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.
When a customer pays for an equipment maintenance contract in monthly or quarterly installments instead of all at once, does the seller collect sales tax on each installment or on the full contract price up front?
The full sales tax is due on the entire contract price at the time the maintenance agreement is signed, regardless of whether the customer is allowed to pay in installments over the contract term, bec…
Could a federal S corporation opt out of S-corporation treatment for the former Texas franchise tax?
No. Texas had no separate state election to accept or reject S-corporation status for franchise-tax purposes. Most treatment matched other corporations, but an S corporation could elect the federal in…
Are services to run temporary electrical drops and power temporary trailers at a new construction job site taxable in Texas?
No. Services to run temporary electrical drops (so subcontractors can plug in power tools) and to connect electrical power to temporary trailers at a new construction job site are not taxable. The com…
When was the initial former Texas franchise-tax report due after a company with nexus obtained a certificate of authority?
The Comptroller restated a prior determination that the company had Texas nexus and was subject to franchise tax, but this letter did not repeat the underlying nexus facts. After receiving authority t…
Does a coffee manufacturer's own grinding machine, placed in a grocery store for the store's customers to use on already-shipped coffee beans, qualify for the Texas manufacturing exemption?
No -- this letter corrects an earlier (January 10, 1997) ruling from the same office. A coffee storage/grinding machine that a coffee manufacturer places inside grocery stores, for the stores' own cus…
Where were royalty receipts from trademarks, franchises, and licenses sourced under the former Texas franchise tax?
Texas sourced the intellectual-property owner's royalty revenue to the payor's location for both former franchise-tax components. Rule 3.549 expressly used that rule for taxable capital. Although the …
When used refinery equipment bought in Texas is dismantled, inspected, refurbished, and shipped out of the country over several months, does the export exemption still apply, and are the dismantling/inspection/refurbishing services themselves taxable?
The purchase of used refinery equipment for export is exempt from Texas sales tax, and local tax on the sale is refundable to the buyer once proof of export is provided under Rule 3.323. Rule 3.323(c)…
Did a revocable trust move its intangible-tax situs outside Florida when one doctor said its Florida grantor was totally and permanently disabled and a non-Florida successor trustee was named?
No. The Department concluded that the trust still had taxable situs in Florida because the evidence did not establish incapacity under the trust's two-doctor procedure or Florida law, and the Florida …
Is a company's charge for driving a client's employee crews around Utah in vans subject to Utah sales tax, and has the law on transportation taxation changed recently?
Yes, taxable for the period in question, but the law changed several times in just a few years and became permanently favorable after July 1, 1997. Intrastate (within-Utah) passenger transportation be…
When a city agrees with a municipal utility/management district to impose city sales tax and hotel occupancy tax in its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ), when does the new city sales tax actually take effect?
Even though the City of Galveston and Galveston County Municipal District Number One had already held public hearings and signed an agreement to impose both the Galveston municipal hotel occupancy tax…
Is a subscription publication made up mostly of attorney-written trial reports exempt from Texas sales tax as a magazine, even though it looks and is delivered like one?
No. Even though the publication has every physical characteristic of a magazine -- paperback, illustrated, published at regular intervals, containing stories/articles/essays and ads, sold by subscript…
Must a qualified retirement plan or an IRA file a New York return or pay New York tax under Article 13 on unrelated business taxable income?
As originally issued: a qualified section 401(a) retirement plan covered by ERISA owed no New York Article 13 tax on unrelated business taxable income because the tax was preempted by ERISA under Morg…
Were the accounts labeled receivables in an investment fund's portfolio subject to Florida intangible personal property tax?
No. The Department concluded that the accounts titled receivables in the fund's portfolio were not subject to Florida intangible personal property tax. It reasoned that the entries created for pending…
An electrical contractor's customer used a sales tax recovery firm to seek a refund of tax paid on several jobs, claiming a manufacturing exemption -- which of the contractor's charges (moving equipment, repairing manufacturing equipment, upgrading a building's electrical system, partial demolition) actually qualify?
It depends on the specific work, and the Comptroller broke it down by job type. (1) Simply moving equipment between plants, setting it in place, and hooking it up to the existing electrical system is …
Did a publicly traded company have to send its Public Information Report to a director paid for board service?
No. The Comptroller said the publicly traded company did not need to send a copy to a director who was paid for board services. Section 171.203 targeted people who might be listed after their relation…
Did assigning and renewing an existing Florida mortgage loan, then transferring the property without assuming the payment obligation, trigger additional documentary stamp or nonrecurring intangible tax?
