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.
A company provides mobile surgical units (installed in vehicles), disposable supplies, and sometimes a technician, to patients directly or to hospitals/physicians. How is this taxed for Texas sales, use, and motor vehicle tax purposes?
It depends on what's provided. If the company supplies a technician or surgical support along with the equipment, that's a non-taxable service, but the company still owes tax on supplies/equipment tha…
Why does our direct sales/multi-level marketing company (COMPANY A) have to collect sales tax on the suggested retail price of items sold to its distributors, when the distributors already pay sales tax to COMPANY A before reselling the inventory?
Because Rule 3.286(a)(3) treats a direct sales/multi-level marketing company as the "retailer" responsible for collecting and remitting Texas sales tax on the suggested retail price, rather than treat…
Is labor to repair real or personal property damaged by a disaster exempt from Texas sales tax even if the damage occurred outside an area officially declared a disaster area?
No. Once the Legislature enacted Tax Code Sec. 151.350, the exemption for disaster-repair labor applies only to property damaged within an area officially declared a disaster area by the Governor or t…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-96(42)S: Is a specific method of waterproofing leaking basement wall cracks -- installing a permanent interior drainage system rather than patching the cracks -- a tax-exempt capital improvement or a taxable repair service?
It's a capital improvement, exempt from sales tax to the customer. Sta Dry Systems Inc. doesn't patch or inject cracked basement walls -- instead it permanently reroutes leaking water into the floor d…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-96(41)S: Does an environmental contractor's installation of soil and groundwater treatment systems at contaminated gas station sites qualify as a tax-exempt "capital improvement" to real property?
It depends on the facts of each installation -- the Department can't decide that question in the abstract, but it laid out the test. Envirotrac Ltd. installs soil and/or groundwater treatment systems …
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-96(40)S: When a printer's invoice for coupons bundles the printing cost with overhead, can the buyer exclude the overhead portion from the sales-tax base?
No -- the whole purchase price is the taxable receipt, with no deduction for overhead. E.C.E. Enterprises buys printed coupons at $123 per 10,000 or $194 per 20,000 and believed part of that price was…
Does Utah exempt vehicles owned by religious organizations from vehicle registration fees, or allow the Tax Commission to create a special exempt license plate for them?
No. Utah Code Ann. § 41-1a-203 lists every category of vehicle exempt from state registration requirements, and none of them cover vehicles owned by religious organizations — so the Tax Commission has…
A fabric awning manufacturer/installer asked whether it's a manufacturer or a contractor, how to tax mixed-use supplies like screws and grommets, whether awning storage and reinstallation is taxable, and whether it still qualifies for the manufacturer utility tax exemption.
It depends on the facts of each job. If custom awnings are attached to a building with the intent to become a permanent improvement to realty, the installer is acting as a contractor (not selling tang…
A company picks up used oil field tubing at a customer's wellsite and gives the customer a book credit, then cleans, grades, and repairs the pipe and sells it back to the same customer. Are these transactions taxable, and can resale/direct-pay certificates be used?
Yes, tax can be due, but it depends on how the deal is structured. The pickup of the pipe (with a book credit given) and the later sale of the cleaned pipe back to the customer are treated as two sepa…
Is a consultant/contract programmer's fee for helping a customer create an interactive multimedia training program taxable, when the customer will own the finished program?
No, generally not. Helping a customer create an interactive computer-based training program that the customer will own is nontaxable computer programming under Tax Code 151.0101(5)(D) — but the provid…
How did Senate Bill 704 change the Kansas petroleum products inspection fee on July 1, 1996?
Effective July 1, 1996, Senate Bill 704 modified the Kansas Petroleum Products Inspection Law as part of a Department of Agriculture fuel-quality package. The changes: the Petroleum Products Inspectio…
Is sales tax due on charges by a medical transcriptionist for transcribing medical dictation, and does the state pay interest on refunds of tax collected on that service?
No sales tax is due on medical transcription charges. A district court ruled that a medical transcriptionist's transcription of medical dictation is not a data processing service, the Comptroller deci…
Does a sailboat chartering business need a Texas sales tax permit, and are rides like helicopter or boat rides taxable amusement services?
