State Tax Rulings
Free state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions with plain-English summaries, full citations, and the original source on every page.
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Was electricity passed through by a commercial landlord taxable as rent?
No, if the landlord had already paid sales tax to the utility and separately billed the tenant at the same or a lower price. Any markup or administrative charge was taxable rent, and other pass-throug…
Were a commercial tenant's allocated operating expenses taxable as additional rent?
Yes. Mandatory operating expenses, services, and real-estate taxes were part of taxable total rent even if the landlord had already paid tax on an underlying item. Only at-cost electricity passed thro…
Is a deionized-water treatment system installed for a semiconductor (clean-room) manufacturer taxable as an improvement to real property, or exempt as manufacturing equipment?
It depends on installation and use. If the system becomes an improvement to real property (loses its identity as equipment and can't be removed without substantial damage), labor is exempt when instal…
Could a renewal note remain exempt when its effective date differed from execution or a corrective document fixed the stated balance?
Yes. The unpaid balance on the renewal's effective date controlled even if payments reduced it before execution. A corrective document fixing a verifiable balance error preserved the exemption when al…
Could a buyer obtain a Texas vehicle-tax refund when disability modifications were made eight months after purchase without prior documentation?
No. Although the taxpayer met the historical orthopedic-disability definition, the exemption required modifications at purchase or a timely sworn statement describing planned work and the installer. N…
Did a Florida fair authority's admission tickets remain exempt after the 1994 governmental-event amendment?
Yes for the specific fair, because section 616.260 separately exempted its authority-sponsored transactions. Other governmental fairs lost the broader event-admission exemption after July 1, 1994, and…
Is Texas sales tax due when a facsimile-service company installs, rents, and maintains fax equipment in hotel rooms so guests can send and receive faxes?
It depends on who actually operates the equipment. If the equipment is transferred to the care, custody, and control of the hotel (or, in turn, the guest) — meaning the customer has the right to move,…
Is Texas sales tax due on mileage or travel charges billed alongside taxable pay-telephone repair, installation, or maintenance services?
Yes. Mileage charges connected to the sale of a taxable item or taxable service are taxable in Texas whether they are billed separately or bundled with the other charges.
Did a sole income beneficiary or non-Florida trustees owe Florida intangible tax on a trust?
No. The beneficiary had only a limited power of appointment and no right to revoke or invade principal, while the trustees could not be Florida residents or do business in Florida. Neither side had ta…
Did a sole income beneficiary or non-Florida trustees owe Florida intangible tax on a trust?
No. The beneficiary had only a limited power of appointment and no right to revoke or invade principal, while the trustees could not be Florida residents or do business in Florida. Neither side had ta…
Did RR 94-11 extend South Carolina's school and public-library book exemptions to alternative media?
Yes. Qualifying school and public-library books, periodicals, and newspapers remained exempt when supplied on media such as audio or video tape, CD-ROM, microfilm, or microfiche. The ruling did not ad…
When did deposits for executive suites, club seats, and multiyear season tickets become taxable admissions or license payments?
The refundable deposits were not taxable while recorded as liabilities and kept separate from license fees or ticket payments. Tax arose only when a deposit was applied after default, used for final-y…
Is Texas sales tax due on seal coating and striping a parking lot's asphalt?
It depends on the circumstances. Seal coating and striping done shortly after new asphalt is laid is non-taxable new construction. On an existing lot, doing it for the first time is taxable remodeling…
Did Florida resident grantors and beneficiaries or an out-of-state discretionary trustee owe intangible tax on trust assets?
No. The trustee was a nonresident with no Florida office and held full discretion over income and principal distributions. The trusts had no Florida taxable situs, and the resident grantors and benefi…
Was additional documentary stamp tax due on notes issued under a wholesale mortgage warehouse agreement?
No additional tax was due to the extent Chapter 201 tax had already been paid on the pledged collateral obligations. If the primary warehouse notes exceeded the taxed collateral obligations, the exces…
Were a retailer's revolving-credit application, credit agreement, and signed purchase invoice subject to documentary stamp tax?
