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 company reorganizes its subsidiaries and transfers assets between them, does the timing of the transfer (during business hours vs. after hours) affect whether the occasional sale exemption applies?
Yes — the timing matters. The Comptroller advised that if the assets of subsidiaries A and B are transferred to new subsidiaries D and E during business hours, when the transferred segment has both in…
Is cement — Portland or Masonry, including white cement — exempt from Texas sales tax, and what about concrete made from it?
Cement, whether Portland or Masonry (including white cement), is exempt from Texas sales tax under the specific exemption in Texas Tax Code Sec. 151.308(a)(4), so no sales tax should be collected on s…
How did Florida sales tax apply to a $1 monthly sublease, optional tenant improvements, and the authority's $1 annual head lease?
The tenant owed 6 cents of sales tax on each $1 monthly rent payment. Optional improvements made solely for the tenant's benefit were not rent because the lease did not require them or terminate upon …
Does an inactive corporation that was dissolved by proclamation, but still holds bare legal title to New York real property as a nominee, owe Article 9-A franchise tax?
It depends on the period. W.R.H.R.E. Corp. was formed in 1973 only to hold bare legal title to a Port Washington property so a lender could take a mortgage; it never did business, kept no books, had n…
Does Utah sales tax apply to oil and gas well fracturing, acidizing, and stimulation services, even if the vendor separately states the chemical materials and tax on its billing?
No sales tax applies to oil and gas well fracturing, acidizing, and stimulation services, following a controlling Utah Supreme Court decision holding that the essence of these services is a service, n…
Did beneficiaries or trustees owe Florida intangible tax where beneficiary powers were limited and the trusts barred Florida trustees?
No. The beneficiaries could not revoke the trusts, invade corpus, or exercise an unlimited appointment power. The trust terms also barred individual Florida-resident trustees and corporate trustees do…
Could a corporate group keep its Florida consolidated-return election after a proposed federal reverse acquisition and change in U.S. parent?
It depended on the federal result, which the Department could not determine from the submission. If Company C's federal consolidated group continued, its Florida filing could continue. If it ended, a …
Was Florida documentary stamp tax due when a new Florida holding company's stock was authorized in Florida but physically issued by an out-of-state transfer agent?
No. Section 201.05 taxed original stock only when issued in Florida. Although the holding company's directors authorized the issuance in Florida, the transfer agent physically handled and issued the s…
Can an out-of-state retailer that ships goods into Texas only to have them forwarded out of the country claim a use tax exemption for temporary storage?
Yes. The Comptroller told the taxpayer that the Mexican Navy may issue an exemption certificate to CORP A claiming the temporary storage exclusion under Texas Tax Code Section 151.011(f), because the …
Does a company owe sales tax when it just removes software from one computer and installs it on another, and does exempt-program modification also cover editing that computer's autoexec.bat and config.sys files?
No tax is owed. The Comptroller's Tax Policy Division advised that simply removing software from one computer and installing it on another does not constitute remodeling of tangible personal property,…
If a motor vehicle repair shop charges one lump-sum price for an oil and filter change (with no separate charge for the oil and filter), does it owe sales tax on that charge to the customer?
No. Labor to repair or maintain a motor vehicle is not taxable, and a shop that charges a single lump-sum price for an oil and oil filter change (with no separately stated materials charge) is a lump-…
How did Florida documentary stamp and intangible taxes apply to a multi-step mortgage refinancing, cross-collateralization, partnership transfer, merger, and assumption plan?
Qualifying note and mortgage assignments and renewals were exempt from documentary stamp and intangible tax. Cross-collateralization owed documentary stamp tax on each stated recovery amount but no in…
Is a qualifying cogeneration facility exempt from the section 189 gas-importer tax on the natural gas it imports to make electricity and steam for its thermal energy host?
Yes, in part. Buffalo Power Corporation -- a wholly owned subsidiary of, and located on the same premises as, its thermal energy host Buffalo Paperboard -- would be a qualifying cogeneration facility …
Are a New York shortline railroad's gross earnings from hauling freight wholly within New York, as a connecting carrier on a trip that begins or ends outside the state, included in section 184 gross earnings?
No. A New York shortline railroad that carries freight only within New York as a connecting carrier -- but on a through trip that originates or terminates outside New York via another railroad -- earn…
Is an electronic bulletin-board service that lets banks and warehouse lenders transmit loan data and files to each other's private mailboxes taxed as telephony/telegraphy, and are its interstate messages exempt?
