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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When a buyer pays a separately stated fee for a program that pays a credit toward a replacement vehicle if their car is totaled or stolen, is that fee taxable — and does the credit count in the sales tax on the replacement vehicle?
The separately stated, optional program fee is NOT subject to sales or use tax — it buys an intangible right to future compensation, like an insurance premium, not tangible personal property. The comp…
Does having one remote, non-sales employee working from a home office in Utah force an out-of-state online retailer to collect Utah sales tax?
Yes. A single non-sales employee — here an R&D 'Director of Innovation' telecommuting from her own home in Utah — gives an out-of-state online retailer Utah sales-tax nexus, so it must collect and rem…
A company bills customers one combined line-item charge for a metered commodity. Can the part of that charge covering final delivery to the customer be carved out of the tax base as a nontaxable delivery charge?
No. The Commission held the entire combined line-item charge is taxable. None of it qualifies as an excludable delivery charge — the 'distribution' components weren't shown to be for preparation and d…
Did temporary overseas work establish new domiciles when a married couple kept a Virginia home, licenses, voting ties, and a vehicle registration?
No. The overseas moves appeared temporary, and the couple did not prove abandonment of Virginia. They retained a Virginia home, active driver's licenses, voter registration, and a vehicle registration…
Were tent, table, and chair rentals nontaxable services because the vendor transported, set up, monitored, and removed the equipment?
No. The true object was the use of the tents, tables, and chairs. The vendor's attendants only transported, set up, monitored, and removed the items; they did not continuously operate skilled equipmen…
For a company selling EV charging stations, must it collect sales tax on (1) the station, (2) an annual network fee, and (3) maintenance contracts?
A general overview, no binding determination. (1) Selling the charging station is a taxable retail sale of tangible personal property (and use tax can apply to its use). (2) The annual network fee is …
Are subcontracted carpet, window and floor cleaning services subject to New York sales tax?
It splits. Cleaning rugs and wall-to-wall carpeting falls within the laundering/dry-cleaning exclusion (Tax Law § 1105(c)(3)(ii)), so it isn't taxable — provided the carpet-cleaning charge is separate…
Which cleaning services are taxable — carpet cleaning, upholstered furniture cleaning, and wood floor refinishing/stripping/waxing?
It splits. Carpet cleaning and the cleaning of upholstered furniture fall within the laundering/dry-cleaning exclusion (Tax Law § 1105(c)(3)(ii)), so they aren't taxable — provided the charge is separ…
Does a hotel owe Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax on a guest's stay of more than 30 consecutive days when a different company took over paying the bill partway through, with no break in the stay?
No. Under this PLR, once a guest occupies the same hotel room for at least 30 consecutive days without interruption, the guest is a 'permanent resident' and the hotel's receipts for that period are ex…
Can an airline's block of hotel rooms qualify for Virginia's 90-day sales-tax exemption when different employees use different rooms each day?
Yes, for the minimum number of rooms occupied on every day of a continuous 90-day period. The same employee did not have to stay in the same room; if occupancy fell to zero on any day, however, no roo…
What does Illinois Private Letter Ruling ST 18-0008-PLR conclude about Gross Receipts?
Vendor incentive payments a retailer receives are NOT included in taxable gross receipts under the Retailers' Occupation Tax as long as the payment is not conditioned on an individual retail sale (e.g…
How may South Carolina counties spend revenue from the local 1% transportation (penny) sales and use tax (per SC IL #18-10)?
SC Information Letter #18-10 issues guidelines for how counties may spend revenue from the local 1% transportation sales and use tax (the "Penny Tax") authorized by Title 4, Chapter 37 (the Optional M…
Does an out-of-state clothing-subscription retailer owe Texas sales tax on shipments where customers get a 7-day try-on period before being charged?
Yes. An out-of-state online clothing-subscription retailer has a Texas sales and use tax collection obligation, because it retains ownership rights over the clothing — the right to charge for it — whi…
Does a battery system a wind farm installs to store generated electricity for grid-reliability service qualify for Texas's manufacturing sales tax exemption?
No. A battery system a wind farm installs to store electricity for a grid fast-response reliability program does not qualify for Texas's manufacturing sales tax exemption, because the exemption exclud…
Does a battery system a wind farm installs to store generated electricity for grid-reliability service qualify for Texas's manufacturing sales tax exemption?
