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 use tax due when a corporation received a sailboat through the division of a married couple's community property in divorce?
No under this recommendation. Staff treated the corporation-to-corporation sailboat transfer as the husband's involuntary receipt of community property and recommended canceling the determination…
Do specialized air-support-therapy hospital beds, mattresses, and mattress overlays -- prescribed by physicians to prevent and treat bedsore-related skin ulceration -- qualify for New York's medical equipment sales tax exemption?
Yes. Because these products are used exclusively on a physician's prescription to treat or prevent a specific medical condition and aren't generally useful absent illness or injury, they (and their…
Is a construction contractor's purchase of required progress and special construction photographs -- submitted to New York City as a condition of getting paid -- exempt as a resale or as part of a tax-exempt capital improvement?
No to both. The photographs are taxable tangible personal property that the contractor itself consumes to satisfy its contract and get paid (not a resale to the City), and since the photos never…
Could Kansas or a county require a taxpayer's Social Security number when the taxpayer applied for a motor-vehicle tax refund after disposing of a vehicle?
Yes. The memorandum said Social Security Act § 205(c)(2)(C)(i), cited as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(C)(i), authorized Kansas or its counties to use Social Security numbers to identify people affected by…
Was a golfer's optional fee for a chance to win cash by making a hole-in-one subject to South Carolina admissions tax?
No. The golfer had already paid green fees and admissions tax to use all 18 holes, so the separate optional cash-prize fee did not buy admission to or use of the golf course.
Did three South Carolina aircraft landings create 1993 income-tax nexus for the out-of-state lessor in PLR 94-8?
No, on the complete 1993 facts. ABC had no South Carolina property base, employees, accounts, registration, or other business activity, and its leased aircraft made only three landings. The ruling…
Could flights chartered by an aircraft's owner count as common carriage when the owner leased the aircraft to a certified air-taxi operator?
Yes. The recommendation counted owner flights because the operator retained control, offered the aircraft to the public, and charged the owner the same rate as other customers.
Is land surveying performed on a farm or ranch exempt from Texas sales tax as an agricultural service?
No. Surveying that determines or confirms real property boundaries or the location of structures relative to those boundaries is a taxable real property service in Texas, and performing it on…
Is a freight forwarder subject to the Article 9 sections 183 and 184 transportation-corporation taxes or to Article 9-A, and how are its gross earnings allocated to New York?
It is taxed under Article 9, sections 183 and 184. S&S Westchester arranges overseas shipment of vendors' merchandise; in over two-thirds of its activities it acts as a principal -- it assumes the…
Did one Florida-resident co-trustee make part of an out-of-state testamentary trust subject to Florida intangible tax?
Yes. The July 1994 ruling assigned 50% of the trust's taxable value to the Florida-resident co-trustee because the two trustees shared management and control equally. Revised TAA 94C2-015R retained…
Was the submitted Florida open-end loan form subject to documentary stamp tax as a written obligation to pay money?
No. Florida found that the submitted form did not satisfy section 201.08 because the document, and any documents it referenced, did not contain all three required elements: a written promise to pay,…
Was additional Florida documentary stamp tax due when property was taken subject to, but without assuming, an existing mortgage?
No. Because the deed tax had been paid on the full consideration including the mortgage and neither the deed nor another document showed that the purchaser assumed the debt, Florida found no…
When one partner transfers its minority partnership interest to the only other partner — ending the partnership that owns Connecticut real estate — does the conveyance tax or the controlling interest transfer tax apply?
Neither tax applies. When a parent transfers its MINORITY partnership interest to the only other partner (its subsidiary, which already holds the controlling interest), ending the partnership so the…
Did the FDIC's immunity from California sales tax also exempt a bank's use of office assets purchased from the FDIC?
No. Sales tax immunity protected the FDIC as transferor, but use tax was imposed separately on the purchasing bank. Section 6402 did not apply because the FDIC was incorporated, and no prohibition…
Does a certified copy of a Texas Comptroller document need to be notarized to be valid?
No — a properly certified copy of a document maintained by the Texas Comptroller's office (such as a Certificate of Account Status) does not need to be notarized. A document signed and sealed by the…
Do I need a Texas sales tax permit to sell pet-registration-database sign-ups?
