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 Virginia seller and installer of water-flow instruments a retailer or a real property contractor?
Both, depending on the job. The firm was a contractor when installed instruments became part of real property and a retailer when they remained tangible personal property or were sold without installa…
Must a Virginia manufacturer collect sales tax on fiber posts sold in packs to dental practices?
Yes. The fiber posts were sold in packs for general dental use rather than bought on behalf of identified patients, so the manufacturer should collect Virginia sales tax from dental practices.
Are mowers and chain saws exempt when farmers use them to maintain the edges of crop fields?
No. Mowing field edges and trimming bordering trees were ancillary activities, not agricultural production for market, so the equipment was taxable. A dealer unsure of an exemption should charge tax a…
Can an internet-calling and messaging company source its Texas sales tax based on a customer's IP-registration address, and can it advertise a tax-included price without violating the ban on advertising that it 'absorbs' the tax?
Yes to both, with caveats. The company could source sales using the customer's IP-registration address when no business or residential address was available. It could also advertise a tax-included pri…
Does Illinois E911 tax apply to SIP trunk telephone services, and will IDOR confirm the calculation?
IDOR declined to rule on the taxpayer's proposed E911 tax calculation for SIP trunk services, explaining that the Emergency Telephone Assistance Act (50 ILCS 750/) is administered by the Illinois Depa…
Which Nebraska income tax withholding revenue rulings were rescinded, and where did their guidance go?
It clears out 14 old rulings that were folded into the regulations. Revenue Ruling 21-17-1 (issued November 8, 2017) rescinds 14 Nebraska income tax withholding revenue rulings issued between 1976 and…
A company sells subscriptions to a library of pre-recorded online training videos, with discussion boards and other features included. Is a monthly or annual subscription to these pre-recorded courses subject to Tennessee sales tax?
Yes. The company's monthly and annual subscriptions to its library of pre-recorded online training courses ARE subject to Tennessee sales and use tax — but under a different rule than live or interact…
How did Florida calculate income and tax from the taxpayer's qualifying Capital Investment Tax Credit project?
Treat the Florida portion of adjusted federal taxable income as project income, applying GAAP and sections 220.13 and 220.15, then multiply it by the 5.5% corporate tax rate. The allowable credit was …
Were fitness memberships exempt as instruction fees when members could use the gym during normal business hours?
No. The agreements allowed members to use the gym during normal business hours, not only while instruction was occurring, and personal training memberships were sold separately. The prepaid and recurr…
An online education company sells two kinds of courses: self-study online courses a student works through alone, and live webinars taught by an instructor in real time. Are these subject to Tennessee sales tax?
It depends on the format. (1) SELF-STUDY online courses ARE subject to Tennessee sales tax — the student works through the material by interacting with a computer program (reading text, answering know…
A company invested heavily in software it built to deliver its own services and created new jobs. Does that investment make it a 'computer services' business eligible for Tennessee's franchise and excise job tax credit?
No — building software to run your own business isn't a 'computer services' enterprise, so it doesn't earn the job tax credit. Tennessee's franchise & excise job tax credit ($4,500 per qualified job) …
Did vendor volume discounts and promotional allowances count as additional compensation for the retailer's taxable customer sales?
No. One arrangement was a purchase-volume discount, and the other allowances were not reimbursements for specific customer transactions involving manufacturer coupons or rebates. On the represented fa…
Was Roswell Hospital Corporation's protest timely when the Department generated a refund-denial notice but could not prove that it mailed it?
Yes. Roswell Hospital filed its protest on February 21, 2017, exactly 210 days after submitting its refund claim. The Department's system had generated a September 19 denial, but no witness had person…
Are fees for disposing oil and gas waste at a permitted landfill, and separately for washing out the trucks that hauled it, taxable in Texas?
Both nontaxable. The Comptroller ruled that a permitted landfill's oil and gas waste disposal fees are nontaxable because Texas's real property services tax specifically excludes oil and gas waste dis…
Is a single-use spinal implant deployment kit -- where the implant is a small part of the total cost and can't function without the disposable delivery tools -- exempt from Texas sales tax as a medical device?
Exempt, but under a different category than requested. The Comptroller ruled that spinal implant deployment kits are NOT exempt 'prosthetic devices' (the implant can't be separated from the disposable…
Can a wholly-owned LLC subsidiary of a tax-exempt charter school issue sales tax exemption certificates in the school's name when making purchases on the school's behalf?
