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.
Is a fee an ice skating rink charges to rent ice time ('patch ice') to skating instructors and coaches, for use in training their students, taxable as an amusement service, or is it exempt because the activity is instructional rather than recreational?
Taxable. This internal memo from an Office of the Attorney General attorney to a Comptroller Tax Administration official reports that a bankruptcy judge upheld the Comptroller's position that a rink o…
Do sales/use tax exemptions for services performed between affiliated corporations still apply when some of the corporations in the group are non-profit entities that would otherwise be excluded from the federal definition of an affiliated group?
Yes. The Comptroller ruled that a non-profit parent corporation and its subsidiaries are still treated as 'affiliated corporations' under Texas Tax Code Sec. 151.346 and Rule 3.331, even though the pr…
Does reincorporating a New York corporation in Delaware by merger trigger New York tax, and how many franchise tax reports are required?
Reincorporating a New York corporation as a Delaware corporation by statutory merger -- a mere change in form qualifying as a tax-free reorganization under IRC section 368(a)(1)(F) -- is also tax-free…
Is an auto-parts locator service that gives customers access to a maintained database a taxable computer and data processing service in Connecticut?
Yes. An out-of-state company ran an auto-parts locator that let Connecticut insurers and salvage yards find parts either by logging into the company's mainframe database or by calling an '800' line wh…
As sponsor of a non-eviction cooperative conversion, I estimated the Real Property Transfer Gains Tax consideration for my unsold shares based partly on a wraparound mortgage. I'm now negotiating to give the co-op board back my unsold, underperforming shares, and as an incentive I'll reduce the underlying mortgage by $375,000. Does that mortgage reduction lower my gains-tax consideration?
Only PARTIALLY -- the $375,000 mortgage reduction lowers the gains-tax consideration solely to the extent it's allocable to the STILL-UNSOLD shares being returned to the cooperative board, not to unit…
When a building is gutted to its outer walls, are the construction services taxable renovation or exempt new construction in Connecticut?
Mostly untaxed new construction -- with one taxable exception. A company kept only the exterior walls of a former warehouse and built a new gabled skylight roof (adding cubic footage), new interior wa…
Is natural gas used to fuel boilers at a towel rental (industrial laundry) business exempt from Texas sales and use tax as gas used in processing?
No. The Comptroller ruled the natural gas used to fuel the boilers at a towel rental company was not exempt, because the boilers themselves are not equipment directly used in processing the rental tow…
Is a satellite farm-data subscription a taxable computer service, are its ad transmissions taxable, and who owes tax on the receiving equipment?
A company beamed around-the-clock farm-market data (grain/livestock quotes, weather, news) by satellite to subscribers using company-owned receiving equipment, and also let 'information providers' sen…
Can a property management company buy supplies and services tax-free on behalf of FDIC/RTC-owned properties it manages, and can it fix past sales tax it mistakenly paid?
Yes. A property management company acting as agent for the FDIC or RTC can issue a sales tax exemption certificate to its vendors for purchases made for FDIC/RTC-owned properties, as long as it has do…
Can a contractor buy construction materials tax-free when they will be built into property owned by New York State?
Yes. A subcontractor widening and lengthening a Meadowbrook Parkway ramp owned by the New York State Parks Department may buy the materials without paying sales tax. Although a sale of materials to a …
Is separately-stated labor to install a product excluded from Connecticut sales tax when the product is attached to real property?
It depends on the type of real property. A company sold mailboxes and offered separately-stated installation (sinking a post, attaching the box). Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-407(8)(e) and (9)(e) exclude sep…
We're merging a related corporation that owns real estate into our company, with its former shareholders receiving stock in ours. The two companies are owned by overlapping family members, but not in identical percentages -- does New York's Real Property Transfer Gains Tax apply to this merger, or does the mere-change-of-identity exemption cover it?
The merger is a taxable controlling-interest acquisition, but the mere-change-of-identity exemption applies proportionally -- so gains tax was owed only on the small SLICE of beneficial interest that …
Were installments paid after July 1, 1991 taxable when a non-equity country-club membership was sold in 1989?
No. The membership sale occurred on October 1, 1989, before the cited July 1, 1991 effective date, so later installment payments were not taxable. The club had to refund tax it collected in error.
Is a medical-claims processing and collection service a taxable computer service or business management service in Connecticut?
