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 federal nonprofit status and fundraising for youth programs qualify this organization for a Florida sales-tax exemption certificate?
No. The organization did not qualify as a charitable fundraiser because only about 18% of its operational expenditures went to the recipient, below the more-than-50% test. It also did not qualify unde…
Does a mold or die used to make wax patterns (which are then used to cast metal parts for resale) qualify for Texas's manufacturing exemption if it has a useful life longer than six months?
Yes, exempt -- and useful life is no longer the deciding factor for items purchased after January 1, 1995. Molds, dies, and patterns used by a manufacturer qualify for the manufacturing exemption rega…
Does Section 151.353's court reporting services exemption cover the transcription of depositions even when performed by someone other than the licensed court reporter who took the deposition, and is medical dictation transcription taxable?
The transcription is exempt ONLY if performed by a licensed court reporter as part of court reporting services under § 151.353(b) -- the exemption doesn't extend more broadly to transcription work per…
How are affiliated companies providing telephone answering services, paging airtime, and equipment rentals taxed under the franchise, telecommunications excise, and sales taxes?
A telephone answering service company is a general business taxed under Article 9-A, not as a telephone business. A paging common carrier is principally engaged in a telephone business taxed under sec…
Can the distortion requirement for filing a New York combined report be met when one of the corporations is a Subchapter T cooperative that generally reports no federal taxable income?
It is not precluded. The distortion requirement for a New York combined report (20 NYCRR 6-2.3) is presumed when there are substantial intercorporate transactions, and the fact that one member is a Su…
Is an out-of-state wine wholesaler exempt from the New York Article 9-A franchise tax under Public Law 86-272 when its only New York presence is a home-based sales manager who solicits orders?
Yes. Public Law 86-272 (and 20 NYCRR 1-3.4(b)(9)) exempts an out-of-state seller of tangible personal property from the Article 9-A franchise tax if its New York activities are limited to soliciting o…
When a corporation sells products to an LLC it owns that is taxed as a partnership, how are those sales treated in the receipts factor of the corporate member?
The corporate member must exclude, from both the numerator and denominator of its receipts factor, the portion of its sales to the LLC that is in effect also reflected in its distributive share of the…
Did a Georgia company's receivables from Florida customers have taxable Florida situs when an employee serviced displays in Florida?
Yes. The Department concluded that receivables arising from the company's Florida business were subject to Florida intangible tax because they benefited from Florida law, arose from Florida customers,…
Was a financed lighting retrofit with a mandatory $1 purchase option taxed as leased equipment or as a real-property improvement?
Florida treated the retrofit as a real-property improvement with the characteristics of a purchase, not a taxable equipment lease. The contractor owed tax on materials incorporated into the improvemen…
If a mail-order company with no Utah presence opens retail stores in Utah, does that create nexus for its separate, out-of-state mail-order division too?
Yes. Once a company opens retail stores in Utah, it has nexus for ALL of its sales into Utah -- including mail order sales handled entirely by a separate division that keeps its own employees, invento…
Does a tax-exempt historical society have to collect sales tax on items it sells through a local store, a card table, and word-of-mouth from members' homes?
It splits by sales channel -- a tax-exempt organization's regular, ongoing sales of merchandise through a fixed "candy store" and thrift shop display are taxable because those count as a "shop or stor…
Is an early Internet "presence provider"'s web page development service subject to New York sales tax?
No -- receipts from an Internet "presence provider"'s Web page development services, including passed-through hosting fees, aren't subject to New York sales tax, both because web page development isn'…
Does a New Jersey company owe New York compensating use tax on free advertising cash-register tapes it manufactures in New Jersey and gives away to New York supermarkets?
Yes -- Cadett Register Tapes owes New York compensating use tax on the free, advertising-printed cash register tapes it distributes to New York supermarkets, because giving away promotional materials …
Which interstate trucks and trailers qualified for Texas motor vehicle tax exemption beginning September 1, 1997?
Beginning September 1, 1997, qualifying interstate trucks and trailers of the size and weight eligible for International Registration Plan plates were exempt. A Texas-plated tractor or truck needed ap…
A joint venture bills an insurance company a single charge covering many different accounting/administrative functions -- some classified as taxable insurance services, others as taxable data processing, and some seemingly nontaxable -- does the 5% threshold for taxing an entire bundled charge apply function-by-function, or to the whole contract?
The 5% guideline applies to the AGGREGATE of all taxable services performed under the contract, not separately to each type of taxable service. Citing Hearing 30,261, the Comptroller classified severa…
Does a Utah motel owe sales tax on soap, shampoo, and continental-breakfast items it gives free to guests?