No. The application and agreement created no debt until a later purchase and stated no sum certain, while the signed invoice acknowledged the merchandise but contained no promise to pay. No document h…
Could an insurer include accepted reinsurance in Florida's premiums apportionment formula when reinsurance was less than half its business?
No. Accepted reinsurance was only 23.17% of total premiums, below the greater-than-50% principal-source test. The direct-premiums-only formula was not grossly distorted, so alternative apportionment w…
Is a 'phone flea market' — where sellers pay to be listed and buyers call in for the listings — a taxable sales-agent service or a taxable advertising service in Connecticut?
Neither — but this ruling is dated and only partly good law. As DRS decided it in 1994, a 'phone flea market' (sellers pay a flat fee to be listed; buyers call in for the listings and deal directly wi…
Is renting film, video, or audio production equipment (cameras, lights, microphones, costumes, fog/wind machines) exempt from Texas sales tax?
Yes, but only the equipment used directly in producing a motion picture, video, or audio recording that will be sold, licensed, distributed, broadcast, or exhibited is exempt, and only if the producer…
How did Florida's 1994 dry-cleaning gross receipts tax apply to a drapery business that subcontracted cleaning?
The business owed 1.5% tax on customer charges for cleaning and laundering draperies, but separately stated take-down and re-hang services were excluded. Its subcontractor charge could use a resale ce…
Could a governmental credit union buy construction materials tax-free through a supply-house vendor?
Yes, if the governmental entity bought and paid directly, issued its purchase orders and exemption certificate, took title and possession before installation, and bore risk, insurance, and cost. Contr…
Could a religious institution buy construction materials tax-free through a supply-house vendor?
Yes, if the church bought and paid for the materials directly, issued its own purchase orders and exemption certificate, took title and possession before installation, and bore risk, insurance, and co…
Is television programming delivered through an 18-inch satellite receiving antenna treated as tax-exempt cable television service, or as taxable telephony/telegraphy?
It's treated as exempt cable television service -- basic, premium, pay-per-view, and most administrative fees all escape sales tax, but the installation charge for hooking up the service remains taxab…
Do the plumbing and electrical connections needed to run new manufacturing equipment qualify for Utah's manufacturing exemption, and is repair labor on commercial refrigeration units taxable or exempt?
Plumbing and electrical connections needed to operate new manufacturing equipment qualify for the sales tax exemption as tangible personal property, as long as they aren't permanently built into the b…
Is a direct sales/multi-level marketing company treated as the seller of the products its independent distributors sell, responsible for collecting and remitting Texas sales and use tax?
Yes. The Comptroller confirmed that under Texas Tax Code Section 151.024, a direct sales organization is regarded as the seller (not its independent distributors) and must collect and remit sales and …
What did this obsolete ruling say about deeding mortgaged property to a limited partnership owned by the transferors?
The 1994 ruling treated the deed as taxable on fair market value even though the spouses remained general partners and liable on the mortgage. The official source now marks that conclusion obsolete an…
What counts as a 'bona fide chapter' of an exempt organization for purposes of Texas's two one-day tax-free sale days, and does this apply to groups within a local church as well as school clubs?
A bona fide chapter is a local branch of an organization that is structured and organized enough to carry out its own business — for example, by electing officers, holding meetings, and conducting bus…
Does the manufacturing exemption apply to light bulbs used in a machine that sorts rice kernels before they are ground into flour?
No. The Comptroller ruled that light bulbs used to illuminate a sorting machine that separates and selects broken rice kernels before grinding do not qualify for the manufacturing exemption, because s…
Was a nonresident decedent's Florida fee time-share interest treated as real or personal property for Florida estate tax?
Real property. Florida treated the fee time-share interest as Florida real property and included its value, reduced by any related nonrecourse mortgage, in the nonresident-estate tax calculation descr…
Is a flash-dried fruit and vegetable product sold in capsule form ('Juice Plus+') exempt from Texas sales tax as a food product?
Yes. As long as the capsules contain pure fruit or pure vegetable products, the Comptroller treats them as exempt food products, not taxable items.
Can a caterer, hotel, or event planner give a resale certificate for tables, chairs, lighting, audio-visual equipment, or a margarita machine provided to a customer as part of a catering service?
