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.
Does Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax or Use Tax apply to a company's various cloud-based (SaaS) software products -- tax-preparation, bookkeeping, self-employed finance, professional tax-prep, and payroll offerings -- including their related free mobile apps, desktop conversion tools, and occasional downloadable components?
The core SaaS access to each of the five product lines is not taxable because it is delivered purely through the cloud with no software downloaded to the user's device. However, whenever the company D…
How does a taxpayer request a refund of an overpaid Illinois income tax credit that hasn't been fully applied?
The Department didn't decide whether the taxpayer was entitled to the specific refund; it pointed to the general rule instead. Under IITA Section 909, the Department may credit and must refund any bal…
Was pet food tax-exempt when a veterinarian prescribed it but a non-veterinarian pet store made the sale?
No, not merely because a veterinarian prescribed it. The non-veterinarian retailer's animal foods were taxable unless federal or state law required prescription dispensing; the separate exemption for …
Are a platform's webinar and live-stream products taxable, and what about its optional add-on services?
The core products aren't taxable, but two software add-ons are. Letting customers make presentations available to viewers over the internet — webinars and live streams — isn't a taxable service. Inter…
Which replacement parts and repair charges qualified for Florida's industrial machinery sales-tax exemption?
Repair labor and parts incorporated into qualifying milling, turning, grinding, quality-control, and engraving machinery were exempt. Replacement stand-alone tools and furniture-like workstations or w…
Did an out-of-state medical staffing company owe New Mexico gross receipts tax on receipts from about 100 employees working at New Mexico healthcare facilities?
Yes, except for assessment periods barred by the six-year limitations period. All Medical had nexus through about 100 employees working in New Mexico, was not its clients' disclosed agent, and could n…
Could the Virginia Department of Taxation review a county tax on a personal vehicle or decide whether an income-tax-refund setoff paid that debt correctly?
No. A personal vehicle was not local business or mobile property within the Department's appeal jurisdiction, and refund-setoff disputes had to be raised with the county that certified the debt. The t…
Is a company that arranges HVAC repairs for retail chains an agent (non-taxable) or a reseller that must collect tax on all its charges including its management fee?
It's a reseller, so all its charges are taxable. The company designs HVAC maintenance programs for national retailers and, when needed, hires pre-screened local contractors (its 'Peer Partner Network'…
Is a bank-benchmarking analytics service a taxable information service, and is a custom predictive-model product exempt as custom software?
They split. Product A — a benchmarking service that compares each bank's portfolio performance against a synthetic index built from other participating banks' data — is a taxable information service, …
When are motor vehicle towing, transport, and roadside assistance services taxable in Connecticut, and can they be bought for resale?
It depends on how the vehicle is moved. Moving vehicles by automobile carrier truck (between lots or to auction) is not taxable, but moving them by wrecker or flatbed wrecker is taxable motor vehicle …
When a landlord builds two new K-8 charter-school campuses and leases them to the school for 25 years each, can the construction contracts qualify as tax-exempt, and can the landlords' suppliers avoid paying sales tax on materials used in the build?
Yes — build-to-suit leases under which landlords construct two new K-8 charter-school campuses and lease them to a tax-exempt charter-school operator for 25-year primary terms qualify as exempt constr…
When a landlord builds a new charter-school campus and leases it to the school for 25 years, can the construction contract qualify as tax-exempt, and can the landlord's suppliers avoid paying sales tax on materials used in the build?
Yes — a build-to-suit lease under which a landlord constructs a new charter-school campus and leases it to a tax-exempt charter-school operator for a 25-year primary term qualifies as an exempt constr…
When a landlord builds a new charter-school campus and leases it to the school for 25 years, can the construction contract qualify as tax-exempt, and can the landlord's suppliers avoid paying sales tax on materials used in the build?
Yes — a build-to-suit lease under which a landlord constructs new charter-school campuses and leases them to a tax-exempt charter-school operator for a 25-year primary term qualifies as an exempt cons…
Is an on-site fire-safety training program subject to New York sales tax?