A sailboat chartering business (hiring out a crewed sailboat for transportation, not pleasure rides) does not need a Texas sales tax permit. But pleasure rides in trains, helicopters, boats, hot-air b…
When I bind books using my own labor and a customer's pages, am I selling goods to the government or performing a taxable service?
It's a taxable service. Bookbinders of New Mexico bound and rebound books — mostly for university and public libraries and other government agencies — using customer-supplied pages plus about $1.60 of…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-96(39)S: Is the fee a private child-support collection agency charges clients to secure a payment arrangement from delinquent parents subject to sales tax as a "detective service," given that the agency sometimes has to locate the delinquent parent first?
No -- the collection fee itself is not taxable, but a subcontracted locator charge would be. Child Support Services of NY, Inc. charges clients 28% of the delinquent child support it collects, mainly …
How are a utility's tolling fees for burning marketers' gas to produce the marketers' electricity, and the marketers' imported gas, taxed under sections 186, 186-a, 189 and the sales tax?
Marketers that import out-of-state gas into Con Edison's system to be burned into their own electricity are section 189 gas importers, and Con Edison -- the public utility delivering the gas -- must c…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-96(37)S: A contractor who hires a plumber and mason as subcontractors on a pool job asks whether he has to pay sales tax to those subcontractors, or whether he can instead give them a Contractor Exempt Purchase Certificate (Form ST-120.1).
It depends on what kind of job the contractor is doing for the property owner. If the contractor's own work for the customer is a TAXABLE service (an installation that doesn't become part of real prop…
Does a manufacturer's multi-building campus qualify for Connecticut's 75% gas-and-electricity exemption when most of the utility-metered energy is used for fabrication and R&D, measured by the utility's meter?
Yes, it qualifies. Gas and electricity are exempt from Connecticut sales and use tax under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(3)(A)(ii) when, at a metered building, location, or premises, at least 75% of the e…
Are the processing fee, trip fee, and reinstatement fee that a rental company charges on a lease agreement subject to Texas sales tax?
It depends on the fee. The processing fee (charged for processing the rental agreement) and the reinstatement fee (charged to renew a lapsed lease) are both taxable as part of the sales price of the r…
A taxpayer bought and used an aircraft before it was a licensed and certified carrier, and later argued it was diligently trying to get certified. Does that get it out of paying tax on the purchase?
No. The taxpayer owes Texas tax on the full purchase price of the aircraft. Not yet being a licensed and certified carrier at the time of purchase doesn't by itself disqualify a diligent applicant fro…
Is a newsletter sold by subscription or single issue taxable in Texas, and are sales to governmental customers exempt?
Yes, newsletters are taxable. The Comptroller ruled that newsletters are taxed as information services under Rule 3.342, so sales tax is due on both single-issue sales and subscriptions. However, sale…
How did House Bill 2663 change the Kansas sand royalty effective July 1, 1996?
Effective July 1, 1996, House Bill 2663 amended K.S.A. 70a-102 to increase the sand royalty rate to $.15 per ton for sand removed, authorize the Secretary of Revenue to set by rule and regulation the …
How did RR 96-9 administer the historical 1% Cherokee County school sales and use tax beginning July 1, 1996?
The 1% tax applied countywide from July 1, 1996. Retailers in Cherokee County owed sales tax on covered property delivered there, while property delivered into the county could create purchaser use ta…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-96(36)S: When Viacom finances office build-outs, equipment, and maintenance contracts through the New York City Industrial Development Agency's bond program to stay headquartered in the city, are those purchases, the resulting lease (debt-service) payments, intercompany reimbursements, the $1 buyout option, and an early-removal penalty all exempt from sales and use tax?
Yes, with one open factual question and one hard carve-out. Because title to the improvements and equipment runs through the New York City Industrial Development Agency (IDA) under General Municipal L…
Does a nonprofit religious/charitable organization owe Utah sales tax on ticket sales, dutch oven meals, concession stand food, and gift shop items sold at its outdoor drama production?
