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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What does the available official PDF for South Carolina's March 1997 policy-document index contain?
The PDF says the index covered five Department document types concerning taxation from 1987 through March 31, 1997 and alcoholic-beverage licensing and regulation from July 1, 1993 through March 31,…
What does the available official PDF for South Carolina's March 1997 policy-document citator explain?
The PDF explains that the citator was intended to cover Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Private Letter Rulings, Technical Advice Memoranda, and Information Letters from 1987 through March 31,…
Is the labor charge for a contractor splicing a new section of fiber optic cable into an existing cable TV network taxable?
Yes. When an outside contractor splices a newly constructed cable line into an existing cable TV network at a pedestal splice point -- detaching the old cable pairs and attaching a new group of…
Was a parent's transfer of motor vehicles to a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary subject to Texas motor vehicle tax?
Not if the transfer occurred when the wholly owned subsidiary was formed, no consideration other than stock was given, and the parent had already paid the proper Texas tax on the vehicles. If the…
What former Texas franchise-tax filing rules applied to a foreign S corporation and its nonresident shareholders?
The foreign S corporation itself had to file an initial franchise-tax report and annual reports and was taxed like a C corporation under the former system. The initial report was due 89 days after…
Does a tax-free restructuring of the corporate partners of a partnership that owns investment-tax-credit property trigger recapture of the credit?
No. Investment tax credit is recaptured under Tax Law section 210.12(g) only if the qualified property is disposed of or ceases to be in qualified use. A tax-free section 351 contribution and…
Our public authorities are financing a rail-yard sale-leaseback and sublease transaction with private lenders, using a leasehold mortgage, a fee mortgage, a collateral assignment, and an eventual assignment of everything to a private trustee. Which of these mortgage recordings, assignments, subleases, and options trigger New York's mortgage recording tax or real estate transfer tax?
Almost none of it is taxable. Every mortgage recording in this multi-party rail-yard financing is exempt from New York's mortgage recording tax because a state public authority (the MTA or the TBTA)…
I was set to close on the sale of my mother's residence, but the buyer refused to close, claiming we needed a full gains-tax pre-transfer audit and tentative assessment instead of the simple exemption affidavit we offered. Was the affidavit actually enough?
Yes -- the affidavit would have been enough, given the facts presented. Bonnie Lee Smith had lived in her New Rochelle residence for decades (with a brief period living elsewhere after the town…
When a membership warehouse club sells to a nonprofit or government member, what exemption paperwork does it need, and is it responsible for policing whether the member stays a valid exempt organization?
A membership warehouse club can make tax-exempt sales to its Business members that are exempt organizations if it accepts a properly completed exemption certification in good faith and the purchase…
Does a Canadian mail-order company have to collect New York sales tax when it uses a New York mailing address for orders and drives its own trucks across the border to mail products to New York customers?
Yes -- a Canadian mail-order company that advertises a New York mailing address for customer orders and payments, and uses its own trucks to bring products across the border into New York for…
Were $100-per-day classroom computer sessions taxable rentals when customers supplied their own software and instructors?
Yes. Customers paid to use the computers, no acquisition tax was assumed, and $100 exceeded the under-$20, under-one-day premises exception.
Does a manufacturer's backhauling -- using its delivery trucks to pick up products and unrelated goods in New York for return to its home state -- exceed Public Law 86-272 and create franchise-tax nexus?
Yes. Delivering products into New York by the company's own trucks is protected solicitation, but using those trucks to pick up nonconforming products, trim, and scrap (post-delivery backhauling)…
Is a state-certified inspector's fee for testing medical and dental x-ray equipment for mandatory safety-code compliance subject to New York sales tax?
No -- a certified radiation equipment safety officer's fees for inspecting medical and dental x-ray equipment are not subject to sales tax when the inspections are performed solely to demonstrate…
Are stair lifts, patient lifts, home elevators and dumbwaiters sold to help disabled people exempt from New York sales tax as medical equipment or prosthetic aids?
Portable stair lifts, evacuation devices, and patient lifts sold to help disabled people are exempt from New York sales tax as medical equipment or prosthetic aids; residential elevators installed…
Which of a multi-level marketer's nutritional powders, bars and drink mixes are exempt food or health supplements versus taxable beverages under New York sales tax?