Yes, the whole service -- licensing fees plus usage/file-transfer charges -- is taxable as a telephony/telegraphy service, since it functions as a message-switching network transmitting signals betwee…
If my spouse rents a New York City apartment in her own name, pays for it herself, and I never use it or have a key to it, does that apartment make me a New York City statutory resident even though I also work in NYC and spend more than 183 days a year there?
No. New York City statutory residency under NYC Administrative Code § 11-1705(b)(1)(B) requires that the individual himself maintain a permanent place of abode in NYC. Where the wife alone rents the a…
What did the 1995 internal Comptroller memo say about whether inventory counting services are taxable data processing services?
This is NOT a taxpayer-specific letter ruling — it's an internal February 23, 1995 audit memo from Ledford Kelly (via Harold Lee, Audit Headquarters) telling all managers, supervisors, and auditors th…
Can an aircraft engine and components/accessories overhaul company claim the sales tax electricity exemption for processors, or is what it does considered repair instead?
No — the company cannot claim the electricity exemption, because the Comptroller determined it is a repairer, not a processor. The company restores existing turbine engines and components to as close …
Is a lump-sum charge to repair a motor vehicle tire, such as fixing a flat or retreading a customer's own tire casing, subject to Texas sales tax?
No. A lump-sum charge to repair a motor vehicle — including a flat tire repair or retreading a customer's own tire casing — is not taxable; the repair person instead owes tax on the materials and supp…
Is translating documents (assembly instructions, labels, tags, price lists, and legal documents) from English to Spanish a taxable service in Texas?
No. The Comptroller's Tax Policy Division ruled that translation services — translating assembly instructions, labels, tags, price lists, and legal documents from English to Spanish — are not taxable,…
If a nonresident donates valuable objects and volunteers uncompensated time to help build and equip a charitable museum located in New York, can those donations and activities be used as evidence that he is domiciled in New York?
No. Tax Law § 605(c), enacted in 1994, provides that charitable contributions, gifts, donations, loans, or uncompensated volunteer time given to a tax-exempt § 501(c)(3) organization cannot be used in…
Could a nonprofit FCC-licensed radio network exempt master-tape production charges and equipment used for radio and syndicated television production?
The master tapes and production services qualified for the partial exemption even though the network was nonprofit. But its FCC radio license made its motion-picture, video, and sound-recording equipm…
For an interior designer/decorator in the Houston area, what local sales tax rate applies, and how is tax collected on wallpaper, drapery/blinds, carpet, delivery charges, and painting labor depending on whether the work is new construction, residential repair/remodeling, or nonresidential repair/remodeling, and whether the invoice is lump-sum or separately stated?
The Comptroller confirmed the local tax rates for Houston (8.25%), Katy (8.25%), and Sugar Land (7.75%), explained that interstate deliveries are exempt from Texas tax, and then walked through eight s…
Is a company taxable on its services when it acts as an intermediary reviewing medical bills and charges submitted by health care providers to insurance companies?
Yes, it is taxable. The Comptroller confirmed that when a company is contacted by insurance companies or health plan administrators to act as an intermediary reviewing and clarifying charges and codin…
Is 'guniting' an existing in-ground concrete swimming pool -- coating it with marble dust to extend its life 10-15 years -- an exempt capital improvement, or a taxable repair?
Taxable repair, not a capital improvement -- even though the coating substantially prolongs the pool's useful life, it's treated the same as a similar protective coating applied to storage tanks in a …
Across six different electronic-forms-business transactions -- paper-to-digital conversion, resold software, a licensed forms-development system, maintenance contracts, management contracts, and consulting -- which charges does a business forms company owe New York sales tax on?
Conversion services (scanning a form to a disc, or designing one) are taxable as tangible personal property when the company supplies the disc, but a taxable fabrication SERVICE instead when the custo…
Were materials and equipment rentals for a city stadium renovation exempt as direct government purchases?
Materials were exempt when the city issued its own purchase orders, was invoiced and paid vendors directly, took title on receipt, and bore the risk of loss. Equipment rented to contractors or subcont…
Can a software manufacturer use resale/exemption certificates for manual production costs, software localization, and licensed fonts/tools/clip art, and do programmers' computers count as manufacturing equipment?
Mostly yes, with one question left open. The Comptroller ruled that a software manufacturer's charges for typesetting, desktop publishing, artwork, translation/localization, and packaging graphics qua…
How should a bank-related service corporation source fees for Florida's corporate-income-tax sales factor?
The company was not a financial organization merely because it performed bank-related services. Florida approved an alternative method: net fees from Florida customers went in the numerator, and all n…
Are non-dairy milk-substitute drinks (soy and rice beverages) taxable or exempt under Texas sales tax?