Yes. The Comptroller ruled that a charter school's wholly-owned LLC subsidiary (a disregarded entity for federal tax purposes) may issue sales tax exemption certificates in the school's name when acti…
Can a licensed customs broker use a smartphone app to remotely verify a foreign shopper's export tax refund claim instead of meeting the shopper in person?
No. The Comptroller ruled that a proposed smartphone app is NOT a valid export verification method, because Texas law requires the foreign purchaser and the customs broker to be physically present wit…
Are a homeowners association's membership dues, guest fees, and golf-related charges taxable as amusement services, and does that change for a golf cart rental fee?
Split result. The Comptroller ruled that a nonprofit homeowners association's membership assessments, guest fees, green fees, and trail fees ARE amusement services but are EXEMPT because the associati…
Is electricity used to power refrigeration equipment that merely stores already-exempt food products (with no processing) exempt from Texas sales tax?
Taxable. The Comptroller ruled that electricity used to power refrigeration equipment that only stores food products (even food that is itself exempt from sales tax) is taxable, because Texas's electr…
Could a possible Virginia domiciliary resident claim credit for New York tax paid on 2013 wages?
Yes. If she was a Virginia domiciliary and a New York actual resident, Virginia allowed a credit for New York tax on New York-source wages, subject to the statutory cap. She had to file a Virginia ret…
Did an affiliated corporate group need permission to include a newly acquired corporation in its Virginia consolidated return?
No permission was needed. A newly acquired affiliate must follow the filing method already elected by the affiliated group, so Corporation A belonged in the consolidated return. The group still should…
Does an allegedly incorrect W-2 or an employer's withholding failure eliminate an employee's Virginia income tax liability?
No. An employee still must report and pay tax on income received even if the employer failed to withhold or issued a disputed W-2. The taxpayer did not disprove the IRS-based assessment or show full p…
Was a private leaseholder exempt from recordation tax on a deed of trust signed jointly with a tax-exempt authority?
No. The joint deed of trust was not exempt, and because the regional authority could not be charged, the private taxpayer owed the required tax. The purchase-option price did not prove value, so the c…
Who pays Virginia sales or use tax when countertops are fabricated and installed through retailers and contractors?
The fabricator-installer pays sales or use tax on its raw materials, and the retailer does not tax the homeowner's installed job. If the countertops are sold without installation, the retailer buys th…
Did living and working in another state prove that a taxpayer had abandoned her Virginia domicile for 2013?
No. Out-of-state employment and withholding did not prove a permanent domicile change where she retained a Virginia address, license, and vehicle registration and gave incomplete residence and voting …
Can a Georgia tax-exempt nonprofit claim the Jobs, Less Developed Census Tract Jobs, or Quality Jobs Tax Credits for its exempt or unrelated-business activities?
Not for the nonprofit's tax-exempt activity. The Department found that the organization was not a taxpayer for the Quality Jobs Tax Credit and was not a business enterprise for the Jobs or Less Develo…
Could Pete’s Top Quality Landscape receive the reduced weight distance tax rate for one-way haulers based on testimony that at least half its truck miles were empty, without trip records?
No. The one-way-hauler rate required customary one-way hauling, at least 45% empty miles, classification by the Department, and supporting information. The owner estimated that at least half of the co…
A company sells an annual subscription to its cloud-based employee-scheduling platform, which customers access remotely. Is that subscription subject to Tennessee sales and use tax?
Yes — the subscription is taxable because the true object is remotely accessed software. The company develops and hosts a cloud-based employee-scheduling platform (the 'Interface') and sells customers…
Could Clean Rite avoid gross receipts tax penalties for janitorial work at a Navajo Nation facility because it relied on Raytheon's tax counsel and its own bookkeeper?
No. Clean Rite's janitorial services were performed in New Mexico Indian country for Raytheon, which was neither an Indian tribe nor a tribal member, so the receipts were taxable. Clean Rite conceded …
Does a pension from the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy Corporation, a subsidiary of a public benefit corporation, qualify for New York's public-employee pension subtraction?