No. The company's employees travel to a customer's site and deliver a fire-safety program in person — lectures, group discussion, PowerPoint, video, and a hands-on drill using a laser digital-extingui…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-17(1)C / (18)S: How do sales tax and the section 186-e excise tax apply to an MVNO's prepaid mobile sales through retailers, refills, and wholesale to another MVNO, and how are they sourced?
An MVNO's own-brand prepaid sales through retailers qualify for the sales-tax resale exclusion but are taxable to the MVNO for the section 186-e excise tax; refills are taxable for both; wholesale to …
Is a gym's charge to an independent personal trainer for using its facilities subject to New York City sales tax?
Yes. New York City imposes a 4.5% local sales tax on charges for the use of gyms, health salons, and similar establishments directed at improving bodily appearance (NYC Administrative Code § 11-2002(a…
Are charges for inspecting backflow / cross-control prevention devices subject to New York sales tax?
It depends on whether the inspection is government-mandated. A diagnostic test of equipment is normally a taxable maintenance service even if no repair is done. But inspections that are mandated for c…
Is property management for a residential housing cooperative a taxable service to real property in Connecticut?
Yes. A residential housing cooperative is treated as income-producing real property -- the cooperative owns the property and members pay their share of its expenses as cooperative income -- so propert…
Is customized retail-training software (with embedded videos) and its subscription fees taxable, and how is the tax sourced?
Mostly taxable, sourced to where it's used. The 'skinned' training software is prewritten software customized for each retailer — taxable as tangible personal property, and because the custom 'skinnin…
A trust is dividing a NYC condo interest and other assets equally among four beneficiaries. If one beneficiary receives the real property interest in place of their cash share, does that trigger New York's Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) -- and does it matter whether the property is worth more or less than that beneficiary's one-quarter share?
It depends on whether cash changes hands. A trust held marketable securities, cash, and a 96% interest in a NYC condo, to be split equally among the settlor's four children after her death. The truste…
Was a corporate secretary and store manager personally liable for the company's unpaid Virginia sales and withholding taxes as a responsible officer?
No. Although she was a 50% owner, corporate secretary, and store manager, the evidence showed her husband alone controlled bookkeeping, tax preparation, filing, and payment. She lacked the required ta…
How do Colorado sales and use taxes apply to selling, renting, installing, and monitoring security and surveillance systems?
Security equipment (cameras, surveillance, alarms) is taxable tangible personal property; bundled services like installation, monitoring, and shipping are excluded only if they're optional AND separat…
Can a working farm buy a pellet gun used only to control varmints exempt from New York sales tax?
Yes, on these facts. A pellet gun is taxable tangible personal property, but Tax Law section 1115(a)(6)(A) exempts property used predominantly (more than 50% of the time) in the production of goods fo…
Are custom satellite imaging analysis reports made for a single client subject to New York sales tax?
No. The petitioner sells two products: standard reports (it collects tax on those) and custom reports tailored to one client about a specific facility, provided only to that client. Furnishing informa…
What does Illinois say about sales/use tax nexus, motor vehicle leasing and short-term rentals, the interim-use/demonstrator exemption, and sales to exempt organizations?
This GIL doesn't answer a single yes/no question; it's the Department's response to a multi-state tax survey, declining to fill out the questionnaire but summarizing Illinois law on several sales-tax …
Are non-customized digital market reports subject to Colorado sales tax as tangible personal property?
Yes, likely taxable. Colorado treats digital goods as tangible personal property, and a market report that is NOT customized for a particular customer is the sale of goods, not a nontaxable service — …
Could Peabody deduct trainload coal sales as chemicals sold in lots over eighteen tons when an Arizona power plant burned the coal to generate electricity?
No. Although Peabody sold coal in lots far exceeding eighteen tons and combustion involved a chemical reaction, the AHO held that Section 7-9-65 was not intended to restore a repealed coal-sale deduct…
How was Michael Trujillo's personal income tax assessment changed after better records supported a bank-deposits calculation instead of audit extrapolation?