No. A battery system a wind farm installs to store electricity for a grid fast-response reliability program does not qualify for Texas's manufacturing sales tax exemption, because the exemption exclud…
If a public REIT owns Tennessee rental-property LLCs and limited partnerships through a partnership, and those entities are disregarded for federal tax, can they deduct from Tennessee excise tax the earnings the partnership distributes up to the REIT?
Yes. The single-owner LLCs and limited partnerships (the 'Taxpayers') qualify for Tennessee's excise-tax deduction under § 67-4-2006(a)(5)(A) for net earnings the partnership distributes — directly or…
For Texas franchise tax purposes, is revenue from an online airport-parking reservation service apportioned based on where the parking lot is located or where the company's servers/customers are, and does a Multistate Tax Commission voluntary disclosure program cover franchise tax?
ALERT: This ruling's core apportionment holding has been PARTIALLY SUPERSEDED. As originally issued, the Comptroller ruled that an online airport-parking reservation company's receipts are apportioned…
Is repair and remodeling labor on fractionally owned vacation homes taxable in Texas, and are the homes treated as residences or as hotels?
Yes — the repair and remodeling labor is taxable. Charges for real property repair and remodeling labor on the fractionally owned homes are taxable under Section 151.0047 because the homes are not 're…
Is a mobile app that lets multi-level-marketing distributors view their sales and downline data, sold alone or bundled with a dashboard and personal website, a taxable data processing service?
Yes. A mobile application and bundled dashboard/personal-website service that let multi-level-marketing distributors view their own sales and downline data are taxable data processing services — tax a…
Is labor to repair and remodel a fractionally owned vacation home taxable, if owners are barred from renting their ownership interest but the operator can rent the homes to the public as hotel accommodations?
Yes. Repair and remodeling labor on fractionally owned vacation homes is taxable, because the homes qualify as "hotels" (not exempt "residences") once the operator holds the right to rent them to the …
Is a sports-training facility's personal and group training memberships, where members can only access the facility during scheduled sessions, a taxable athletic-club membership?
No. A fitness and sports-training facility's personal-training and small-group-training memberships are nonamusement instructional services, not taxable athletic-club memberships, because members can …
Were consulting fees taxable as New Mexico gross receipts when Colorado businesses performed every service by phone and internet from Colorado for New Mexico clients?
No. Michael and Meredith Hartnagle's Colorado businesses performed all consulting services for two New Mexico clients from Colorado by telephone and internet, without traveling to New Mexico. Although…
Does Florida's $4 emergency-management surcharge apply to a stand-alone commercial glass insurance policy?
No. The stand-alone policy covering broken or chemically damaged glass did not qualify as commercial fire, commercial multiple-peril, or business-owner property insurance under the surcharge rule.
Could Virginia accept a Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Tax Credit application postmarked after the April 1 deadline?
No. Form EDC and supporting documents had to be submitted by April 1 for the preceding tax year. Because the application was postmarked April 23, 2018, Virginia denied the 2017 credit; the annual $5 m…
Could Virginia accept a Qualified Equity and Subordinated Debt Tax Credit application postmarked after the April 1 deadline?
No. Form EDC and supporting documents had to be submitted by April 1 for the preceding tax year. Because the application was postmarked April 18, 2018, Virginia denied the 2017 credit; the annual $5 m…
Did renting homes and filing resident returns in two other states end Virginia domicile when the taxpayer kept Virginia licenses, vehicles, and voting ties?
No. The taxpayer did not prove abandonment of Virginia because she kept a Virginia driver's license, vehicles, and voter registration and later identified herself as a Virginia resident. She could cla…
Did a later merger or acquisition eliminate Virginia's long-term capital-gain subtraction when the company qualified at the time of investment?
No. The statute tied the subtraction to an investment in a qualified business and did not require the company to remain qualified until the stock was sold. Because the business qualified when the inve…
Did taxpayers qualify for Virginia's 2017 tax amnesty after filing an unpaid 2014 return and paying the later assessment during the amnesty period?
Yes. Although the assessment was issued after the program's ordinary June 15 cutoff, the guidelines had a special rule for unpaid returns filed while the taxpayer was not under audit. Because the taxp…
Did working abroad change Virginia domicile when the taxpayer kept a Virginia home, license, voter registration, vehicles, and later returned?