Yes. The Battery Park City Parks Conservancy Corporation (BPCPCC) is treated as part of 'this State, its subdivisions and agencies' for the public-employee pension subtraction under Tax Law § 612(c)(3…
Could a governmental owner buy materials tax-free for a Florida public works project under its proposed direct-purchase contract?
Yes, but only after the owner changed the contract to require suppliers to invoice it directly and the parties actually followed that requirement. Without direct invoicing, the proposed owner-direct-p…
Which of seven medicated lotions and powders qualified as tax-exempt common household remedies in Florida?
Five products marketed to relieve eczema, itching, chafing, diaper rash, or minor skin irritation were exempt household remedies. A daily moisturizing lotion and a clear-complexion lotion remained tax…
Could nonresident executive Jack Dill allocate his New Mexico employer wages based on where he physically performed the work, including remote work from Indiana and New Jersey?
Yes. Dill was never a New Mexico resident and performed most executive duties for his New Mexico employer remotely from Indiana and New Jersey. Section 7-2-11(A)(4) allocated nonresident compensation …
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-17(2)C: Do an alien life insurer's premiums tied to Insurance Law section 2117(k) broker activities become 'New York premiums' for the Article 33 premiums allocation factor?
No. Premiums tied to a New York broker's Insurance Law section 2117(k) activities for unauthorized alien insurers are not 'New York premiums' because the alien insurers file no annual statement and th…
Was an online restaurant-ordering platform a Virginia sales-tax dealer for food sold by independent restaurants?
No. The independent restaurants retained title and possession until customers received the food, so the platform was not the retail dealer. Because it collected tax for restaurants, it still had to do…
Does Georgia's manufacturing exemption cover potable-water chemicals and drinks, ice, coolers, and cups provided for employee and visitor hydration?
No. Sodium hypochlorite used to make restroom, kitchen, and shower water potable, plus bottled water, sports drinks, frozen hydration pops, ice, portable coolers, and disposable cups for employees and…
Are custom dental devices like anti-snoring mouthpieces and dental bars taxed at Illinois' reduced 1% medical appliance rate, and can dentists buy them for resale?
The Department said the custom dental devices described (a prescription anti-snoring/sleep apnea mouthpiece and a metal dental bar) would generally qualify as medical appliances taxed at Illinois' red…
If my laser tag business charges one price for a birthday party package that includes laser tag, pizza, soft drinks, and a party host, do I owe sales tax on the whole thing?
It depends on how you bill it. If you charge a single bundled price covering the laser tag, food, drinks, and party host, Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax applies to the entire charge; if you separa…
If my business charges one price for admission plus food and drinks (like a birthday party package), does Illinois sales tax apply to the whole charge or just the food?
It depends on how you bill it: if you charge one single, undivided price covering admission, food, and drinks, Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax applies to the entire charge, but if the food and soft…
Is a transprostatic implant that corrects a urinary-tract deformity exempt from Connecticut sales tax as a correction for a functioning part of the body?
Yes. A permanent transprostatic implant that corrects a urinary-tract deformity is exempt from Connecticut sales tax under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(19)(C) as a correction or substitute for a function…
Does shipping goods into Illinois to a third-party vendor for remanufacturing, without storing goods there, create Illinois corporate income tax nexus under Public Law 86-272?
Illinois would not issue a binding nexus determination because nexus is inherently fact-specific, but based on the facts described, the Department indicated the company's activities go beyond what Pub…
Is a temporary embolic-protection filter used in heart-valve replacement exempt as a prosthetic device, or taxable medical equipment?
It's taxable medical equipment, not a prosthetic device. The filter is implanted in a patient's carotid artery at the start of a heart-valve replacement to catch debris and prevent stroke, then remove…
Could Highland Construction avoid gross receipts tax on nonprofit construction projects because its customers delivered Type 9 NTTCs that it accepted without reviewing?
No. Construction services for nonprofit organizations were fully taxable, and the Type 9 NTTCs from United World College and Collins Lake Autism Center covered purchases of property or construction ma…
Which supplies used aboard ships in interstate or foreign high-seas trade qualify for Georgia's sales-tax exemption?
Qualifying supplies are disposable, consumable, expendable, or temporary items used or consumed aboard ships plying the high seas in trade between Georgia ports and ports in other states or countries.…
Is installing, maintaining, or repairing a residential mosquito misting system taxable in Texas, and does it matter whether pesticide is involved or who originally sold the system?
