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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Must a large housing cooperative collect New York sales tax on the fees it charges tenant-shareholders for parking spaces and garages?
Yes. United Veterans Mutual Housing Company, an 850-apartment cooperative in Queens, must collect New York sales tax on the fees it charges for parking spaces and garages. Providing parking,…
Did a federally exempt title-holding corporation need to file annual Florida corporate income tax returns when it had no unrelated business taxable income?
No, after an initial Florida return attaching its IRS determination letter, the corporation did not need additional annual returns while it remained federally exempt and had no unrelated business…
Were Oregon-printed billing inserts taxable when a California billing vendor put them into out-of-state customer invoices?
Yes. Preparing the bills in California was use or consumption here, so the Oregon printer correctly collected use tax on the inserts.
What Texas state and local sales taxes applied when hotel guests called a Richardson provider for information or call-connection services?
Texas callers buying information owed state tax, Richardson city tax, and any applicable caller-location local taxes, capped at 8.25%. Connecting a caller to a local number was telecommunications…
Did packaging, unpacking material, and broken pallets count as industrial solid waste for the nontaxable-removal treatment in Rule 3.356?
No. The Comptroller said shipping refuse such as packing and unpacking materials and broken pallets was not industrial solid waste because it did not result from the actual manufacturing or…
How did Texas tax replacement-building construction and the demolition, removal, testing, cleanup, and replacement of underground fuel tanks?
Replacement-building labor was nontaxable new construction. For tank work, excavation and soil testing were nontaxable; hauling away the tank and ordinary soil was taxable waste removal;…
What portion of vending-machine receipts did Texas require the operator to report for candy, drinks, juice, cookies, and snack foods?
The operator had to report tax on 100% of receipts from candy, sodas, and juice that was not 100% pure fruit juice. It reported tax on 50% of receipts from cookies, granola bars, snack mix, peanuts,…
Was excavating and reinforcing an existing factory foundation for new heavy equipment treated as new construction or taxable remodeling?
It was remodeling, not new construction, because the work upgraded an existing structure. Since the work was performed under a lump-sum contract, the Comptroller said the total charge was taxable.
Did the City of Dallas have to collect sales or use tax on a floodplain-reclassification application and permit fee?
No. The $750-to-$1,400 city application and permit fee was not a sale of tangible personal property or a taxable service, so it was not subject to Texas sales or use tax.
Were property-tax research, mortgage analysis, tax-return preparation, and electronic filing services taxable in Texas?
Property-tax research was taxable information service, except a separately stated pass-through of the actual public-record cost. Tax-return preparation was not taxable, but a separately stated…
Which accounting-software setup, consulting, support, and data-conversion charges were taxable in Texas?
When the provider sold the software, related accounting setup, organizational advice, supplemental instructions, and technical troubleshooting were taxable. Extracting and transferring customer,…
Was a telephone company's purchase of local-exchange access exempt when it resold the telecommunications service to final customers?
Yes, if the purchasing telephone company resold the service and gave a valid resale certificate. The final consumer owed tax on the total service charge, including access; mixed-use purchasers could…
Could a pallet seller accept an exemption certificate when manufacturers bought wooden pallets to ship their manufactured products?
Yes. A manufacturer could give the seller an exemption certificate for pallets used to ship its manufactured products, including pallets sent directly to a third-party distribution center. The…
Were live telephone-answering charges taxable when provided to both in-house executive-suite clients and off-site telephone clients?
Yes. The Comptroller said all charges for providing answering services were subject to Texas sales tax, regardless of where in Texas the customer was located.
Can a Texas vehicle-accessory installer refund sales tax when installed parts leave Texas in a vehicle driven to Mexico?
No. Parts and materials installed on a vehicle in Texas were used in Texas before export, so driving the vehicle to Mexico afterward—even with customs-broker proof—did not qualify the sale for an…
Did a funeral-service provider owe Texas sales tax on separately stated burial-container installation and service fees?
No. Separately stated installation and other service charges from a burial-container supplier were not taxable, while the separately stated container price was taxable. If a service company billed…
Did the original ruling exempt news information services furnished by computer display to newspapers and radio and television stations?
Yes. The original ruling treated news collection and dissemination to newspapers and broadcast stations as exempt regardless of delivery method, including computer terminals. The official source…
Did a section 501(c)(3) organization's no-advertising periodicals regain exemption after California's 1991 repeal?
Yes after October 31, 1991, because they accepted no commercial ads; no exemption applied during the July 15–October 31 window.
Did a 30-day proposal remain fixed-price when quoted prices were guaranteed only for materials delivered by a stated deadline?
Only for timely delivered goods under a qualifying pre-cutoff acceptance. Goods delivered after the guarantee ended were exposed to cost increases and the higher tax rates.
Did a general nonprofit service organization's sales-tax exemption cover its Texas motor vehicle purchase?
No. The 1992 letter said the organization's limited-sales-tax exemption for office supplies and equipment did not extend to motor vehicles, and donating the purchased vehicle did not change the tax.…
Was a parking-garage manager or the county owner ultimately responsible for sales tax collected under their management agreement?