No. The Comptroller's office treats these items as used by the caterer to render its catering service, not as sold or rented to the customer, because control and possession of the property never pass …
Did a Florida manufacturer have to collect sales tax when an unregistered out-of-state distributor ordered goods drop-shipped to a Florida customer?
Yes. The manufacturer had to collect Florida sales tax from the unregistered out-of-state distributor because the distributor could not give a valid Florida resale certificate; an out-of-state resale …
Did refinancing a partnership's notes and mortgage through a corporate agent qualify as a tax-exempt renewal?
The modified debt qualified for no additional documentary stamp tax because the corporation acted only as the partnership's agent, but nonrecurring intangible tax was due on the stated $298 million in…
Is Texas sales tax due on simulcast horse/dog racing services purchased by a racetrack for its patrons to view, and can the racetrack buy those services for resale?
Simulcast services sold to a racetrack are classified as cable television services and are subject to Texas sales tax under Tax Code Section 151.0101(a)(2). However, the racetrack can purchase the sim…
Was Florida sales tax due when cloth goods were sent to an independent Florida washer before continuing to the seller's customer?
No. The sale was not a Florida sale because the customer did not accept delivery in Florida, the seller billed only for the goods, and the Florida washer's separate work was performed under the custom…
Is repair labor exempt from Texas sales tax for property damaged in a disaster area, and are Red Cross voucher purchases taxable?
Yes to both. Texas exempts separately stated labor charges to repair real or personal property damaged by the event that caused an area to be declared a disaster area, though the replacement parts and…
Is Texas sales tax due on information services sold to a newspaper?
No. Under Tax Code Section 151.0038, sales of information services to a newspaper are excluded from Texas sales tax regardless of how the newspaper uses the information, and the seller does not need a…
Is a chemist's paid consulting on the chemical properties of a manufacturer's products a taxable business-management service in Connecticut?
No. A chemist with advanced degrees who consults on the chemical properties of a manufacturer's hair care and hair color products is NOT providing taxable 'business analysis, management, management co…
Can a racetrack buy simulcast horse/dog racing signals tax-free with a resale certificate, or does it owe sales/use tax on the simulcasting fee?
It depends on whether the receiving track charges admission. If the receiving track charges an admission fee to see the live or simulcast races, the simulcast signal is being resold as part of a taxab…
Could a bank outside Florida's alternate documentary-stamp procedure use notes preprinted with the alternate-procedure statement?
Yes, but it still had to affix the proper adhesive tax stamps to each note and should cross out the preprinted statement or mark it not applicable. Only authorized participants could use the statement…
Which of a lender's ten open-end credit forms was subject to Florida documentary stamp tax?
Only the guarantor's agreement was taxable when signed by the co-maker, with tax based on the principal shown. The other nine forms lacked at least one required element of a taxable written obligation…
Can a direct pay permit holder resell repair parts or supplies to another company without losing its direct pay permit, if it didn't know at the time of purchase that the items would be resold?
Yes. A direct pay permit holder does not lose its permit by occasionally reselling items to another business, as long as it did not know at the time it purchased those items under the permit that they…
Can a racetrack buy simulcast horse/dog racing signal services tax-free using a resale certificate?
Yes, but only if the receiving track charges an admission fee to see the live races and/or the simulcast. Because the simulcast is being resold as part of a taxable amusement service in that case, the…
Can subsidiaries of financial institutions owned by the FDIC or RTC buy taxable items tax-free using an exemption certificate?
Yes. The Comptroller concluded that 100%-owned subsidiaries of the RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation) may purchase taxable items under an exemption certificate for use in operating the subsidiary busi…
Was an airport access fee taxable when a vehicle rental company passed it through to customers?
Yes. Whether characterized as a fee or tax charged by the airport, it was the rental company's expense. When passed to the customer, it became part of taxable rental receipts even if separately stated…
Under Florida's 1994 ruling, what use tax applied when finished goods inventory was moved into research and development?