No — this is not a taxable service, so a distributor signing customers up for a national pet-registration database does not need a Texas sales tax permit.
When a Texas retailer sells goods to a foreign customer who takes them out of the country, how soon must the goods be exported and what documents prove the export for purposes of getting the sales tax refunded or not charged?
It depends on the proof, but generally a customer-signed air waybill alone is NOT enough. Goods exported within 30 days of purchase are presumed not to have been used in Texas, but exports after 30…
Can an exempt organization's employees still make tax-free purchases using an Exempt Organization Certification (Form ST-119.1) when their corporate credit cards show only the employee's name plus an abbreviation of the organization's name, rather than its full name?
Yes. As long as the exempt organization and the employee are both identified on the bill/invoice and the organization is shown as the direct payer of record, an abbreviated organization name on the…
What Florida documentary stamp and annual intangible-tax consequences applied when a grantor transferred property to the grantor's own revocable trust?
Florida found no documentary stamp tax on the grantor's gift of real property to the grantor's own revocable trust, even if mortgaged, and no additional nonrecurring intangible tax. The grantor…
Are replacement air filters for a prescribed air purification system exempt from Texas sales tax?
Yes — the Comptroller ruled that air filters for a physician-prescribed air purification system are treated like related supplies for a therapeutic device (similar to lancets and test strips for a…
Which charges by a Florida tour-services vendor were taxable for packages, admissions, hotel rooms, goods, and third-party activities?
Florida did not tax qualifying unitemized tour packages, transportation, orientation fees, or genuine third-party commissions. It required tax on standalone attraction admissions and hotel rooms,…
Were a car-rental company's no-show and late-cancellation fees subject to Florida sales tax before any rental contract existed?
No. Florida treated the fees as nontaxable damages because no rental agreement, possession, or right to use a vehicle existed when the fees were charged, and the company recorded them as other…
Did a former employee become a successor merely by opening a similar business at the same location with the old phone number, suppliers, sign, and former owner present?
No. Those continuity facts did not prove a purchase, and there was no evidence of transferred assets, assumed debts, or other consideration. California said the facts might suggest alter ego, but…
Were speech pathologists consumers of fitted speech aids, or retailers required to hold seller's permits?
They were retailers. California said no statute made speech pathologists consumers, so their marked-up patient sales were taxable and required seller's permits; the manufacturer could sell for resale.
Is a minimum food/beverage spending charge billed to private club members taxable in Texas?
Yes — under Tex. Tax Code Sec. 151.007(e), minimum spending charges billed to private club members who don't purchase enough food and beverages are taxable the same as membership dues or other fees…
Is an out-of-state (Arkansas) government agency exempt from Texas sales tax?
No — Arkansas state and local government agencies are not exempt from Texas sales tax, because no reciprocal exemption agreement currently exists between Texas and Arkansas under Tex. Tax Code §…
My business partner and I each own a 50% share (as tenants-in-common) in five properties held through a partnership, and we each want to put our share into a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust for estate planning, then divide the actual properties between our two families instead of continuing to co-own everything. Does that division trigger New York's Real Property Transfer Gains Tax?
Partly exempt, partly taxable -- split by how much each family's beneficial share actually changed. Two families, the Moskelands and the Tobiassens, each held a 50% interest (via tenants-in-common…
After retiring from a New York job and moving out of state, is the investment income earned inside my IRA or employee savings plan still taxable by New York once I start taking distributions as a nonresident?
Yes, to the extent your original contributions trace back to New York employment. New York taxes IRA distributions (including the earnings inside the account) based on where the underlying job was…
Would a federally tax-free conversion of a mutual holding company into a stock holding company also avoid Florida corporate tax?
Yes, if the described mergers produced zero federal taxable income and no Florida adjustment applied. Florida answered all 14 reorganization questions affirmatively, but Florida-resident…
Could a metal fabricator use Florida's optional sheet-metal-contractor method and pay tax on 50% of a lump-sum real-property contract?
