation comes out of the judgment itself rather than a separate invoiced fee, does Texas sales tax still apply to that arrangement?
Yes. Helping collect a delinquent debt or judgment is a taxable 'debt collection service' under Tax Code § 151.0036(a) and § 151.0101(a)(8), and the tax applies to whatever the company receives for th…
Is a car wash exempt from Utah sales tax if paid for with coins, versus paid to a gas station attendant or by debit/credit card at the pump?
It depends entirely on the payment method, not on the fact that it's a car wash. Only a car wash activated by physically inserting coins into the machine is exempt from Utah sales tax under § 59-12-10…
How is the taxable base figured for a taxable installation/application contract, and can a contractor deduct overhead and profit?
The taxable base for a contract to install or apply tangible personal property is the difference between the contract price and the cost of materials, supplies, and subcontractor payments (including t…
For an audio/visual system installer doing remodeling work, are separately stated engineering charges (system design, drawings, installation supervision) taxable when the engineering covers both the equipment itself and the ceiling wiring that connects it?
Split treatment applies. Engineering charges attributable to the equipment (which stays tangible personal property, not an improvement to realty) are part of the taxable sales price of the equipment a…
When a business refurbishes and resells used or repossessed manufactured homes — sometimes for itself, sometimes as a broker for a lending institution — how is Texas sales tax handled on the sale of the home itself and on the parts/materials/tools used to refurbish it?
Only the first sale of a new manufactured home into Texas (manufacturer to dealer) is taxable — resales of a used manufactured home are not. But parts and materials used to refurbish a home you buy an…
Does an independent contractor who stocks shelves for a flat per-case fee owe New Mexico gross receipts tax, and can she avoid it as a sales commission or escape the penalty for not knowing about the tax?
Yes to the tax, and no to both defenses. An independent contractor paid a flat 25 cents per case to stock commissary shelves was 'engaging in business' and owed New Mexico gross receipts tax; her flat…
Can a New Mexico worker claim a full refund of income tax by arguing that wages aren't taxable 'income' and the federal income tax is unconstitutional?
No. The refund was denied. Wages are income — New Mexico income tax is built on federal adjusted gross income, and 'gross income' under the Internal Revenue Code means all income from whatever source,…
If a firm currently does nontaxable liquidation-related subcontracting work for Special Deputy Receivers of insolvent insurance companies, and plans to expand into marketing, reinsurance, and managerial consulting for insurance companies, will that new consulting work be subject to Texas sales tax?
Likely yes. Rule 3.355(a)(1)-(6) taxes insurance services performed pertaining to policies of insurance, and paragraphs (a)(4) and (a)(6) specifically include consultations. The Comptroller has alread…
A metal-failure-analysis forensic engineering firm that rarely works directly for insurance companies (mostly working for chemical plants/refineries, plaintiff attorneys, and defense attorneys) asks a detailed set of questions about exactly when its investigative work is taxable as an 'insurance service' — including cross-state cases where the incident, the client, or both are outside Texas.
Work performed directly for an insurance company is always taxable — collect tax automatically, no letter needed. For every other client (plaintiff attorneys, defense attorneys, direct corporate clien…
On a separated new-construction contract for an Enterprise Zone project, are a contractor's charges to the customer for its own equipment, rented equipment, equipment-with-operator, and profit markup taxable — and does the Enterprise Zone designation change any of this?
No special treatment applies just because the job is in an Enterprise Zone — the normal separated-new-construction rules apply. Charges the contractor bills the customer for its own equipment use, for…
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.