Yes. The motel — not the guest — is the taxable consumer of soap, shampoo, coffee, toilet paper, and complimentary breakfast items it buys and gives away with the room, because there's no separate sal…
If a company guts a previously-occupied shopping center down to a shell and does finish-out work to prepare it for new tenants, is that finish-out taxed as nontaxable new construction (like a brand-new building's initial finish-out), or as taxable remodeling?
It's taxable remodeling, not exempt new construction. Rule 3.357(a)(5)'s definition of "new construction" includes the INITIAL finish-out work of a structure -- but that exemption applies only to a st…
Which South Carolina tax benefits did PLR 97-2 approve for an integrated expansion of a certified qualified recycling facility?
The Department approved the integrated, recertified addition for the 30% recycling-property investment credit, conditional fee-in-lieu treatment, the taxpayer's existing separate-accounting method, an…
Are ATM transaction fees, home banking service fees, pay-by-phone charges, and free software given to bank customers taxable in Texas -- for both a bank's own customers and non-customers using its ATMs?
None of these banking fees are taxable to the customer -- because Tax Code § 151.0101 lists only fifteen specific taxable services, and "banking services" is not one of them. This covers: (1) free sof…
How did Texas treat a Nevada loan-participation subsidiary, its Texas nexus, and dividends paid to a Texas bank?
On the original facts, Texas found the Nevada subsidiary had nexus because the Texas bank and other Texas servicers performed services for it. Dividends formally declared from earnings were respected;…
Does a private trucking company hauling U.S. mail owe New Mexico's petroleum products loading fee on all the fuel it pumps into its trucks in New Mexico, or only the fuel actually burned in-state?
The protest was denied. A private trucking company that hauls mail for the U.S. Postal Service owed New Mexico's petroleum products loading fee on the full amount of special fuel it pumped into its tr…
A contractor building a new manufacturing plant under a lump-sum contract asked a comprehensive set of questions: who can issue manufacturing exemption certificates, how lump-sum vs. separated contracts are taxed differently, what a direct payment permit is, and what Texas's sales tax rate and permit procedures are -- what's the full picture?
This letter is a comprehensive contractor tax primer. (1) Only the MANUFACTURER itself -- never a contractor or subcontractor -- may issue an exemption certificate for qualifying manufacturing machine…
A GPS vehicle-tracking company runs a test program with an insurance company, paying the cellular carrier directly and then allocating/re-billing the charges to the insurer and individual drivers at cost with no markup -- is this a nontaxable reimbursement, or does it make the tracking company a taxable cellular service reseller subject to security-service tax and the Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (TIF) assessment?
Neither "reimbursement" nor "resale" was quite the right frame -- the underlying service itself is taxable. The company's core offering (GPS tracking with electronic tracking of a vehicle's location, …
Did Florida documentary stamp tax apply to employee-plan loan notes made to participants inside and outside Florida?
Florida taxed notes made, executed, or delivered to plan participants in Florida; the ruling found no ERISA exemption. Notes made and delivered to out-of-state participants were not taxable when they …
Did a nonprofit community club have to collect Florida admissions tax on voluntary member payments for recreational activities?
The original ruling said yes: the club had to collect sales tax on the admissions charge because member payments supported recreational facilities and were not required as a condition of owning or occ…
Does a country club housed in a building bearing a Texas Historical Commission marker qualify for the sales tax exemption on amusement services (dues/initiation fees) available to a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark?
No -- the club's building does not qualify. Rule 3.298(g)(1)(F) exempts amusement services (like a country club's dues and initiation fees) only when provided exclusively in a place designated as a "R…
When one lump-sum contract adds new square footage onto two existing, partially-demolished buildings while also redoing their remaining structures, how should the new-addition work be split from the remodeling work for sales tax purposes?
The contract must clearly separate the two categories, because they're taxed differently. Work on the existing building slabs -- including new siding, new fronts, and the plumbing/electrical/HVAC serv…
Did a nonprofit missionary organization have to collect Florida sales tax on its sales of tangible personal property?
No. Because the organization held a valid religious-institution exemption and regularly conducted public worship services at an established location, Florida treated it as a church and exempted its sa…
Are traffic-control electronics (cameras, radios, controllers, message signs) for a highway reconstruction project taxable 'construction materials,' and can a contractor buy them tax-free as the government's purchasing agent?
The traffic-control electronics themselves (CCTV cameras, radios, controllers, message signs, and cabinet components) remain tangible personal property even when mounted on poles or structures -- they…
If you didn't pay New Mexico income tax because you genuinely believed you were exempt, can the interest on the unpaid tax be waived?