Neither -- it's not taxable. A company processed, managed and collected doctors' and hospitals' insurance and Medicare/Medicaid claims, retaining a percentage of what it collected as its fee, and it g…
Are a management company's nutrition and food-service charges to a nursing home taxable business management services in Connecticut?
It depends on who eats the meal. A management company ran a nonprofit nursing home's food service -- buying food as the home's agent, preparing and delivering meals, cleaning kitchen equipment, and ca…
Is cleaning up an oil spill or remediating contaminated soil at an oil and gas site taxable in Texas?
It depends on location and cause. Cleaning up an oil spill at the well site, or one caused by oil/gas/geothermal exploration, development, or production activity and regulated by the Texas Railroad Co…
Does a Connecticut DRS Ruling stop being reliable when the underlying law or regulation changes, even without notice from the Department?
Yes -- automatically. DRS held that one of its Rulings ceases to have any force and effect once the law or regulation it was based on changes, as of the effective date of that change and without any f…
Were a donor's life payments and a hospital-support charity's interest under a charitable gift annuity exempt from Florida's former intangible tax?
Yes. The donor's life annuity interest was exempt as money because money included the cash equivalent of annuities, and the section 501(c)(3) corporation owed no intangible tax on its interest.
Were a qualifying Florida-focused investment fund and its common and preferred shares exempt from Florida's former intangible tax?
Yes. The Department answered all three questions affirmatively: qualifying shares were exempt when the tested portfolio held only exempt government obligations, and the out-of-state investment company…
Did four submitted credit-union loan and advance forms owe Florida documentary stamp tax as written obligations to pay money?
No. None of the four forms contained or incorporated all three required elements: a promise to pay, a sum certain in money, and the borrower's signature.
When were a sales agent's fees subject to Connecticut sales tax on the sale of a business's tangible property?
Only in narrow circumstances -- and this ruling is now obsolete. A company introduced buyers and sellers of businesses and business assets for a contingent fee, without negotiating the deals. DRS held…
Does a Texas health club have to charge sales tax on personal training session fees?
No, not if the training is one-on-one and the trainer actually puts the client through the workout (not just designs a program and shows equipment use). A separately stated charge for that kind of per…
Was a contribution of substantially all phosphate-business assets to a joint venture exempt as a resale or occasional sale?
Partly. Inventory and salvage held for resale qualified with the required certificates, and usable operating assets qualified as an occasional sale if the stated frequency limits were met. Titled airc…
How did Florida sales tax apply when an amusement-park business exchanged themed assets, inventory, vehicles, and real estate with an affiliate?
The themed assets qualified as an occasional sale; resale inventory required a valid certificate; titled aircraft, boats, and vehicles were taxable; and unitemized personal property transferred for on…
Did each monthly rental agreement under a Florida Mini-Lease program restart the 30-day rental-car surcharge?
No. While the original Mini-Lease remained in force, its monthly agreements were not separate rentals that restarted the surcharge. An extension was a renewal, however, so the surcharge applied to the…
Can a Texas business scan invoices and resale/exemption certificates and store them electronically instead of keeping paper copies?
Yes, with two conditions: the business must keep back-up hard copies of resale/exemption certificates specifically, and it must provide the Comptroller's auditors with sufficient equipment to examine …
Can a publisher treat several differently-named weekly shopping guides as geographical editions of one shopping paper for the sales tax exemption?
No, not on these facts. A publisher wanted its four weekly shopping guides treated as geographical editions of a single 'shopping paper,' so they would count as one issue when testing the shopping-pap…
Did a free monthly publication averaging about 52% advertising qualify for Florida's sales-tax exemption for primarily advertising publications?
No under this ruling. The Department found that about 52% advertising was not 'primarily advertising,' so printing costs were not exempt. The ruling is expressly obsolete due to a later policy change …
Can a Connecticut corporation deduct dividends it receives from a regulated investment company that aren't deductible on its federal return?
No -- but note this ruling has been REVOKED by Ruling 93-24, and DRS marks it 'not current ... for reference purposes only,' so do not rely on it. As originally issued, DRS held that a Connecticut cor…
Is the labor to install, connect, and calibrate store refrigeration/freezer display units subject to Texas sales tax?
It depends on how the units are wired together. If several self-contained freezer/refrigeration units are connected to share one compressor, the labor to connect them into that single system is taxabl…
Could one Florida contract separate nontaxable in-wall computer cabling from taxable network equipment and installation?