The county was ultimately responsible on the reviewed contract. Although the manager collected, calculated, and reported parking tax, it deposited the receipts daily with the county treasurer, so…
Did an out-of-state supplier need a Texas sales-tax permit when its food broker took grocery-store orders in Texas?
Not if the broker took orders only for exempt food. If it took orders for taxable food or other taxable property, the broker gave the out-of-state supplier Texas representation, requiring a permit…
Did a Rhode Island door company owe use tax on stock doors stored in Warwick, and were specialty doors for known out-of-state jobs exempt during temporary Rhode Island storage?
Stock doors were taxable because their final destination was unknown and Rhode Island inventory storage ended the interstate journey. Specialty doors for identified out-of-state customers were…
Was an interior decorator the taxable seller of custom faux-painted tables when the client paid the fabricator directly?
Yes. The client contracted with the decorator, so tax applied to the retail table price including fabrication and artist charges despite direct vendor payment.
Were in-place underground-tank abandonment, testing, contaminated-waste removal, and restoration of surrounding improvements taxable in Texas?
Filling and permanently plugging the tank was nontaxable demolition, and laboratory testing and site assessment were nontaxable. Contaminated-fluid and dirt removal could be supported by an…
Which purchases by a federal contractor were exempt as direct government sales or purchases for resale, and which were taxable contractor consumption?
The contractor did not receive a blanket government or resale exemption. Discrete property sold to the government, qualifying government-owned equipment, and property incorporated into delivered…
Was an additional charge for storing a customer's printed materials taxable after the print sale was complete and title had passed?
No, if storage began after the completed sale and was optional; storage before title passed or required as a sale condition joined taxable printing receipts.
Did federal customs law prevent California from taxing alcohol a foreign airline sold or served free over California?
No. The recommendation found no federal preemption because the liquor had left customs bond before the taxable sale or use occurred in California airspace.
Is graphic art created on customer-furnished computer media taxable when used in tutorials or promotional programs?
Yes. Creating graphic art on customer-furnished computer media was taxable processing, although qualified motion-picture charges could be excluded under the stated facts.
Was a five-year truck sale-leaseback treated as a taxable vehicle sale or a financing arrangement?
It was treated as financing, not a taxable motor vehicle sale. The financial institution could take title for security with the stated affidavit language and no tax at registration. When the trucks…
Were charges taxable when a contractor cut unsuitable grooves from new pipe and hired a pipe service company to regroove it for specified joints?
Yes. Regrooving the customer-furnished new pipe was a fabrication step in producing the pipe required for the project, so the charges were taxable.
Did insulin and insulin syringes remain exempt when sold by an organization that was not a registered pharmacy?
No. California conditioned the exemption on a registered pharmacist furnishing the items; monitors and test strips were taxable regardless under this opinion.
Which purchases, dues, meals, events, booth charges, mailing lists, advertising, and fundraisers of a nonprofit chamber of commerce were taxable?
Qualifying chamber purchases and dues were exempt. Chamber-paid meeting lunches were exempt but member-paid lunches were taxable; booth space and newsletter advertising were nontaxable; mailing…
How did Texas tax sales, rentals, and real-property installation of movable prefabricated buildings with or without axles and wheels?
Movable units built with frames, axles, and tires were motor vehicles even after wheel removal if reasonably movable. Units built without axles or wheels were tangible personal property; when the…
What proof did an audited retailer need to show that sales tax had already been assessed in the purchaser's audit?
The retailer had to prove the purchaser's audit assessed tax on the same transactions. For a sample-and-projection audit, it had to show the same period and transaction type were sampled and tax was…
Was electricity used to excavate a large drainage tunnel exempt as electricity used in mining or transporting material extracted from the earth?
No. Digging the drainage tunnel was contractor work, not mining. Electricity was a taxable consumable supply, and the federal-project exemption covered only materials actually incorporated into the…
To what extent were shares of Massachusetts business trusts exempt from Florida intangible tax when their portfolios held federal, territorial, and other exempt securities?
The shares were exempt in proportion to the trust's net asset value attributable to exempt federal, territorial, and other Florida-exempt assets. If the portfolio held only exempt assets on the last…
Was a bank entitled to a 1991 Florida intangible-tax refund because it was under RTC conservatorship and later entered RTC receivership?
No. On January 1, 1991, the assets still belonged to the bank even though the RTC was conservator. The later August transfer of deposits and remaining assets did not change ownership on the annual…
Could a cabinet retailer exclude installation labor from taxable gross receipts without separately stating it?
Yes. Assuming the cabinets were taxable fixtures, installation labor was excluded even when not separately stated, but the seller needed records proving the excluded amount.
When could a construction contractor avoid South Carolina's 1% local option tax on building materials under the 1992 guidance?