No. Florida found that the company was not a sheet metal contractor under the cited definition, so it could not use the optional method based on 50% of the contract price. As a fabricating…
Which fuels, machinery, purchases, labor, and engineering charges at a Florida municipal power plant were exempt from sales tax?
Florida exempted the plant's described coal and refuse-derived fuel and most qualifying generation machinery under the integrated-plant analysis. Direct municipal purchases could be exempt, but…
Does photographing original art held for resale to manufacture lithographs create taxable use of the paintings?
Yes. Withdrawing the paintings from inventory and photographing them to produce lithographs was a taxable use as manufacturing aids, not mere retention, demonstration, or display. A later taxable…
Were charges for digitized real-estate photographs taxable when images went to a multiple-listing service by media or modem?
Taxable on disk, tape, or other storage media; nontaxable when the vendor sent only the images by remote telecommunications and no tangible property.
Are concession stand sales by a school band booster club exempt from Texas sales tax?
Yes — food sales from a school band booster club's concession stand at football games and band events are exempt from Texas sales tax under Tax Code Section 151.314(e), because the sales are part of…
Is collecting and disposing of medical waste, infectious waste, or hazardous waste from a hospital or doctor's office taxable in Texas?
It depends on the type of waste. Charges for collecting and removing 'medical waste' are subject to Texas sales tax, but charges for collecting and removing 'infectious waste' are not taxable. A…
Is replacing sections of pipe during scheduled pipeline maintenance a taxable 'repair' or nontaxable maintenance?
It can qualify as nontaxable maintenance. The Comptroller's office concluded that replacing 30 individual pipe sections (3 to 41.7 feet each, totaling 523.9 feet on a 41-mile line and 156.2 feet on…
Was mortgage interest paid directly by a related corporate tenant as co-maker taxable as Florida commercial rent?
No. Florida treated the tenant's interest payments as repayment of its own debt rather than rent because the tenant was independently liable as co-maker, rent was not reduced, the lease stated the…
Did an author make taxable sales of artwork and photographs when the publisher owned them from purchase and the author delivered manuscripts with non-camera-ready layout boards?
Appeals staff recommended canceling the determination. The author bought art as the publisher's agent, never owned it, and sold only exempt manuscripts and an intangible publication license; the…
We're developing a title insurance endorsement for reverse mortgages that lets accrued interest compound (either added to principal or tracked as additional interest owed). Does compounding interest on a reverse mortgage disqualify it from New York's mortgage recording tax exemption for reverse mortgages?
No, compound interest doesn't disqualify the exemption. Title Insurance Rate Service Association, Inc. asked the Department to confirm that recording a reverse mortgage containing a…
When a private company operates a county-owned golf course and restaurant under a long-term concession agreement and must fund capital improvements that become the county's property, are its construction materials, equipment, and architectural fees exempt from sales tax?
Materials that become an integral, permanent part of the county-owned course/clubhouse (fairway reclamation, irrigation, building renovations, etc.) are exempt, and licensed-architect design…
Were online-entertainment subscriptions and shipping-and-handling fees for access software taxable?
Subscriptions and genuine access fees were not taxable. A software shipment became a retail sale when the nontransportation fee reached half the seller's software cost.
Can a customs broker who refunds sales tax to an exporting customer recover that money from the vendor?
Yes — via assignment and power of attorney. Although the Tax Code itself gives customs brokers no mechanism to recover from the vendor or the state tax they refunded to an exporting customer, the…
Could a Florida nonprofit hospital buy parking-garage construction materials tax-free through its contractor as purchasing agent?
Yes. Florida recognized the hospital as the direct tax-exempt purchaser because it issued and signed purchase orders, took title and risk at delivery, was invoiced directly, paid suppliers from its…
What Kansas state and local use tax did out-of-state vehicle lessors collect beginning August 1, 1994?
For vehicle lease payments billed on or after August 1, 1994, an out-of-state dealer or lessor had to collect Kansas state compensating use tax and local compensating use tax when the leased vehicle…
Are air filters, water filters, saunas, and other medical-supply items exempt from Texas sales tax when prescribed by a doctor for chemically-sensitive or allergic patients?
Water Filters are TAXABLE — no prescription exemption applies to them. Also taxable: Air Filters (central heat/air system filters) and Radiant Heaters and Ecological Masks. EXEMPT only when…
Is repairing a residential well pump taxable in Texas?