They are nontaxable. The Comptroller reviewed labels for nine specific non-dairy soy and rice beverage products marketed as milk substitutes and found all nine nontaxable, because they qualify as, and…
Could a corporate group stop filing consolidated Florida income-tax returns after the parent disposed of its Florida investment and withdrew from the state?
Yes. Although the group did not show a substantial adverse tax effect or a relevant change in law, the parent's loss of Florida nexus and withdrawal from the state were a sufficient change in business…
During a scheduled refinery turnaround, is replacing machinery and equipment that was still working taxable 'restoration,' or nontaxable 'maintenance'?
It counts as nontaxable maintenance. The Comptroller ruled that, during a scheduled and periodic refinery turnaround only, replacing functioning and operable machinery or equipment that is attached as…
Is a real-estate document-archiving firm's fee for retrieving, scanning, cataloging, storing, and reproducing building-permit and related documents subject to sales tax, and are its computers exempt production equipment?
Reproduced documents (scanning, maintenance fees, and reproductions delivered back to the subscriber) are taxable as a sale of tangible personal property -- it's data CONVERSION (paper to digital), no…
Is proof coil chain used to lower and dip raw materials into cleansing and galvanizing vats exempt from Texas sales/use tax as manufacturing equipment, or is it taxable intraplant transportation equipment?
It is taxable. The Comptroller ruled that proof coil chain used to lower and dip raw material into chemical cleansing and galvanizing vats is excluded from the manufacturing exemption as intraplant tr…
Did Florida beneficiaries or out-of-state trustees owe Florida intangible personal property tax on discretionary irrevocable trusts without Florida situs?
No. The out-of-state trustees had full discretion over income and principal distributions, maintained no Florida office, and the trust assets had no Florida situs. The trusts were not subject to Flori…
Did a beneficiary with only a limited power of appointment, or the non-Florida trustee, owe Florida intangible personal property tax on the trust?
No. The beneficiary had only a limited power of appointment and could neither revoke the trust nor invade its corpus, so the beneficiary lacked a taxable beneficial interest. The trustee was not a Flo…
Was a membership that merely licensed the taxpayer to enjoy a privilege in a specific area subject to Florida intangible personal property tax?
No. The membership was merely a license allowing the taxpayer to enjoy a privilege in a specific area, so it was not subject to Florida intangible personal property tax. The ruling contrasted it with …
Did receivables bought by a Tennessee parent from its Florida subsidiary acquire Florida taxable situs when the subsidiary performed directed processing and collection work?
No. The Tennessee parent owned, managed, and controlled the receivables outside Florida, did no business with Florida customers, and used the Florida subsidiary only for directed ministerial and proce…
Would receivables transferred to an out-of-state subsidiary before January 1 remain subject to Florida intangible personal property tax?
No, on the stated facts. Receivables owned on January 1 by the out-of-state subsidiary were not taxable whether received by sale or capital contribution because the subsidiary had neither Florida comm…
Is electricity used to power a telephone on a farm or ranch exempt from Texas sales tax under the farm/ranch exemption?
No. The Texas Comptroller ruled that while Tax Code Section 151.316 exempts a variety of items used on a farm or ranch from sales tax, telecommunications services do not qualify for that exemption, so…
Did Florida reverse its conclusion that steam purchased for a citrus-processing operation was taxable tangible personal property?
No. On reconsideration, Florida upheld TAA 94A-055. It treated steam as tangible personal property because section 212.06(1)(b) expressly exempted certain self-produced steam energy, showing legislati…
Is renting a large locked wire-mesh storage cage in a condo basement a taxable 'locker rental,' or a nontaxable rental of space, in Connecticut?
It's a nontaxable rental of space, not a taxable locker rental. Connecticut taxes 'locker rental' (except cold storage) as a miscellaneous personal service under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407(2)(i)(FF). B…
How does a mortgage lender apportion the proceeds from selling mortgage loans, and where are its loan-servicing receipts sourced, for Texas franchise tax?
If the mortgage loans are the corporation's inventory, the gross proceeds from selling them are gross receipts (not just the net gain), and because loan sales are sales of intangibles they are sourced…
Is Texas sales tax due on satellite telecommunications services — including rental of outbound/inbound frequencies, hub monitoring services, and hardware/software maintenance — and if so, how is local sales tax apportioned across remote locations?
Yes, but the rules differ by component. Texas sales tax applies to the 5 outbound satellite frequencies, with local tax apportioned by time (or, if unavailable, by count) of Texas remote locations ver…
Is a fee for copying and providing a government agency's audio or video tape recording under the Texas Open Records Act subject to sales tax?