Eight of a multi-level marketer's nine dietary and nutritional products (weight-management supplements, protein/vitamin powders, fruit bars, and joint-support and antioxidant powders) are exempt…
Is a background-check company's resume-verification service, which digs into a job applicant's education, employment, credit and government records, a taxable detective service under New York sales tax?
Yes -- a company's resume verification service, which investigates a job applicant's educational records, employment history, government records, credit history, and personal references (including…
Can I take a resale deduction from New Mexico gross receipts tax if I don't have the NTTCs, and how far back can the state assess if I understated the tax?
The protest was denied. Margaret's Upholstery was assessed gross receipts tax on 1988 magnet sales that the owner's late husband had handled as a distributor. The Department agreed to drop the…
Was a publisher's charge taxable when it solely licensed another person the right to reprint information from its publications?
No. A charge solely for the right to reprint information was not taxable; the conclusion was limited to the licensing right and did not cover a transfer of tangible copies or other property.
Was an insurance company's California purchase of labels taxable when title passed to it outside the state?
No, on the stated assumptions. Out-of-state carrier delivery made use tax, rather than retailer sales tax, applicable, and the insurer's California use was exempt.
Does a manufacturer otherwise protected by Public Law 86-272 lose its exemption by conducting three small one-day product-fitting training seminars a year in New York?
No. A manufacturer whose New York sales reps stay within solicitation is protected by Public Law 86-272. Conducting three one-day seminars a year to train retailers on fitting its products is…
Is Rogaine exempt from New York sales tax now that it's sold over-the-counter without a prescription?
Yes -- receipts from the sale of Rogaine remain exempt from New York sales tax as a product for the preservation of health, even after the FDA's 1996 approval of its over-the-counter sale, because…
Did a Florida auto dealer owe sales or use tax when it gave customers no-charge loaner vehicles during warranty-covered repairs?
No, when every stated condition was met. The loaner had to be registered as a rental or lease vehicle, the manufacturer or service warranty had to expressly provide the replacement vehicle, the…
If a retired couple buys a seasonal home in Utah and spends about five and a half months a year there, but keeps their permanent domicile, driver's licenses, and voter registration in another state, are they Utah residents subject to Utah income tax?
Owning Utah real property by itself does not make you a Utah resident for income tax purposes. Under § 59-10-103(1)(j), you're a Utah resident only if (1) you are domiciled in Utah -- meaning you've…
When a seller inside the City of Austin ships taxable items to a delivery address in Travis County that's outside the Austin MTA boundary, what local tax rate applies?
A seller located inside the City of Austin that ships or delivers taxable items to a Travis County address OUTSIDE the Austin Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) boundary collects 7.25% total sales…
Is a disposable, one-time-use bone-marrow stem-cell concentration kit -- sold to hospitals/physicians, not directly to patients, and used to filter out cancer cells and debris before an autologous bone marrow transplant -- exempt from Texas sales tax as a prescription medicine or therapeutic device?
No. A disposable, one-time-use biological kit that processes a cancer patient's own bone marrow (reducing 3 liters down to 4.5 milliliters of vital cells, removing cancer cells and debris) as part…
Did mandatory intercompany accounting entries labeled rent create Florida sales tax when one insurance subsidiary occupied another's building without paying consideration?
No. The accounting entries required by insurance reporting rules did not create taxable rent because the property-owning subsidiary received no payment or other consideration from the occupying…
Were investigations of insurance claims and losses subject to Florida sales tax as taxable private-investigator services?
No, when performed for an insurance company or adjuster for insurance purposes. The Department classified that work under nontaxable SIC 6411 rather than taxable private-investigation SIC 7381.…
Could a rental-car company allocate an 8% on-premises commission between taxable counter space and nontaxable brand and reservation rights?
Yes. For the 8% on-premises commission analyzed, the Department accepted 5.8 percentage points as nontaxable consideration for the retailer's trademarks, logos, reservation, credit-card, and related…
Could a modular-building lessor buy refurbishment materials for resale or deduct tax mistakenly paid on components?
Yes for material bought to become a component of buildings in taxable continuing leases; property merely used in refurbishment stayed taxable.
Did a cancer-services nonprofit's thrift stores qualify for the historical section 6363.3 exemption?