Yes — repairing a residential water well pump is taxable in Texas. Because the pump can easily be removed for repair or replacement, the Comptroller treats it as tangible personal property, so the…
Was a weekly insert sale nontaxable when its buyer arranged newspaper distribution but did not sell the completed newspaper?
Yes, on the assumed facts. The buyer could purchase an insert for incorporation into a newspaper to be sold without selling the completed newspaper itself.
When a Texas repair shop services aircraft engines for licensed and certificated carriers (including foreign carriers), are the labor and materials charges subject to Texas sales tax?
Labor to repair or maintain aircraft, including aircraft engines, is never subject to Texas sales tax. Separately stated materials incorporated into licensed and certificated carrier aircraft (as…
Are retyping resumes, printing reprint copies of resumes, and printing personalized stationery on a laser printer subject to New York sales tax?
Retyping a resume from an existing copy is exempt (treated as original typing), and up to three copies provided free at the time of service stay exempt too -- but separate reprint copies of resumes…
How did RR 94-9 apply South Carolina's historical retirement-income deduction to a surviving spouse?
A surviving spouse generally stepped into the deceased spouse's deduction election for inherited retirement income and could also claim a separate deduction for the survivor's own retirement income.…
Were a florist's design, planning, flower-arranging, and event-decoration charges taxable when flowers were sold?
Yes. Those services and fabrication steps were part of the taxable flower sale; only the final physical affixation or placement qualified as nontaxable installation labor.
Is preparing and mailing patient billing statements for out-of-state doctors a taxable Texas data processing service?
Yes — preparing accounts-receivable billings from electronically transmitted doctor billing data and mailing them to patients is a taxable Texas data processing service because it is performed by…
Is a company taxable on fees it charges a hospital for managing, arranging, or sub-contracting the maintenance and repair of the hospital's clinical equipment?
Yes, generally. Whether billed as a cost-plus contract-management fee or a flat annual asset-management fee, charges to the hospital for managing repair/maintenance of its equipment are taxable as…
Can a police officer buy a handgun tax-free for official duty use in Texas?
No, individually — but yes if the government entity buys it. A Texas peace officer cannot buy a personal handgun tax-free just because it's for official duty, and a chief of police's authorization…
Is a postpartum home-care service (breastfeeding help, parental support, light cleaning, laundry, errands, education) taxable in Texas?
Partly. The cleaning and laundry portions of a postpartum home-care service are taxable (as taxable cleaning/laundry services); the breastfeeding assistance, parental support, errands,…
Is sandblasting a fireplace, ceiling beams, or removing graffiti taxable in Texas?
Yes — sandblasting to clean residential fireplaces or ceiling beams, or to remove graffiti from residential or commercial property, is a taxable real property service under Rule 3.356(a)(7).…
If a couple moves their domicile from New York to Connecticut partway through the year but their old, furnished New York City apartment doesn't sell and they still spend more than 183 days in New York that year, are they taxed as full-year New York residents?
Yes. Even assuming their domicile changed to Connecticut on July 7, 1989, the Rogaths were New York 'statutory residents' for the entire 1989 taxable year under Tax Law § 605(b)(1)(B), because they…
If I had to repay disability income after a retroactive Social Security disability award pushed it into 'claim of right' territory, and I took the federal standard deduction rather than itemizing, can I get any New York income tax relief for the repayment?
No. New York only provides claim-of-right relief for a repayment through the New York itemized deduction under Tax Law § 615, which is available only if the taxpayer's federal taxable income is also…
Could a section 501(c)(25) subsidiary avoid a Florida corporate return without its own IRS determination letter?
Yes, if it had neither a federal corporate return requirement nor Florida tax liability. Florida said the subsidiary lacked the separate IRS letter needed for the rule's filing exception, but…
Did a section 501(c)(25) subsidiary need to file a Florida corporate income tax return without its own IRS determination letter?
Not if it was a qualified subsidiary with no separate federal return requirement and no Florida tax liability. The parent's IRS letter did not give the subsidiary a separate Florida tax-exempt…
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