No. The Comptroller ruled that charges for audio or video tapes provided by a government agency under the Open Records Act, where the fee just covers the cost of duplicating the tape, are sales of gov…
For Utah's manufacturing equipment exemption, does it matter whether the electrician or plumber installing equipment connections identifies as a 'real property contractor,' or does it matter how they actually treat the transaction?
It's not the contractor's general self-identification (real property contractor vs. personal property contractor) that matters — it's how the contractor actually treats a specific job. If the installe…
Is a Texas company's computer trading system for natural gas subscribers — including the software license, monthly access fee, advertising-space charge, and sales commissions — taxable under Texas sales and use tax?
It depends on the charge. The software license is taxable when sold and delivered to Texas subscribers (but not to out-of-state subscribers); the monthly access fee and the advertising-space charge ar…
Does a cottonseed delinting operation qualify for the Texas manufacturing exemption, and can it accept resale/exemption certificates for the bags, fungicide, and insecticide it charges producers for?
Yes. The Comptroller ruled that machinery and equipment used directly in processing (delinting) the cottonseed qualifies for the Texas manufacturing exemption, and the delinter may accept a resale or …
When exporting goods to Mexico, can a customer combine multiple purchases onto one Licensed Customs Broker's Export Certification ('shipper'), and when can a customs broker issue that certification?
Multiple invoices can go on a single export certification ('shipper') only if all the listed items were exported at the same place, date, and time; purchases made on different dates each need their ow…
Are charges for title searches, title plant information, and related wiring/fax fees taxable under Texas sales tax?
Yes, generally. The Comptroller told the firm that charges for title information sold to attorneys and others are taxable information services, whether the information comes from the firm's own title …
If a 'sale and leaseback' is really a secured loan — the customer keeps title and possession and the lender just holds a security interest — are the 'lease' payments subject to Connecticut sales tax?
No. When a 'sale and leaseback' is really a disguised financing — the customer's 'Bill of Sale' expressly grants only a security interest, the customer keeps legal title and possession, and the 'lease…
When a company sells online access to the Connecticut DMV computer plus the software to use it, which parts are taxable — the online access, the software fee, the support, and the revenue-share payments?
It splits four ways. (1) The online service giving customers direct access to the DMV computer — to file registrations and make inquiries — IS taxable computer and data processing service under Conn. …
Is demolishing part of a building's interior and removing its roof, trusses, and elevator taxable remodeling, and does it matter whether the demolition contractor is the same firm doing the reconstruction or a separate third party?
Yes, it is taxable remodeling either way. The Comptroller held that charges for interior demolition and removal of the roof, trusses, and elevator are taxable real property remodeling under Tax Code S…
Was a nonresident investment partnership's intangible income South Carolina-source income to its nonresident limited partners under PLR 95-2?
No, on the stated facts. The nonresident partnership pooled investments and bought and sold stocks, securities, intangibles, and partnership interests solely for its own account. It gave no financial …
After a corporation withdraws from Texas, does it still have franchise-tax nexus?
No. The Comptroller advised that after the date of its withdrawal from Texas, the corporation would no longer have nexus in Texas and therefore would not be subject to either component of the Texas fr…
Is the $10-a-year membership fee for a private anti-crime organization subject to Texas sales tax, and what about the tangible items it gives out?
No, the membership dues are not taxable. The Comptroller ruled that a private anti-crime organization's $10 annual membership fee is not subject to sales tax, but the organization must still collect a…
Is a paper recycler that grades, separates, fluffs, bales, and packs scrap paper for the repulping industry a manufacturer or processor whose equipment qualifies for the Article 9-A investment tax credit?
Yes. Empire Recycling's paper division grades, separates, fluffs, bales, and packs scrap paper into fifteen graded products meeting exacting mill specifications for the repulping industry. That proces…
Were military goods taxable when a foreign-government purchasing authority staged and repackaged them at a Florida airport before export?
No. The goods were committed from the purchase order onward to a continuous and certain export process. Staging, limited repackaging, and delays of up to two weeks at the Florida airport were necessar…
Is erosion control work on a creek bank near a pipeline — including bulkheading, concrete mats, and rock or dirt fill — taxed as landscaping, new construction, or repair/remodeling of real property?
It depends on what is added. Simply adding dirt or rock to an eroded creek bank is landscaping, but because it is not done for aesthetic purposes it is not taxable landscaping. However, adding dirt or…
Is an optical scanning device called 'An Open Book,' sold exclusively to visually impaired individuals to scan and read aloud printed items like bills and recipes, exempt from sales tax as a prosthetic aid?
Yes -- it's exempt as a prosthetic aid, since it's functionally similar to an already-recognized exempt device (an Optical Tactile Converter) and, per the seller's own supplier contract, is sold only …
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.