The protest was denied. A taxpayer who paid no New Mexico income tax for several years — because, as a tribal member living and working on the Navajo Reservation, he genuinely believed his income was …
If a paid tax preparer's mistake caused you to underpay New Mexico income tax, can the interest on the unpaid tax be waived?
The protest was denied. A couple whose paid tax preparer accidentally left $18,491 of wages off their 1992 return had to pay interest on the resulting underpaid New Mexico income tax — even though the…
How did Texas tax a vehicle brought into the state by a new resident in 1997?
Historically, Texas generally charged a new resident a flat $15 instead of the 6.25% sales or use tax if the vehicle had first been registered to that resident elsewhere. New and used vehicles otherwi…
Are the temporary signs, barrels, and cones a highway-materials supplier sells to road contractors an 'ingredient or component part' of the road, so the sale can be deducted from gross receipts on an NTTC?
The protest was denied. Highway Supply sold traffic-control devices — signs, barrels, cones, barricades — to road contractors and to government agencies, and claimed gross-receipts-tax deductions on t…
Are crew uniforms and their monthly cleaning exempt from Texas sales tax when purchased for the crew of a ship operating in interstate coastal commerce?
No. Crew uniforms and the monthly cleaning of those uniforms do not qualify for the Tax Code § 151.329 exemption for machinery, equipment, and consumable items used to operate certain ships and vessel…
When a Texas printer/fulfillment house mails direct-mail advertising for an out-of-state customer to addresses both inside and outside Texas, how much of the charge is subject to Texas sales tax?
Only the pieces mailed to Texas addresses are subject to Texas tax; pieces mailed by the third-party mailer to addresses outside Texas are not taxed, even though the seller (a Texas business) billed a…
Is transferring a company's delivery vehicles into a newly created, wholly-owned subsidiary (to limit liability) exempt from Utah sales tax as an isolated or occasional sale?
Yes. Transfers of titled/registered motor vehicles are normally NOT exempt as isolated or occasional sales under Rule R865-19S-38C, but that rule carves out an exception for vehicle transfers made as …
Did a foreign corporation create Texas franchise-tax nexus by serving as general partner of Texas limited partnerships?
Yes. Assuming the three limited partnerships did business in Texas, the California corporation's role as their general partner created Texas nexus under the former franchise tax. It had to file an ini…
Was documentary stamp tax due when a sole beneficiary moved Florida real property from a trust into that same person's IRA?
No. Because the same person was the trustee and sole beneficiary of the trust and the sole beneficiary of the IRA, moving title to the IRA custodian did not transfer beneficial ownership of the Florid…
Which parts of a shipping company's Florida port lease qualified for the port-property sales-tax exemption?
The exemption depended on actual use. Transit Shed #2 and throughput fees for docking, mooring, and cargo loading were fully exempt; mixed container and office facilities were partly exempt; support a…
Were a missionary organization's tangible-property sales exempt when it held a Florida exemption and conducted weekly public worship?
Yes. The organization held a valid Consumer's Certificate of Exemption as a religious institution and conducted weekly public worship and Bible instruction at an established physical location, so Flor…
How did Florida tax lump-sum fuel-station installations and repairs to the electronic control console?
For a predominantly real-property lump-sum project, the contractor was the taxable consumer of tanks, pumps, canopies, and the installed electronic console. A stand-alone repair to the console was a t…
How did Texas tax a concrete pump bought with a truck, bought separately, or leased with the truck?
A one-vendor purchase of a truck with the pump attached was fully subject to motor vehicle tax. If the chassis and pump came from separate vendors, the chassis was subject to motor vehicle tax and the…
Can a waste-transfer-station operator buy a competitor's trash-hauling service tax-free for resale when that competitor also uses the same transfer station for its own customers' trash?
No -- the charge Paper Fibres pays Browning Ferris Industries (B.F.I.) to haul all the consolidated waste from Paper Fibres' own transfer station to a Pennsylvania landfill is a separate taxable trash…
Can a foreign diplomatic mission use its U.S. State Department tax exemption card to book a hotel room tax-free in New York if payment is made by the mission's check, the mission's credit card, or a credit card in the name of the mission's home government?
Yes -- a foreign mission holding a valid U.S. Department of State Mission Tax Exemption Card covering hotel room taxes can rent hotel rooms exempt from New York sales tax when payment is made by the m…
Are the flat monthly fees an internet service provider charges customers for internet access subject to New York state and local sales tax?
Starting February 1, 1997, flat monthly fees an internet service provider charges for internet access are not subject to New York state and local sales tax, including bundled amenities like navigation…
If Texas adopted the 1996 Internal Revenue Code definition, would 1997 federal changes count when determining S-corporation status?