It depends on the specific sale. Ticket sales for the nonprofit's own production are exempt because they directly support its educational/charitable mission — but if an outside producer rents the faci…
I'm buying a building and gutting it down to the four exterior walls to add a story and a half. Does that rehab count as a fresh 'qualifying capital improvement' under New York's builders' exemption from the Real Property Transfer Gains Tax, even though the building already existed before I bought it?
Yes -- the gut rehabilitation qualified. Dashal 67, LLC planned to buy a five-story building for about $2.5 million and immediately gut-rehabilitate it down to its four exterior walls while adding a s…
My family's real estate partnership is splitting up: I'm taking two of our five properties into a new entity with my spouse, and my siblings are taking the other three into their own entity. Does New York's Real Property Transfer Gains Tax apply, and does the value of the ownership interest I keep for myself get taxed as part of the deal?
The full fair market value of each parcel counted as taxable consideration, but each partner's own retained percentage ownership was exempt under the 'mere change of identity or form' rule. Under New …
I subdivided a parcel of land into five residential lots and I'm now selling two more of them to a builder who will build houses on them. Do I have to add up the sale prices of all the lots I've sold from this subdivision to see if I hit New York's $1 million Real Property Transfer Gains Tax threshold, or is each lot sale tested separately?
No aggregation needed -- each lot sale is tested separately. New York's now-repealed Real Property Transfer Gains Tax exempted transfers with consideration under $1 million, but ordinarily required ag…
For privacy, my spouse and I are having a corporation (not us personally) take title to the house we're going to live in as our home. Can that house still qualify for New York's personal-residence exemption from the Real Property Transfer Gains Tax when it's later sold?
Yes, potentially -- if the facts support it at the time of the later transfer. A married couple formed a corporation, RAI (NY), Inc., solely to hold title to a residential property for confidentiality…
Does a church-sponsored youth troop need a sales tax license to sell and deliver water softener salt to neighborhood residents as a fundraiser?
It depends on the troop's exempt status, and probably needs a license. Sales by a religious or charitable organization are exempt from Utah sales tax only if the organization itself qualifies as exemp…
A mobile surgery service brings a portable laser machine, disposable surgical supplies, and a technician to a physician's office so the physician can perform minor, minimally invasive surgery there. Is the total charge to the physician taxable?
Yes. The Comptroller ruled that the total charge to the health care provider — covering the laser equipment, disposable items and tools, and the technician who monitors and adjusts the laser — is taxa…
Is building, replacing, or repairing a fence around nonresidential real property taxable in Texas?
It depends on what's done. Building a brand-new fence, or replacing an entire existing fence, is nontaxable new construction (though a combined demolition/removal charge can be taxable if 5% or more o…
A manufacturer's equipment lease started in 1993 and was later assigned to a new lessee, with the assignment becoming effective (per lessor approval) after the October 1, 1995 manufacturing exemption qualifying date. Does the assignment create a 'new lease' that has to meet the October 1, 1995 date to qualify for the manufacturing equipment lease exemption?
No. The original lease date (July 29, 1993) controls, not the assignment's effective or approval date. An assignment or assumption of an existing lease is not considered a new lease for purposes of th…
Is a tuxedo-rental business that cleans the tuxedos it rents out entitled to Texas's manufacturing/processing exemption on its laundry equipment and supplies?
Yes. A business that cleans the tuxedos it rents out is a 'processor' for Texas tax purposes and qualifies for the manufacturing exemption: qualifying laundry/dry-cleaning equipment (washers, dryers, …
As part of a bankruptcy reorganization, we (NBC and GE) will end up as the 'owners for tax purposes' of the office condominium units we already occupy at Rockefeller Center (the GE Building and adjacent Studio/West Buildings), even though a specially formed financing trust will hold nominal legal title and lease the units back to us under 'Trust Leases' with purchase options. We'll pay all taxes, insurance, and maintenance, keep all appreciation, bear all depreciation risk, and be treated as owners for all tax purposes (though not for our own balance sheets). The financing trust's notes and mortgages that back this deal won't be recorded unless our guarantor's (GE's) credit rating drops. Does this transaction trigger the Real Estate Transfer Tax, the Real Property Transfer Gains Tax, or the Mortgage Recording Tax at any step -- the initial bankruptcy-plan transfer to the trust, the trust's lease-with-purchase-option back to us, or the unrecorded financing documents?