The parties agreed to abate $90,413.48. The original audit used extrapolation because Trujillo kept poor records and imposed a fraud penalty. During the protest, his new CPA produced better documentat…
What extended filing deadline did Virginia apply to 2016 C-corporation income tax returns after the federal extension changed?
Virginia granted C corporations a seven-month filing extension beginning with taxable year 2016, so calendar-year returns on extension were due November 15. The original April 15 deadline did not chan…
Which of a software company's products and services — licenses, SaaS, support, training, hardware — are subject to Colorado sales tax?
Mostly not taxable, with hardware the main exception. Electronically delivered software, SaaS/hosting, accounting, conversion, training, consulting, and travel reimbursements are not subject to Colora…
Is a permanent prostate implant that treats BPH a tax-exempt prosthetic aid in New York?
Yes. The product is a permanent adjustable transprostatic implant, sold with its single-use delivery housing as one indivisible unit, used to treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) by partially repl…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #17-12)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #17-12. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified,…
Could a corporation reduce Virginia's related-party factoring-expense add-back by bad debts and cash discounts because a prior audit accepted that method?
No. Virginia treated the full related-party factoring expense as an intangible expense subject to add-back unless a statutory exception applied. The corporation did not show that the earlier auditor k…
What is South Carolina's most recent statewide per capita income figure used for tax incentive eligibility (per SC IL #17-11)?
South Carolina's most recently available statewide per capita income figure is $39,465, per SC Information Letter #17-11. This matters because a number of South Carolina income, sales-and-use, and pro…
Could a business appeal a county's BPOL refund denial directly to the Virginia Tax Commissioner before obtaining a final local determination?
No. The county's refund-denial letter directed the business to file a local administrative appeal and was not a final determination. The business had to complete that county appeal first, unless it re…
Could a Virginia resident claim a Virginia credit for Maryland tax withheld from wages earned while commuting to work in Maryland?
No. The Virginia-Maryland reciprocal agreement exempted a Virginia resident's Maryland wages from Maryland income tax when the taxpayer was not a Maryland resident. The taxpayer had to request a Maryl…
Could Virginia residents claim a credit for Pennsylvania tax paid on wages when the two states have a reciprocal agreement?
Not on the existing record. If the husband was only a Virginia resident commuting to Pennsylvania, reciprocity made the wages exempt there and the remedy was a Pennsylvania refund, not a Virginia cred…
Could a retiree use Virginia's simplified pension method without records proving that prior contributions were taxed by another state?
No. The simplified method could calculate the qualifying portion only after the taxpayer proved that federally deductible contributions had actually been taxed by another state. A Form 1099-R and the …
Did a couple living abroad avoid all Virginia filing duties after proving they changed domicile but continued to own Virginia rental property?
No. Virginia accepted that the couple had established domicile abroad and were not Virginia residents in 2013. But their Virginia rental properties produced Virginia-source income, so they still had t…
Could a divorced spouse make Virginia collect a joint-return assessment only from the former spouse after he paid the related federal debt?
No. Filing a joint Virginia return made each spouse individually liable for the entire state tax debt as well as jointly liable together. Their later divorce and the husband's payment of the federal d…
Could a Virginia resident working abroad for a U.S. government contractor use the federal foreign earned income exclusion and fall below Virginia's filing threshold?
Yes. The husband worked in the foreign country for all of 2012 as an employee of a U.S.-based government contractor, not as a federal employee. Virginia accepted the IRC § 911 exclusion; after it redu…
Did foreign tax withholding statements prove that a payment was pension income eligible for Virginia's foreign retirement-income tax credit?
No. Virginia's credit required pension or retirement income from past foreign employment that was included in federal adjusted gross income and taxed by both jurisdictions. The couple's spreadsheet an…
Are printed or electronic market reports, online database access, and client-specific research studies subject to Georgia sales tax?