No. The statute's defined qualifying illness was HIV disease or AIDS, so services for cancer patients did not meet that specific nonprofit definition.
Were custom embroidery designs delivered on punched paper tape or diskette taxable as computer programs?
No, when prepared to a customer's special order. The machine-readable designs were exempt custom computer programming, regardless of their delivery form.
Does a foreign corporation that only displays goods at two five-day trade shows a year in New York, without taking orders or selling, become subject to the Article 9-A franchise tax?
No. Coming into New York only to display goods at two five-day trade shows a year (10 days total), without taking orders or making sales and without otherwise doing business, owning property, or…
Who reported sales tax when a window subcontractor separately billed the prime contractor for materials, labor, and tax?
The subcontractor. Its time-and-material invoices and tax charge created a presumption that it retailed the window materials to the prime contractor.
A firm whose main business is insurance adjusting is paid per-claim to re-inspect plumbing work as part of a class-action settlement over faulty pipe -- is that re-inspection service a taxable insurance service?
No. Re-inspecting plumbing work done as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement over faulty pipe -- charged per claim to a Texas company -- is not a taxable insurance service, even though the…
Is a Nebraska warranty or service and maintenance agreement taxable when it covers fixtures, and are the repair parts taxable?
It depends on whether the agreement covers fixtures, other personal property, or both. Under Revenue Ruling 1-97-1 (sales and use tax), a warranty, guarantee, or service and maintenance agreement…
Could an S corporation with up to 75 shareholders qualify for the 1998 former Texas earned-surplus report?
Not under the statute as it stood on March 21, 1997, because Texas still calculated earned surplus using the 1994 Internal Revenue Code. If pending legislation changed the reference to the 1996…
How did Texas treat a Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiary under the former franchise tax in March 1997?
Texas treated a state-law QSSS as a separate corporation required to file its own franchise-tax report, because the tax applied to each corporation and consolidated reporting was prohibited. For…
When is a country club's mandatory gratuity charge on meals and food exempt from Texas sales tax, rather than taxed as part of the sales price?
A mandatory gratuity charge that a country club adds for serving meals and food (including soft drinks and candy) for immediate consumption is exempt from Texas sales tax if ALL four conditions in…
Which sports drinks, protein products, supplements, meal replacements, shakes, and nutrition bars were taxable at a Florida fitness facility?
Ready-to-drink products labeled 'drink' or 'ade,' shakes prepared on the seller's premises, and sweetened nutrition or granola-style bars were taxable. Milk-based protein supplements, powder…
Were a for-profit Florida hospital's purchases, leases, or rentals of infusion pumps subject to sales tax?
Yes. Whether the hospital bought the pumps from the manufacturer, rented or leased them from the manufacturer, or leased them from a third party, the transaction was taxable. The pumps were medical…
When I sell a portable, relocatable building that just gets set on blocks and leveled, am I selling tangible personal property (which can be sold tax-free to a government or nonprofit) or a construction service?
The protests were granted in part and denied in part. Morgan sells portable, relocatable buildings that are made 100% complete at a plant, then delivered and simply set on blocks and leveled. The…
Is cloud seeding a taxable service in Texas, and does the company doing the cloud seeding owe tax on the materials and aircraft it uses?
Cloud seeding itself is not a taxable service -- no tax is due on the charge for cloud seeding whether performed for an exempt or a non-exempt entity. However, the firm performing the cloud seeding…
How did the former Texas franchise tax apply to a new S corporation's expenses, apportionment, and filing duty?
Texas generally taxed the S corporation like other corporations. Earned surplus allowed expenses to the extent deductible under federal law, while taxable capital reflected wages and expenses…
Did a Texas-based employee investigating aircraft accidents create franchise-tax nexus for an out-of-state corporation?
Yes. Even though the corporation had no Texas facilities or sales activity, its employee lived and worked from home in Texas and investigated aircraft accidents in Texas and nearby states.…
Is a torque turning and computerized torque measurement service (joining/tightening drill pipe and measuring joint torque) for oil and gas wells taxable in Texas, and does it matter whether it's a new well or a producing/workover well?
Torque turning and computerized torque measurement service -- joining and tightening pipe on wells being drilled or serviced, and measuring the torque applied to each joint -- is not, by itself, a…
Was an affiliate's no-charge use of another affiliate's Florida real property subject to sales tax when no landlord-tenant relationship existed?