No. Even if the taxpayer established a home abroad, he did not prove abandonment of Virginia. He kept a Virginia residence, driver's license, voter registration, and vehicle registrations and returned…
Were maintenance agreements sold at a Virginia dealership taxable when the vehicle was immediately removed, titled, and registered in another state?
Yes. The vehicle itself escaped Virginia motor-vehicle tax because it was titled elsewhere, but the optional agreement was a separate Virginia retail sale. Parts-and-labor contracts remained taxable o…
Did Virginia's broadcasting-equipment exemption cover equipment sold to a satellite system that transmitted programming only to paying subscribers?
No. Virginia required dissemination to the general public unless the system was a specifically listed cable technology. The customer's satellite service sent signals only to subscribers and was not wi…
Are internet-delivered prewritten-software sales exempt from Georgia sales tax, and must the seller still register and file returns?
Yes, software delivered only over the internet was exempt because no tangible storage medium was used. The seller had to document the electronic delivery; otherwise Georgia presumed tangible delivery.…
Did a Florida city's proposed owner-direct-purchase contract qualify construction materials for the public-works sales-tax exemption?
Yes. The contract qualified because the city would directly order, receive invoices for, and pay vendors for materials, take title, and bear risk of loss from jobsite delivery until permanent installa…
Did Virginia order a city to refund BPOL tax on internet-access receipts under the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act?
No. The Department maintained that the Internet Tax Freedom Act applied to BPOL and that BPOL was a gross-receipts tax, not an exempt net-income tax. But it declined to decide whether the city's tax w…
Did hospital property have to be absolutely owned by the hospital to qualify for Virginia's business tangible personal property exemption?
No. “Belonging to” a hospital did not require absolute ownership; an interest or estate in the property could be enough. But the taxpayer still had to prove to the city that the physical-therapy equip…
Could the buyer of a New Mexico restaurant avoid the seller's tax debt because some purchased equipment was repossessed and the buyer changed the employees, menu, and tax identification?
No. Tyler Carter purchased “the restaurant business” for $25,000, including furniture and equipment, then continued operating at the same location under a substantially similar name. Those facts estab…
When a New Mexico shopping-center landlord evicted a delinquent restaurant tenant and continued operating the restaurants, did it owe the tenant's entire tax debt as a successor in business?
No. TVSLR became a successor in business when it evicted VSH, LLC and continued the same restaurants, but it was not a mere continuation of the tenant because the entities lacked continuity of managem…
Are Florida Development Finance Corporation bonds and documents securing them exempt from documentary stamp and nonrecurring intangible taxes?
Yes. Bonds issued by the Florida Development Finance Corporation under Part X of chapter 288, plus security documents arising from or securing their repayment, were exempt from documentary stamp and n…
How should Virginia sales tax apply to food, beverages, and vending-machine sales in unstaffed workplace micro markets?
Micro markets could use the reduced food-tax rate for qualifying food for home consumption, but hot food, hot drinks, and other immediate-consumption items remained taxable at the general rate. Checko…
Was a steam-and-power facility primarily engaged in producing electricity for resale, excluding its fuel purchases from Georgia's manufacturing-energy exemption?
Yes. Considering the facility's steam purchaser relationship, business model, production design, self-classification, and electricity sales, Georgia found it primarily engaged in producing electricity…
Could a New Mexico bicycle shop recover late-return penalties after it made monthly gross receipts tax payments but failed to file separate returns because it followed Department help-line guidance?
Yes. High Desert Bicycles made monthly gross receipts tax payments through the Department's online system but did not realize that filing a return was a separate step. The AHO credited its treasurer's…
Could a New Mexico contractor obtain a refund of gross receipts tax penalty and interest when an employee unintentionally paid one day late while the office was short-staffed?
No. El Terrero Construction's assistant office manager believed the December 2017 gross receipts tax had been paid on time but later discovered that the deadline was missed by one day while the office…
Does a Georgia restaurant pay sales tax on kitchen equipment, cookware, shelving, cleaning supplies, tables, and chairs bought to open the business?
Yes. The restaurant used the equipment, cookware, supplies, tables, and chairs to prepare food and serve customers; the items did not become part of meals sold for resale. Restaurants are also express…
Is Suffolk County's mandatory 5-cent carryout-bag fee subject to New York state or local sales tax?
No. Suffolk County's Local Law No. 27-2016 requires covered stores to charge customers a 5-cent fee for each carryout bag (stores keep the fee and must itemize it on the receipt) to encourage reusable…
Did a Virginia shutter manufacturer owe sales or use tax on raw materials used for shutters it installed as part of out-of-state real-property contracts?