Exempt at every step described -- National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and General Electric Company (GE) structured a synthetic-lease financing of their Rockefeller Center office condominium interests …
Does the addition of a flash calciner unit and related equipment and modifications to an alumina and chemical processing plant qualify as exempt 'new construction' under the Increased Capacity Rule because it increases plant production capacity by about 20%?
Yes. The Comptroller confirmed that the alumina and chemical processing plant counts as a chemical processing plant under the Increased Capacity Rule (Rule 3.362), and that the new flash calciner unit…
Was a synthetic real-estate lease treated as taxable rent or as mortgage financing for Florida sales, stamp, and nonrecurring intangible tax?
Florida treated the recorded synthetic lease as a mortgage, not a rental. Lease payments therefore were not subject to sales tax. The recorded lease owed documentary stamp and nonrecurring intangible …
Were Florida-customer receivables sold to an out-of-state affiliate before January 1 taxable when the Florida seller retained limited servicing duties?
No. The out-of-state affiliate owned the receivables on January 1, while the Florida seller only kept files, processed payments, sent routine notices, and reported account status. It could not comprom…
Were receivables sold by a Florida corporation to an out-of-state affiliate before January 1 taxable when the seller performed only bookkeeping?
No, if the Florida seller performed only ministerial bookkeeping and processing while the out-of-state buyer owned all risks and control. Neither company then had to report the receivables for 1996. T…
Were the original mortgage tax legends sufficient, and was a consolidation and renewal note exempt from additional Florida documentary stamp tax?
Yes. Florida agreed that documentary stamp tax had been properly paid on the original mortgages and that their legends adequately documented payment. The consolidation and modification were exempt ren…
An industrial supply company runs a customer's tool crib inside the customer's manufacturing plant and charges shared-savings fees, start-up fees, transaction management fees, and contract labor reimbursement, plus sells products. Does it have to collect Texas sales tax on these charges?
Yes, generally. Presuming the industrial supply company is a retailer of the tool crib sales (not acting as the customer's purchasing agent), the shared savings fees, transaction management fees, and …
How can operators of Mexican aircraft document that taxable items (cargo, repair parts) are exported from Texas so sales tax doesn't apply, and does it matter whether the aircraft is a licensed/certified carrier?
It depends on the aircraft's designation. Operators of any Mexican aircraft can document export of taxable cargo items (not installed) using a Pedimento de Importaciones from Mexican customs, but must…
Is a paging service, where the pager device has a built-in transmitter that sends a location-verification signal back to the transmission equipment (but no voice or message back to the sender), subject to Texas sales tax?
Yes. Paging services are telecommunications services under Tax Code 151.0103(a), so Texas state sales tax is due on charges for all pages received in Texas, regardless of where they're re-transmitted.…
Can a Utah county reclassify a mobile home from personal property to real property for tax purposes, and does the owner get advance notice before that happens?
A mobile home is taxed as personal property (like a car) unless the owner both owns the underlying real property AND permanently attaches the mobile home to it, in which case the owner must record an …
Can a Mexican retailer who will resell the goods in Mexico buy them tax-free from a Texas seller, and if so, what documentation is required?
Yes. Effective September 1, 1995, Mexican retailers may purchase goods tax free from Texas sellers if the goods will be resold in Mexico. The retailer must properly complete a Border States Uniform Sa…
Can a corporation use a three-factor apportionment formula instead of the single gross-receipts factor on a Texas franchise tax return?
No -- the refund was denied. A corporation filed an amended 1992 franchise tax report seeking a refund by using a three-factor apportionment formula instead of the single gross-receipts factor for bot…
Is a contract to add square footage to an existing building taxed as new construction, or as taxable repair/remodeling like a roof repair or HVAC replacement?