Split by whether pesticide is involved. Selling/installing a mosquito misting system and adding pesticide to one are TAXABLE structural pest control services (tax on the whole charge, even separately-…
Did low operating capacity require a county to reduce the taxable value of a new automated racking system?
Not on the evidence submitted. A representative's economic-obsolescence analysis did not invalidate the county's cost-based value, but the county had to consider any bona fide independent appraisal de…
Are separately-billed CRM platform advisory/consulting services taxable as part of the taxable data processing service, even though consulting isn't itself a taxable service in Texas?
Taxable. The Comptroller ruled that a CRM software company's advisory/consulting services -- though separately billed and not themselves a taxable service category -- are taxable as part of the price …
Is a novel e-cigarette-style device whose capsule contains granulated tobacco leaves a taxable 'tobacco product' under the Illinois Tobacco Products Tax Act?
Yes. The Department ruled that because the Act's definition of 'tobacco products' expressly includes 'granulated' tobacco and must be construed broadly, a capsule containing granulated tobacco leaves …
Were VoIP adaptors loaned to subscribers exempt as broadcasting or Internet-access equipment?
No. The VoIP provider was not a broadcaster, cable company, video programmer, or open video system and did not provide direct Internet access. Its adaptors required a separate third-party Internet con…
Did merchandise costs, credit-card fees, and wage reimbursements change the taxable proceeds from an amusement-machine lease?
The lessee's 50% shares of merchandise purchases and credit-card processing fees were taxable lease proceeds because they were agreed conditions of the machine lease. The lessor's reimbursement of the…
Are fees for premium content on restaurant table tablets taxable, is the vendor's device charge a taxable lease, and must the out-of-state vendor register in Connecticut?
Three yeses. Fees the restaurant charges customers for premium content (news, sports, games, music) on the table tablets are taxable computer and data processing services. The monthly fee the restaura…
Are spinal braces and cervical collars exempt from Connecticut sales tax when a medical provider customizes them for a specific patient?
Yes. Spinal orthotics such as back braces and cervical collars are exempt from Connecticut sales tax under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-412(19)(B) when a medical provider individually alters them (trimming, …
Is taxidermy a taxable fabrication service or an exempt personal service in Virginia?
Taxidermy was an exempt personal service because the customer's true object was the taxidermist's expertise, not incidental boards or glass eyes. The taxidermist still owed tax on consumed supplies, a…
Did placing digital projectors in theaters without charging for their possession create a taxable lease?
No. The theaters paid installation and setup fees but no consideration for possessing or using the projectors, so there was no taxable lease and the assessment was abated. The provider still owed use …
Did placing digital projectors in theaters without charging for their possession create a taxable lease?
No. The theaters paid installation and setup fees but no consideration for possessing or using the projectors, so there was no taxable lease and the assessment was abated. The provider still owed use …
Are lump-sum body-piercing and insertion charges taxable when they include jewelry, and could Virginia audit six years?
Piercing charges were exempt personal services because the included jewelry was incidental. Insertion fees could also be exempt if documented, but stand-alone jewelry remained taxable. The six-year no…
How did Virginia's ABLE account contribution deduction work, including limits, carryforwards, and recapture?
For tax years beginning in 2016, an individual could deduct contributions to a Virginia529 ABLE account, generally up to $2,000 per account each year with unlimited carryforward. Contributors age 70 o…
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 17-6 calculate and document the refundable motor fuel income tax credit?
For tax years 2018 through 2022, the ruling allowed a South Carolina resident taxpayer a refundable credit for up to two qualifying South Carolina-registered vehicles. For each vehicle, the credit was…
A single-member LLC owned by a partnership has no Tennessee activity and just does securitization. Does it qualify for Tennessee's franchise and excise exemption for partnerships and trusts?
Yes — a disregarded SMLLC owned by a partnership is treated as a partnership for this exemption. Tennessee exempts certain asset-backed securitization entities from franchise & excise (F&E) tax if the…
What Virginia filing and payment relief was available to Florida and Georgia taxpayers affected by Hurricane Irma?
Virginia offered historical extensions and late-filing and payment penalty waivers to qualifying Florida and Georgia taxpayers whose records were unavailable because of Hurricane Irma. Deadlines varie…
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.