No. The assignment and renewal were not additionally taxed because the original obligor renewed only the unpaid balance, without enlarging the obligation, and the original taxes had been paid. The buy…
Did an out-of-state husband and his Florida-domiciled wife each have to file Florida intangible personal property tax returns for their separately held portfolios?
The wife had to file; the husband generally did not. Because the wife was domiciled in Florida, she had to report all intangible property she owned, managed, or controlled, including any of her husban…
Was a $10,000 refundable security deposit under a Florida real-property lease subject to sales tax as rent?
Not when deposited or returned unused. The Department concluded that the refundable security deposit was not taxable rent. Any amount later applied to unpaid rent was taxable, while an amount retained…
Were fees for swimming or snorkeling in structured and unstructured dolphin programs subject to Florida sales tax when spectators paid a separate taxable admission?
No. The Department concluded that fees for participants in both dolphin programs were not subject to sales tax because the operator charged spectators a taxable admission to enter the controlled activ…
Does a farmer-owned cooperative building a new feed mill get a sales tax exemption on the construction materials and manufacturing equipment it buys?
Mostly no on the agricultural exemption, but yes on parts of the manufacturing exemption. The agricultural exemption under § 59-12-104 only covers property used directly in farming production itself —…
Does an out-of-state manufacturer with no offices, warehouses, or sales staff in Utah have to collect Utah sales/use tax on sales shipped to Utah dealers, and are its shipping charges taxable?
Without an office, warehouse, sales agents, or service/repair presence in Utah (directly or through a third party acting on its behalf), the manufacturer generally lacks Utah nexus and doesn't have to…
If I couldn't use a capital loss in the year I had it and want to carry it back to cut an earlier year's New Mexico tax, how long do I have to file the refund claim — and does an earlier amended return on a different issue keep that year open?
The protest was denied. Amoco carried a 1992 capital loss back to its 1989 New Mexico corporate income tax year to claim a $64,588 refund, but filed the amended 1989 return in January 1995 — more than…
Is a waste management company's flat monthly fee for supplying and servicing portable toilets (port-a-potties) at a manufacturing plant taxable, and if so, which local tax applies?
Yes, taxable. A waste management company's flat monthly fee to supply portable toilets at a manufacturing plant and clean them out twice a week is taxable as the rental of tangible personal property -…
Were Texas rental receipts exempt when a vehicle was modified for a renter with an orthopedic disability?
No. The purchase exemption for a specially modified vehicle bought by an eligible individual did not extend to gross rental receipts. The rental business had to collect and remit rental tax, although …
Did a sheet-metal job shop's $319,000 laser qualify for Florida's industrial-machinery exemption as equipment used in a new business?
Yes. After examining the old and new products, the Department found that thick steel-plate parts cut by the laser were not physically comparable to the thin sheet-metal electronics parts made on the e…
Did the original TAA treat a utility's monthly charge for utility-owned voltage-reduction equipment as a taxable equipment lease?
The original ruling said no. Because the utility selected, installed, operated, maintained, repaired, replaced, and removed the equipment while the customer had no operational control, the charge was …
If a business charges customers to play a no-stakes black jack table (chips have no monetary value, dealt by a live dealer), does it owe Texas sales tax on the charge?
Yes. Charging customers to play black jack -- even a for-fun table where the chips have no monetary value and a live dealer runs the game -- is taxable as an amusement service. The business must get a…
Did Florida use tax apply when permitted pharmaceutical manufacturers gave free prescription-drug samples to practitioners and hospitals for patient treatment?
No. The Department concluded that use tax did not apply when authorized pharmaceutical manufacturers and sellers gave free prescription-drug samples to practitioners and hospitals for use in medical t…
A firm charges insurance adjusters for accident-scene photos, travel time, mileage, diagrams, measurements, traffic-signal timing, witness canvassing, and obtaining police reports -- which of these itemized charges are subject to Texas sales tax?
All of it is taxable -- confirming that the firm was "correctly charging tax on the total amount charged," though under three different legal categories. (1) Photo charges are taxable as the sale of a…
Was a mandatory $125 initiation fee for access to a computerized real-estate multiple-listing database subject to Florida sales tax?
No. The mandatory $125 per-terminal fee was a condition of accessing the multiple-listing database. Because the database supplied information as electronic images on a subscriber's screen, the access …
Could a corporate group stop filing Florida consolidated returns because the parent withdrew from Florida, the subsidiary became inactive, and separate filing would reduce administration?