Conditionally, yes. The Comptroller said that if pending legislation changed Texas's statutory IRC definition to the Code in effect for 1996, provisions specified in that Code but effective in 1997 wo…
Can a New York City Industrial Development Agency sale-leaseback structure let PaineWebber buy and lease office build-out improvements and equipment sales-tax-free by having its agents purchase everything on the IDA's behalf?
Yes, with conditions -- the New York City Industrial Development Agency's proposed sale-leaseback structure for PaineWebber's office build-out ("Tenant Improvements") and equipment/software ("Project …
We're a not-for-profit educational organization leasing 23% of a Manhattan office building. To help us qualify for a real property tax exemption on our space -- which requires the space's OWNER (not just its user) to be tax-exempt -- our landlord has agreed to convey us bare legal title to just the air envelope enclosing our leased space, as a fee simple determinable that automatically reverts to the landlord when our lease ends. The landlord keeps every economic benefit: all our rent, all mortgage financing rights and proceeds, condemnation proceeds, and tax ownership treatment; we get no rights to encumber the space, no condemnation claim, and no relief from our lease obligations. No money changes hands. Does this 'raw title' transfer trigger New York's Real Estate Transfer Tax?
Exempt -- the landlord keeps every economic incident of ownership, so there's no real change in beneficial ownership. American Management Association ('Petitioner'), a not-for-profit educational entit…
Does sales tax apply to a convention center's charges for additional electrical, telephone, and plumbing hookups ordered by trade show exhibitors and managers on top of its basic license fee?
No -- the Javits Convention Center's charges for additional electrical, telephone, and plumbing services ordered by show managers and exhibitors on top of its basic utilities aren't subject to sales t…
What crude oil severance tax exemption levels applied in Kansas from May 1997 through April 1998?
For the fiscal period May 1, 1997 through April 30, 1998, the Kansas crude oil severance tax exemption levels were set using a determined average oil price of $21.98 per barrel. Because that price is …
If a lessor leases a building along with tangible personal property inside it (like computer equipment) for one combined rent with no separate charge for the equipment, is any part of the rent subject to Texas sales tax?
No. Under Comptroller's Rule 3.294(k)(1), when a lease of real property (a building) also includes the lease of tangible personal property located in that space -- here, computer hardware and software…
Did out-of-state contractor licensing or ownership of Texas partnerships create nexus for a holding company and its subsidiaries?
The holding company and two subsidiaries were not doing business in Texas so long as partnership employees did not act as their agents in Texas and no other Texas connections existed. Two different su…
How did Texas treat a Nevada loan-participation subsidiary and dividends paid to its Texas bank parent?
Texas found the Nevada subsidiary had nexus because the Texas bank and other Texas servicers performed services for it. Dividends formally declared from earnings were respected. The Texas-domiciled ba…
When did Florida tax drop-shipped equipment sales and separately billed installation or repair charges?
The manufacturer needed a valid Florida resale certificate from the distributor or had to collect tax on the drop shipment. Installation and repair labor, trip, expense, and parts charges were all tax…
How did the former Texas franchise tax apply to an S corporation?
Texas generally taxed an S corporation like any other corporation doing or authorized to do business in the state. Under the 1997 system it computed taxable-capital and earned-surplus components, appo…
How were receipts from a software support, maintenance, and enhancement plan apportioned under the former Texas franchise tax?
Texas treated the plan as licensing a computer program because nearly all costs related to upgrades, extensions, and enhancements rather than telephone support. Renewal charges were therefore apportio…
Is a court-ordered liquidation fund taxed like a qualified settlement fund subject to New York franchise tax, State income tax, or New York City income tax?
No. A court-ordered liquidation fund that only holds proceeds, pays creditors, distributes to beneficiaries, and makes short-term investments is not conducting a business, so it is not a corporation u…
Does a non-bank Article 9-A taxpayer keep its Article 9-A status when it contributes its assets to a partnership, and how do tiered-partnership items flow to it?
It keeps its Article 9-A status. Because the SBIC was never a banking corporation under section 1452(a)(9), it is simply an Article 9-A taxpayer and the section 1452(d) grandfather election does not e…
If the state's own employees repeatedly told me I didn't owe gross receipts tax, can it later come back and make me pay it plus interest?
The protest was denied. Arthur Pino, a rural contract mail carrier near Magdalena, tried to register and pay New Mexico gross receipts tax, but Department employees repeatedly told him — wrongly — tha…
Can the state file a tax lien while I'm paying under an installment plan, and can I still challenge the original assessments years later?
The protest was denied. Raymond Gabaldon, who owns Movie Land Video, fell behind on gross receipts taxes after a manager he hired during his National Guard active duty failed to file and pay. He paid …
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.