Yes. Installing fabricated shutters made the taxpayer a using and consuming real-property contractor, not an exempt industrial manufacturer of products for sale or resale. Because it bought and fabric…
Is Florida sales tax due on furnishings transferred with a home when the contract gives only a lump-sum furnishing amount?
No on these facts. Although the contract assigned a separate lump sum to furnishings, it did not separately describe and price the tangible items, so the broker was not required to collect sales tax.
Does a billing-services company owe Colorado sales tax on the printed bills it produces, or on the separately stated postage it charges to mail them?
No to both. A company that turns clients' raw financial data into printed bills and statements is selling a nontaxable service, not taxable goods — the paper the bills are printed on is incidental to …
Were CCA's receipts for housing county and federal inmates deductible as licenses sold to Torrance County for resale to the U.S. Marshals Service?
No. CCA's contracts required incarceration, custody, records, transportation, medical care, meals, utilities, maintenance, guards, and other detention services; they did not sell or resell licenses to…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #18-9)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #18-9. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified, …
Where can taxpayers find South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions by tax topic through June 30, 2018?
Use the subject index attached to SC Information Letter #18-8. It organizes South Carolina Department of Revenue advisory opinions issued from 1987 through June 30, 2018 under administrative, alcoholi…
Is the electricity my Utah business buys under a utility's renewable-energy 'green' tariff exempt from Utah sales and use tax?
Only partly. Electricity is taxable tangible personal property in Utah, and a business's power is taxed as 'commercial use.' Utah's renewable-energy exemption (§ 59-12-104(47)(a)) is narrow: it covers…
Is water and ice dispensed from a vending machine — into containers the customer brings — subject to Colorado sales tax, and does it matter that the machine sits just outside a bar?
No, they're exempt. Water dispensed in discrete quantities is tangible personal property (not a utility service), but it's still exempt as 'food': SNAP-eligible non-carbonated water sold from a vendin…
Can a U.S. company that retains title to raw materials still issue a Texas Maquiladora Exemption Certificate as agent for its Mexican maquiladora when buying those materials tax-free in Texas?
Yes, in principle. Retaining title to raw materials exported to a Mexican maquiladora does not by itself prevent a U.S. company from acting as the maquiladora's agent and issuing a Texas Maquiladora E…
Could Virginia grant a land-preservation credit when the taxpayer filed Form LPC-1 almost a year after the statutory deadline?
No. For the July 6, 2015 donation, the statute required Form LPC-1 by December 31, 2016. The Department received it on December 20, 2017. Missing the deadline or misunderstanding the law did not autho…
Did foreign work and advice from an employer or tax preparer prove that a taxpayer was not a Virginia resident in 2014?
No. Temporary work abroad did not by itself abandon Virginia domicile, and the taxpayer supplied no requested evidence of a permanent new home. Filing Virginia resident returns before, during, and aft…
Could taxpayers reverse Virginia assessments after failing to report an IRS deduction change and failing to document later itemized deductions?
Not on the existing record. The 2010 appeal was already exhausted, and Virginia upheld 2011 because the taxpayers failed to report the final IRS reduction of their deductions. For 2014 through 2016, t…
Could taxpayers overturn Virginia assessments based on IRS and withholding information without objective evidence that the adjustments were wrong?
No. Virginia could use IRS information and other available records to adjust federal adjusted gross income, credits, and withholding. Because the taxpayers supplied no objective evidence showing the c…
Did the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protect a military couple from Virginia income tax when their conduct showed they had established Virginia domicile?
No. Military orders alone do not change domicile, but the federal protection did not prevent Virginia from considering the couple's voluntary ties. Virginia licenses, vehicle registrations, voting, ho…
Is dormitory-style educational housing that only training-course and conference attendees may use — not the general public — a 'hotel' subject to Texas hotel occupancy tax?
No — the educational housing is not a 'hotel,' so its stays are not subject to hotel occupancy tax. Under Section 156.001(a) a hotel is a building where members of the public obtain sleeping accommoda…
How should a Florida-licensed financial-services company source fees earned through disregarded entities?
Treat the taxpayer as a financial organization and source the redacted service fees to the location of the relevant owner or service recipient. Florida-located owners or recipients put the receipts in…
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