Beginning November 8, 1994, the company had to pay use tax on the full manufactured cost of products removed from finished inventory for R&D. This result is historical: the official caution identifies…
Does a direct sales (multi-level marketing) organization, rather than its independent Texas distributors, have to collect and remit Texas sales and use tax on sales made through those distributors?
Yes. The Comptroller told this direct sales organization that it, not its independent distributors, is responsible for collecting and remitting Texas sales and use tax on taxable sales its distributor…
Was Genesolv 2000 solvent subject to Florida's water-quality pollutants tax?
No. Based on the supplied safety data sheet, Genesolv 2000 consisted of dichlorofluoroethane (CAS 1717-00-6), which the ruling said was not within the taxable-solvent definition.
What did the original Florida purchasing-card record-retention ruling say before it was revised?
It accepted a purchasing-card statement as an invoice substitute when it identified the precise taxing jurisdiction, required extra proof when it did not, and did not extend use-tax deadlines. TAA 94A…
Is a landowner who digs up and hauls away contaminated soil that is a hazardous waste a 'generator' owing Connecticut's hazardous waste assessment, even if the pollution predates their ownership?
Yes. A landowner who excavates and removes contaminated soil that is itself a hazardous waste from a site IS a 'generator of hazardous waste' under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22a-132 — and owes the hazardous …
Is Texas sales tax due on the installation of permanent accent lighting in residential and commercial landscapes, and how does the contract type affect the tax?
Labor to install permanently attached exterior lighting is not taxable because it's an improvement to real property. Tax on the lighting and wiring materials depends on the contract type: under a lump…
Could Dr. Eduardo Castrejon avoid penalty and interest when employees failed to file two prepared 1990 CRS-1 returns and the Department did not notify him of the omissions until nearly four years later?
No. Employees acting as Castrejon's agents failed to submit the February and May 1990 CRS-1 returns and payments, making the omissions negligent under Section 7-1-69(A). Section 7-1-67 also made inter…
What did the 1994 internal Comptroller memo say about whether prewiring a building for a burglar alarm system is taxable as a security service?
This is NOT a taxpayer-specific letter ruling — it's an internal November 1994 Comptroller staff email (with an attached Legal Services memo from Chung Chu Cha and a supporting letter from the Texas B…
For the section 1505(b) test of whether more than 95% of an insurer's premiums are for annuity contracts, does premiums include reinsurance premiums and all direct premiums received both inside and outside New York?
Yes to both. For the section 1505(b) test of whether more than 95% of an insurer's premiums are received as consideration for annuity contracts, the term premiums means premiums as used in the first s…
Who owed Florida sales or use tax when a broker sold a lump-sum custom-cabinet job and another contractor fabricated and installed the cabinets?
The cabinet contractor was the ultimate consumer and owed tax on the materials and full fabricated cost, excluding job-site fabrication labor as stated in the ruling. The broker owed no sales or use t…
Was steam purchased from a cogeneration facility subject to Florida sales tax?
Yes. The ruling treated the metered steam as tangible personal property sold to the plant, not an exempt professional or personal service. The official status notice points to revised TAA 94A-055R iss…
Could Meridian Oil administratively protest the Department's planned release of its oil-and-gas audit report after the Department decided the report was not confidential under Section 7-1-8?
Yes. Section 7-1-24(A) allowed a taxpayer to protest the application of any Tax Administration Act provision. The Department necessarily applied Section 7-1-8 when it analyzed the statute's confidenti…
Is labor to install window and door screens taxable under Texas sales tax, and does it matter whether the job is new construction or repair/remodeling of residential versus nonresidential property?
It depends on the type of job. Installing window and door screens is treated as improving real property, and labor is NOT taxable when the screens are installed in new construction, unfinished structu…
Is tattooing a dog or other companion animal for identification purposes subject to Texas sales tax?
Yes. Tattooing a dog or other companion animal is a taxable graphic arts service because the animal is tangible personal property and imprinting tangible personal property is a taxable service. By con…
Could a Florida marketing subsidiary apportion income from foreign product sales and management services?
Not for the post-May 1994 facts presented. The company did not show that a foreign country taxed it or had jurisdiction to tax it, so Florida found it ineligible to apportion. Earlier years required a…
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