Yes, if four stated conditions were met, including separate contract and invoice charges. The network equipment and its installation were taxable; qualifying cabling work was treated as a real-propert…
Did a licensed special-fuel broker need a separate Part I Florida sales-tax registration to buy and resell No. 6 residual fuel?
No, for the described broker-chain transactions. The firm's special-fuel license adequately documented resale purchases without a separate Part I registration, provided it bought from and sold only to…
Is a service that reviews a store's cash-register internal controls a taxable information or detective service?
No, as described it is not taxable. A consultant observes how a retail store's cash-register operators ring up sales and make change, then writes a report to management about the store's internal cont…
Will the Department use an advisory opinion to approve a taxpayer's method of computing sales tax?
No. The Department declined to rule. A GM subsidiary that places computers at customer premises asked whether the method it used (and that had been examined on audit) to determine sales tax would be a…
Could a supply house buy school-construction materials for resale tax-free and sell them directly to a Florida school board exempt?
Yes, with the required certificates. The supply house could give vendors its resale certificate, and its direct sales to the school board were exempt when the board paid directly and provided its cons…
Are hospital gowns, urinary drainage bags, cushions, and benzoin swab sticks exempt from Texas sales tax when purchased by a hospital?
It depends on the item. Hospital gowns are taxable. Urinary drainage bags are exempt. The cushions described were found taxable for lack of qualifying information. Benzoin swab sticks are exempt only …
Does Texas sales tax apply to a dialysis re-use machine and a reverse osmosis water-purification machine used in home dialysis treatment?
It depends on how the equipment is used. The Comptroller told this taxpayer that a Dialysis Re-Use machine (used to clean artificial kidneys after dialysis) and a Reverse Osmosis machine (used to puri…
Is adding fiber optic cable to an existing cable TV distribution system taxed as new construction or as taxable remodeling in Texas?
It depends on how the cable is installed. Adding fiber optic cable as a separate line that supplements (not replaces) the existing coaxial distribution plant is treated as nontaxable new construction.…
Is the income of a court-approved Section 468B qualified settlement fund subject to New York franchise tax or New York State and City personal income tax?
No. A designated settlement fund that is a qualified settlement fund under Section 468B of the Internal Revenue Code is not subject to New York franchise tax or to New York State or City personal inco…
When a New York City resident is about to take a U.S. Senate-confirmed executive-branch position and relocate to Washington, D.C., does his New York domicile change the moment the Senate confirms him, even though his family, home sale, and home purchase are all timed to that same event?
The Department declined to decide when (or whether) the taxpayer's domicile actually changes, because that is an inherently factual question that cannot be resolved in an Advisory Opinion. Instead it …
In a New York City Industrial Development Agency (IDA) sale-leaseback financing arrangement, are a company's affiliated 'Group Agents' purchases, lease payments, and buyout payments to the IDA exempt from sales and use tax, no matter which affiliate actually pays the vendor or how bond proceeds are routed?
Yes, generally -- purchases and leases made by any affiliated Group Agent acting as the IDA's disclosed agent, and inter-affiliate cost allocations and reimbursements, are exempt from sales and use ta…
Metro-North Commuter Railroad asked whether four categories of employees who perform duties in both New York and Connecticut are 'regularly assigned' to more than one state under section 7 of the Amtrak Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 1990, so that their nonresident compensation is exempt from New York income tax and withholding.
Two of the four categories are exempt and two are not. Employees whose job descriptions systematically require work in both New York and Connecticut as part of a set territory or line segment (Categor…
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 93-8 tax basic horse and stock trailers compared with trailers containing a camper package?
Basic trailers, tack- or dressing-room trailers, and goosenecks without camper packages were taxed at the full 5% historical rate. A trailer with a camper package paid the lesser of 5% or $300.
Does a subcontractor owe Texas sales tax on labor charges for cutting, sawing, coring, or drilling concrete?
It depends on the job. Cutting, sawing, coring, or drilling concrete tangible personal property not yet installed, or existing nonresidential real property, is a taxable service, so the subcontractor …
Is renting out a topsoil-screening machine subject to sales tax, or exempt as production equipment?
It can be exempt, but only in specific circumstances. Renting a 'power screen' topsoil-screening machine is normally a taxable retail sale under Tax Law sections 1101(b)(4), 1101(b)(5), and 1105(a). H…
Does a Texas city owe sales tax on chairs, tents, and other equipment it provides for cemetery funeral services or convention center room rentals?