Building an addition onto an existing nonresidential structure (or building a new structure) is new construction under Rule 3.291, not repair/remodeling — so under a lump-sum contract the contractor p…
Is a lump-sum contract to repaint condominium/apartment buildings taxable, and does the contractor need a sales tax exemption certificate from the condo association?
No sales tax exemption certificate is needed. Repainting a condo/apartment building under a lump-sum contract is a nontaxable repair to residential real property — the contractor pays tax on the paint…
How does the 18-month window for using a replaced vehicle toward a fair market value deduction get calculated, and what date counts as the start of that clock?
The 18-month period for using a replaced vehicle as a fair market value deduction starts on the date the vehicle is retired from service — not on the date it is later sold. A 'new vehicle' for this pu…
Were common-area maintenance, insurance, and promotional payments between shopping-center parcel owners taxable as real-property rent?
No. The retailers owned their own parcels and paid the developer under reciprocal easement agreements for common-area maintenance, insurance, and promotion. Those payments supported property interests…
Can a manufactured-housing contractor pay Utah use tax on just the raw-material percentage of prefabricated home panels shipped in from out of state, the same way a site-built home is only taxed on materials?
No -- the contractor's requested materials-only formula was rejected. A real property contractor who buys prefabricated "panelized" home sections from an out-of-state factory owes Utah use tax on the …
Could a dealer rely on an auction house's blanket resale certificate when the certificate named the auction rather than the dealer as seller?
No. The auction house acted as the dealer's agent, so the dealership was the seller and had to be named on the blanket resale certificate. The required resale-certificate wording could be incorporated…
Is boarding and training other people's horses 'agricultural production,' so that the operator can get a Farmer Tax Exemption Permit even though it sells no animals or produce?
Yes. Boarding and training horses that belong to others is 'agricultural production' under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(63), because the statute's definition -- raising, feeding, caring for, training, or…
Is a geocoding service — manually matching bus-ridership survey answers to numbered map locations for an out-of-state (Washington) firm, with no computer involved — subject to Texas sales/use tax?
No. The Comptroller held that this geocoding service is not subject to Texas sales/use tax.
Is nonalcoholic beer subject to Texas sales tax, or is it taxed under the Texas alcoholic beverage tax instead?
Nonalcoholic beer is subject to Texas sales or use tax, taxed the same way as other soft drinks or sodas, regardless of brand or type. It is NOT subject to Texas alcoholic beverage taxes. However, if …
Did intangibles and a promissory note between two out-of-state affiliates acquire Florida situs when one performed directed processing work?
No. The affiliate managed and controlled the intangibles from outside Florida, while the seller performed only directed bookkeeping, collection, and processing without independent judgment. The seller…
Could a corporate group discontinue Florida consolidated filing after extensive business and entity changes distorted its apportionment factors?
Yes, subject to four conditions. Deconsolidation applied for the year ended June 30, 1995; there could be no later-benefiting unrecognized items; the separate-versus-pro-forma consolidated difference …
Are down-hole labor charges performed in conjunction with drilling a new oil or gas well subject to Texas sales tax if they occur a short time after the well's Railroad Commission (RRC) completion date?
Yes, they're taxable. Down-hole new construction on a new well is considered complete once the Texas Railroad Commission certifies the well completed for production. Any down-hole labor charges perfor…
A printer sold newspaper inserts/flyers to retail stores. Some inserts were delivered directly to newspapers for distribution, some went to a mailing service instead, and some were shipped out of state. Are any of these exempt from Texas sales and use tax, and should the assessed penalty and interest be waived?
Split result. Inserts delivered directly to an actual newspaper for distribution as part of the newspaper are exempt under Tax Code § 151.319(c), so those specific invoiced items were ordered removed …
When did superseded RR 96-8 include a city or county tourism or restaurant fee in taxable gross proceeds?
A fee imposed on the restaurant or hotel was the retailer's receipt and expense, so an amount recovered from the customer entered taxable gross proceeds. A fee legally imposed on the customer was excl…
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.