No. The affiliate's use was not taxable because it paid no consideration, made no payment for the owner's benefit, and had no landlord-tenant agreement. But any payment to or for the owner—including…
Did taking a corporation's operating assets in satisfaction of the stock buyers' debt create successor liability despite being labeled repossession or foreclosure?
Yes. The former owners' trust received corporate property for consideration, transferred it to people who continued the business, and thereby completed a purchase. California rejected the claimed…
Could a bank apply a taxpayer's deposit-account funds to its loan after a California tax levy triggered default under an earlier security agreement?
Yes. Staff said the bank's earlier perfected security interest let it apply all account funds to the loan, and sales tax reimbursement in the account had no special priority.
Which occasional Texas activities created earned-surplus nexus, and when did Public Law 86-272 protect a seller?
A one-time buyer visit to a supplier did not create earned-surplus nexus on the assumed facts. A customer seminar, recurring Texas bank reviews, and acquisition due diligence did. P.L. 86-272 did…
Does a business that recycles and resells used air filters for large trucks owe sales tax on those sales -- and how does that differ from a motor vehicle repairman who cleans a filter and puts it back in the same truck?
Yes, sales tax is due on the sale of recycled air filters, and the seller must collect it unless it receives a valid resale or exemption certificate. This is different from a 1984 letter (document…
Does using a third-party answering service that routes paged messages to a mobile locksmith count as having a "place of business" at that answering service's location for local sales tax purposes?
No. A third-party answering service that simply routes paged messages to a locksmith is not considered a "place of business" of that locksmith for local sales and use tax purposes. A "place of…
Is a large multi-task garage waterproofing and restoration project a nontaxable capital improvement, or a taxable repair, when some individual tasks look like ordinary maintenance?
A large garage waterproofing and restoration project -- covering roof deck waterproofing, structural steel and concrete work, asphalt paving, walkway replacement, railings and other tasks across…
Was a $250,000 settlement over alleged unauthorized use of licensed software subject to California sales tax?
Yes. The payment settled amounts attributed to acquiring taxable software and its license rights, so it was taxable gross receipts from the software sale.
When a club requires patrons to buy a "dance token" before an independent-contractor dancer will perform a table/couch dance, is the sale of that token a taxable admission to an amusement service -- even though the dancers are independent contractors and the club already collects tax on a separate cover charge?
Yes. A club that requires patrons to purchase a "dance token" -- then exchange it with an independent-contractor dancer for a table dance or couch dance -- is selling a taxable admission to an…
When a manufacturing plant's waste haul-off is 95% or more industrial solid waste (nontaxable) mixed with a small amount of taxable garbage like office trash, does the Comptroller's "five percent rule" exempt the whole haul-off charge from sales tax?
No. The five percent rule does NOT exempt the whole charge just because 95% or more of a manufacturing plant's hauled-off waste is industrial solid waste. Rule 3.356(a)(3)(E) excludes industrial…
Was an extended warranty or service contract taxable when sold for a motorcycle, dirt bike, or ATV?
It depended on the vehicle. A service contract for a highway motorcycle was not taxable because motor vehicle repair labor was not taxed. A contract for a dirt bike, ATV, or other non-highway…
Did the original TAA impose documentary stamp tax when a credit union's standing credit agreement and later advance request together created an open-end loan?
The original ruling said yes. The standing credit agreement contained the repayment promise, while each signed advance request supplied the approved sum certain. Construed together, the two…
Is an employer's reimbursement of my moving expenses taxable New Mexico income, and can the state charge interest even though it missed my error for years?
The protest was denied. When David Hawkinson moved from Tennessee to New Mexico for a job, his employer reimbursed $23,628 of moving expenses and reported it as compensation on his W-2. He left it…
Could a seller exclude any part of a standard shipping-and-handling charge without records of actual postage for each order?
No. Without transaction-level transportation records, California taxed the entire combined charge; aggregate cost recovery could not establish an exempt postage amount.
Was a separately stated scheduled-maintenance contract included in the Texas motor vehicle tax base?
No. The separately stated scheduled-maintenance contract was not part of the vehicle's taxable sale price and was not subject to motor vehicle tax. Repair and replacement parts used under the…
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