No, not on the information submitted. The group remained federally consolidated, loss of the parent's Florida nexus did not end the Florida election, and the parent showed none of the adverse legal or…
Did a 50% LLC ownership transfer that caused a federal partnership technical termination also create a Florida liquidation, and how many Florida returns were required?
It did not create a Florida liquidation or gain or loss, but it did require two Florida short-year returns. Florida treated the LLC as a corporation, so the federal partnership technical-termination r…
Was the full lump-sum price for installing or repairing permanent commercial refrigeration systems subject to Florida sales tax?
No. The Department treated permanently installed refrigeration systems as improvements to real property, so the full lump-sum installation or repair price was not subject to sales tax. The contractor …
I drive my own truck for one company that pays me on a 1099 with no taxes withheld — am I an independent contractor who owes gross receipts tax, or an employee whose pay is exempt?
The protest was granted. Stan Wheeler drove his own dump truck hauling asphalt for Western Mobile, was paid on a Form 1099 as 'nonemployee compensation' with no taxes withheld, and the Department asse…
Is a ranch's two-way radio repeater system and handheld radios, used to keep in contact with employees working the ranch, exempt from Texas sales tax as farm/ranch equipment?
No. A ranch's two-way radio repeater tower system and handheld radios -- used to keep in contact with employees working various areas of the ranch -- are not exempt from Texas sales tax. Although usef…
What guidance did this Texas Comptroller letter give about dissolving a limited partnership?
The letter did not decide a franchise-tax issue or explain a dissolution procedure. It directed the requester to Title 105 of Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes and specifically to Section 2.03 of former A…
How did Florida require a single-owner LLC treated federally as its corporate owner's branch to report within a consolidated group?
The LLC was not a separate member of the Florida consolidated group. Its income remained inside the corporate owner's federal taxable income and therefore the Florida consolidated return, but the LLC …
Under RR 97-5, how much South Carolina sales tax did a nonresident owe when buying a travel trailer?
With the required notarized form, tax was the lesser of the buyer's home-state tax or South Carolina's then-applicable amount: 5% of price after trade-in or $300. No South Carolina tax was due if the …
Are anti-theft sensor labels sold to manufacturers and retailers exempt from New York sales tax as sales for resale or as packaging material?
It depends who buys them -- loss-prevention labels sold to manufacturers, who place them inside a product's packaging and resell the labeled product, qualify for the resale exemption with a resale cer…
Is a kitchen and bathroom renovation company that controls the whole job but has its customers separately sign contracts with the installing tradespeople a retailer of the cabinets it sells, or a contractor performing a capital improvement?
The renovation firm is a contractor, not a retailer -- because it controls every aspect of the renovation (design, pricing, and which tradespeople the customer must use), it must pay sales tax itself …
Can a lawn care company buy the mixer drums, pumps, pulleys, chains and engine parts it uses to blend its own fertilizer tax-free as production machinery and equipment?
No -- a lawn care company's mixer drums, pumps, pulleys, chains and vehicle engine parts used to blend fertilizer are subject to sales and use tax (and so are repairs to them), because the fertilizer …
How does New York sales tax apply to a company that thermally treats and recycles contaminated soil -- on the processing charge, on transportation, on the treatment equipment and fuel, and on any reclaimed soil it later sells?
A company that thermally treats and recycles contaminated soil is performing a taxable processing service under Tax Law § 1105(c)(2) (not exempt waste removal), taxed on the full contract price includ…
Is the concrete foundation for a ski lift's towers and terminals covered by Utah's passenger-tramway sales tax exemption?
The tramway sale itself (chair lift, J-bar, T-bar, platter pull, rope tow, or aerial tramway) is exempt from Utah sales tax, and the Commission confirmed the concrete foundations securing the towers a…
Did a Texas-resident servicemember owe Texas vehicle tax when registering an out-of-state purchase in Texas?
Yes. A Texas-resident servicemember registering the vehicle in Texas owed motor vehicle tax, with credit for sales tax paid to another state. The letter's separate $15 new-resident amount is obsolete …
Does a health club need to charge sales tax on membership fees, aerobics classes, punch cards, massage, physical therapy, personal training, and tanning?
It depends on what's actually being charged for. Membership fees and any charge for use of the facility/equipment are taxable, calculated on each payment as it's made (including monthly installment pa…
Is a line drawing sold to a t-shirt manufacturer, for use in its manufacturing process, taxable as graphic artwork, or can the seller accept an exemption certificate instead?