A pre-imposition contract or qualifying earlier written bid could support an exemption if a verified contract copy was mailed within six months and the Commission issued a contract-specific…
Were store-window display, prop-rental, flower-arrangement, installation, and design charges taxable in Texas?
The total invoice was taxable when the provider transferred rented props or other tangible personal property, including separately stated installation and related service charges. Design and…
Were passenger-train tickets taxable when the train only transported riders between two cities and offered no sightseeing or amusement?
No. The train provided transportation only, which was not taxable. The ticket seller could recover tax previously collected and remitted only after refunding it to the customer or giving credit to a…
To what extent were shares of a Massachusetts business trust exempt from Florida intangible tax when its portfolio held federal, territorial, and other exempt securities?
The shares were exempt in proportion to net asset value attributable to exempt federal, territorial, and other Florida-exempt assets. If the trust held only exempt assets on the last business day of…
Could a trailer lessor receive California's section 6388.5 exemption based on the lessee's qualifying use?
Yes. The lessor was the MTE consumer, but the lessee's use was attributed to it. The lessor had to provide the affidavit and bore the risk of an incorrect certificate.
Which event-equipment, installation, entertainment, and personnel charges were taxable when a full-service caterer also served meals?
Temporary meal-facility charges and related labor were taxable. Specifically ordered, noncustomary entertainment or tax-paid equipment subleases could be excluded.
When were charges to sell or install software updates taxable, including installation of a third-party update?
Selling and installing an update were both taxable, even if separately stated. Installing a third-party update was taxable when the installer had sold the underlying program, because it modified the…
Were a deed, consolidated renewal notes, and mortgage modification executed before Chapter 11 plan confirmation exempt from Florida documentary stamp tax?
Yes, conditionally. The Bankruptcy Court found the financing and deed essential to plan confirmation, so the Department applied 11 U.S.C. § 1146(c) and exempted the deed, two consolidated notes, and…
How did Texas tax French drains, drainage-system construction and repair, regrading, and unprocessed gravel or soil used in the work?
New drainage construction and residential repair followed contractor rules; nonresidential repair was taxable on the full charge. Regrading and adding soil to correct drainage were taxable…
What South Carolina admissions-tax rate applied beginning February 1, 1992?
The rate increased from 4% to 5% effective February 1, 1992. The notice describes the tax as applying to paid admissions to places of amusement in South Carolina.
Did a single purchase of gas plants, gathering systems, vehicles, equipment, contracts, and related operating assets qualify as an exempt occasional sale?
Yes. Each seller transferred the entire operating assets of an identifiable business segment, and the segment's income, expenses, and assets were separately ascertainable from its books and records,…
Were a doll guild's membership dues, public show admissions, and vendor display-space charges taxable?
The answer depended on the guild's status. Membership dues were exempt if it was a hobby club or qualified under Rule 3.298(g)(1). Public show admission was taxable if the guild was for-profit or…
Were a nonprofit shooting club's membership dues, match entry fees, spectator admissions, and exempt-entity range fees taxable?
Membership dues and required assessments became taxable October 1, 1991 because the club provided a shooting range. Qualifying competitor entry fees were not taxable, spectator admissions were…
Did the 1991 Texas tax change make fraternity and sorority membership fees and dues taxable?
No. Although the legislation removed the amusement-service exemption for nonprofit organizations such as country clubs, dues and membership fees paid by members of fraternities, sororities, and…
Were unprocessed rock, dirt, sand, gravel, and similar materials taxable when used in a contract combining new construction and landscaping?
Materials incorporated through taxable landscaping were taxable as part of that service, while materials incorporated through new construction were not taxable to the customer. If one lump-sum…
How did Texas tax new sprinkler systems, residential and commercial repairs, and unprocessed materials used in the work?
New construction and residential repair followed contractor rules; nonresidential sprinkler repair was taxable on the full charge. The correction clarified that unprocessed material transferred…
What did South Carolina announce about public access to Tax Commission decisions through 1991?
Sanitized decisions and an index covering 1987 through 1991 were available for public review at the University of South Carolina School of Law Library and Commission district offices. The PDF omits…
Could a government contractor buy canned-software media for resale under an accelerated federal title clause despite publisher end-user limitations?
Yes. The memorandum treated the federal title clause as passing the software package to the United States before contractor use despite the publisher's recitals.
Was a wrist-fracture external fixator exempt as an orthotic device, and how were installation tools in a bundled kit taxed?
The worn fixation device and its components were exempt when properly prescribed or furnished. Installation tools were taxable; a lump-sum kit was fully taxable unless prices were allocated.
How did Texas tax monitoring wells, underground-tank removal and replacement, contaminated waste, soil work, testing, and cleanup equipment?
New wells and replacement tanks were new construction; existing-well repairs were taxable. Tank excavation was nontaxable demolition, but hauling, storing, and disposing of the old tank was taxable.…
How did Texas tax combined telephone-answering and secretarial-service charges?
Telephone answering was taxable, while ordinary secretarial service was not unless it was another taxable service such as word processing. One combined monthly charge was fully taxable when…
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