No. The Comptroller ruled that a city does not have to collect sales tax on equipment (chairs, tents, artificial grass) it provides for graveside funeral services at a city cemetery, because that's tr…
Does a company have to collect Texas sales tax on charges for setting up and supervising a contest?
No. The Comptroller ruled that charges for setting up and supervising a contest are not taxable services, but the company must still collect tax on any materials and prizes it sells to its client.
Does a bareboat rental (no crew) get taxed differently than a boat charter that comes with a captain?
Yes. Renting a 'bareboat' (just the boat, no crew) is a taxable rental subject to limited sales tax, while chartering a boat WITH a captain is normally a nontaxable transportation service (e.g., a fis…
Can a company that buys and sells a chemical used to clean up oil spills issue or accept a resale/exemption certificate on that chemical, and is the oil-spill clean-up service itself taxable?
A retailer that buys the chemical only to resell it as-is may issue a resale certificate to its supplier. But a company that uses the chemical to perform a clean-up service must pay tax on it, unless …
Does a bank have to include 'credit amounts' used to reduce its service charges in its gross receipts for Texas franchise tax purposes?
No. The Comptroller ruled that 'credit amounts' used to calculate bank service charges are not receipts to the bank for Texas franchise tax purposes, because they merely reduce a service-charge expens…
When a heating contractor rents mobile boilers to supply temporary heat to an exempt organization's building while installing a permanent system, does the contractor owe sales or use tax on the boiler rental?
Yes. Although the contractor's service of providing temporary heat to the exempt organization is not taxable, the contractor owes sales or use tax on the mobile boilers it rents, because rented equipm…
When a social club collects membership dues and activity fees and forwards part of them to another club it shares facilities with, which club must report and remit the sales tax?
The club that bills its members must collect and remit the sales tax itself. A social club owes tax on its dues and on activity fees it charges members, cannot shift that tax onto the club it shares f…
Is a company's information service — a listing of area events sent to newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations — subject to New York sales tax?
No, when sold to news media. Information services are normally taxable in New York, but the law expressly excludes information services used by newspapers, radio, and TV broadcasters in collecting and…
How did Florida's former intangible tax apply to shares of a business trust holding exempt and non-exempt securities?
Shares were fully exempt when the trust's portfolio held only exempt government obligations. If the portfolio included non-exempt securities at the tested year-end valuation point, the shares were tax…
Did Florida's borrower-residence exception apply when individuals borrowed against a home titled to their revocable trust?
No. The individuals were the borrowers, but the trust owned the mortgaged home and the trustees granted the lien. Because the collateral was not real property owned by the borrowers, the one-time tax …
Was documentary stamp tax due when a partnership deeded pre-July 1986 unencumbered land to current partners for no payment?
No. Because the land was unencumbered, there was no shifted mortgage burden or other consideration. If a mortgage or other encumbrance had remained, tax would have been due on its outstanding principa…
When did a bulk equipment order count as one sale for Florida's $5,000 county discretionary-surtax limitation?
A written order for a specific quantity delivered within a definite stated time counted as one sale, even with installments, multiple invoices, or back-orders. The same rule applied to new and refurbi…
Is labor to build and attach a metering station to an existing pipeline taxable as remodeling, or exempt as new construction?
Taxable as remodeling. The Comptroller ruled that attaching a metering station to an already-existing pipeline is a modification/upgrade of that pipeline, not new construction, so the labor to build a…
A grave-opening/closing service provider for funeral directors asked the Comptroller several questions: is backhoe/truck/driver grave-opening and closing labor taxable, is it a taxable equipment 'rental' if billed separately, how is selling and installing a concrete burial vault taxed, and is setting up a tent and chairs at graveside a taxable rental?
No to all of them, with a billing caveat. Grave opening/closing labor is a nontaxable service, but if you separately state a charge for the backhoe, truck, and trailer (even with a driver), the Comptr…
Is a Texas company's 1-800 toll-free telephone service subject to Texas state sales tax on calls that originate outside Texas but are billed to a Texas address?
No. Under this 1993 Texas Comptroller letter, only 1-800 calls that originate within Texas and are billed to a Texas billing address are subject to Texas state sales tax. Calls that originate outside …
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.