Graphic artwork -- including a line drawing -- is generally taxable under Rule 3.312. But because this line drawing is being sold to a shirt manufacturer that will use it in its manufacturing process,…
We're the state agency redeveloping Times Square/West 42nd Street. Private developers are leasing sites from us and financing construction through commercial lenders, with us named as mortgagee or co-mortgagee even though we have no beneficial interest in the loan. Is recording those mortgages -- and later assignments or modifications of them -- exempt from mortgage recording tax?
Exempt, while UDC remains the named mortgagee or co-mortgagee. The New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC, doing business as Empire State Development Corporation) has been redeveloping the …
If my business only serves the federal government on a military base and I never knew I owed New Mexico gross receipts tax, can I be excused from the tax, penalty, and interest — especially when the state never gave me a straight answer?
The protest was denied. M & R Janitorial Services cleaned base housing exclusively for the federal government at Kirtland Air Force Base and, from 1986 on, simply didn't know it owed New Mexico gross …
If my supplier passes gross receipts tax on to me in the price of materials, can I subtract those material costs from my own gross receipts — and isn't taxing both 'double taxation'?
The protest was denied. Novick's Painting, a house-painting contractor, was assessed gross receipts tax for 1993 after it stopped being able to buy paint tax-free and started deducting the cost of its…
Are membership dues taxable as club dues when a golf and country club sells memberships to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis with no proprietary rights or membership control?
No -- dues paid by members of a golf and country club are not subject to New York sales tax as club dues, because nonequity members hold no proprietary interest in the club, have no vote or control ov…
Is a company's telephone verification of a mortgage applicant's job, income and landlord references a taxable investigation service under New York sales tax?
No -- a company's mortgage loan verification service, which consists of telephone interviews confirming a specific applicant's employment, income and other facts at the time of the loan application, i…
Was a linen company's recurring rental of reusable cloth napkins to restaurants subject to Florida sales tax?
Yes. The linen company rented tangible personal property to the restaurants, so the per-napkin rental charge was subject to the 6% tax applied in the ruling. Reusable cloth napkins were not one-time p…
When do statutory mergers, partnership contributions, debt assumptions, and lease transfers trigger Texas motor vehicle tax?
Statutory mergers of previously Texas-titled vehicles and genuine no-consideration capital contributions generally caused no motor vehicle sales tax, while debt assumed or forgiven in exchange for a v…
Which accounting periods applied to taxable capital and earned surplus on an initial former Texas franchise-tax report?
The corporation's normal December 31 year-end did not satisfy the taxable-capital timing test, so taxable capital used the month-end nearest the first anniversary of doing business in Texas. Earned su…
Does Utah's manufacturing sales tax exemption cover a walk-in freezer bought by a frozen cookie dough manufacturer, and does it matter whether the freezer replaced an old one or expanded capacity?
It depends on whether the freezer replaced old equipment or expanded capacity -- the Commission changed its answer once the taxpayer clarified the facts. If the freezer is a normal operating replaceme…
Does a nonprofit business league that is tax-exempt under IRC section 501(c)(6) owe Utah corporate income or franchise tax?
Generally no. Organizations exempt under IRC section 501 -- including a 501(c)(6) business league -- are generally exempt from Utah corporate income and franchise tax under § 59-7-102. The one excepti…
How did Texas tax a vehicle bought for export and accessories installed before or after the vehicle purchase?
The vehicle qualified for the export exemption only if its use was limited to removal from Texas and the buyer signed an out-of-state use certificate. Accessories added before the vehicle purchase qua…
Does a weekly investment research subscription that mixes stock ratings data with analytical articles qualify as an exempt periodical under New York sales tax?
Yes -- The Value Line Investment Survey, a weekly subscription publication combining stock ratings data with analytical articles by different authors, qualifies as an exempt periodical under Tax Law §…
(1) Can a wholesaler accept a manufacturing exemption certificate from a grocery store buying packaging supplies it knows are used only to repackage, not manufacture, products? (2) When taxable and nontaxable items ship together for one delivery charge, how much of that transportation charge is taxable?
Two separate answers. (1) A wholesaler CANNOT accept a manufacturing exemption certificate in good faith from a grocery-store customer if the wholesaler actually knows the packaging supplies are used …
Does a crane that lifts scrap metal from a metal-cutting shear to a bin for processing -- and can only be used for that one task -- qualify for the manufacturing exemption?
No. A crane (a 1993 Link-Belt Hydraulic Crawler Excavator) that's attached to a metal-cutting shear and uses a magnet to move scrap to a bin for processing does not qualify for the manufacturing exemp…
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.