Recurring Basic Reports are taxable when delivered to Georgia clients on paper or disc; a lump-sum package remains fully taxable when those reports are bundled with web access and consulting. The same…
Does Illinois sales tax apply to software delivered by URL that customers can download and duplicate without limit?
Likely no exemption: the Department explained that a software license escapes Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax only if it meets five specific criteria in 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.1935(a)(1), and told t…
Are membership fees and golf-bay play charges at a golf-entertainment venue subject to Colorado sales tax?
No. At a golf-entertainment venue, the membership fees, the charges to play in the golf bays, and the line-skip passes are all nontaxable services, not taxable rentals of tangible personal property. T…
Did extensive growth and changes in a corporate group's business focus and product lines justify Florida deconsolidation?
Yes. The group's substantial growth and major expansion of its activities, business focus, and product lines established good cause to stop filing consolidated Florida returns. The approval imposed co…
Did major restructuring, acquisitions, sales growth, and expanding markets justify ending a Florida consolidated-return election?
Yes. The group's substantial restructuring, acquisitions, exponential sales growth, and expanding markets established good cause to stop filing consolidated Florida returns. Permission was conditioned…
How would a consolidated Florida taxpayer calculate income and tax generated by a project for the Capital Investment Tax Credit?
The taxpayer had to prepare a project-only pro forma return, apply GAAP and Florida taxable-income rules, apportion that income using only project-related factors, and apply the 5.5% rate stated in th…
How do New York sales taxes apply to selling/renting trade-show displays and the many related event services?
New York sales tax is a destination tax, so the displays and most related services are taxable to the extent they are delivered to the customer in New York. The outright sale or rental of displays is …
Is a cloud service that remotely runs a customers telephone system taxable as prewritten software in New York?
Yes. The cloud collaboration service is essentially prewritten software that instructs the customers own phone equipment how to route and process calls, voicemail, video, conferencing and the like. Sa…
A utility's customers buy electricity tax-exempt as manufacturers or nonprofits, and some have multiple meters or sites. Do they need a separate exemption certificate for each location?
Yes — one certificate per location, but not per building or per meter. The taxpayer sells electricity to manufacturers (who buy energy fuels at a reduced 1.5% rate or exempt) and to not-for-profits (w…
Could an acquired taxpayer stop filing Florida consolidated returns when its old affiliated group ceased to exist?
Yes. The unrelated parent's acquisition caused the taxpayer's former affiliated group to cease existing under the federal group rules Florida follows. The taxpayer and subsidiaries could no longer fil…
What did the 2017 Kansas laws change for cigarettes, e-cigarettes, consumable material, and tobacco licensing?
Kansas Notice 17-12 summarizes 2017 amendments to the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Act made by House Bill 2230 and Senate Bill 13. House Bill 2230 added definitions for 'conspicuous location or plac…
How did House Bill 2212 change how often Kansas retailers must file and remit sales tax?
Kansas Notice 17-11 explains that Section 9 of House Bill 2212 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-3607 to raise the annual-tax thresholds that determine how often a retailer must file and remit Kansas sales tax…
When are Kansas withholding returns and W-2s and 1099s due after House Bill 2212?
Kansas Notice 17-10 explains that House Bill 2212 (2017) advanced two Kansas withholding deadlines from the last day of February to January 31. Section 6 amended K.S.A. 79-3298 to move the date by whi…
Do I need to make Kansas estimated tax payments on nonwage business income again after Senate Bill 30?
Kansas Notice 17-09 explains that because Senate Bill 30 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-32,117 to make nonwage business income subject to Kansas income tax again (see Notice 17-03), taxpayers who receive th…
Who can claim the Kansas low income students scholarship tax credit, and how much is it?
Kansas Notice 17-08 explains that Senate Bill 19 (2017) amended the tax credit scholarship program, which gives a credit equal to 70% of contributions to a scholarship granting organization that funds…
Does Kansas allow a child and dependent care tax credit, and how much is it?
Kansas Notice 17-07 explains that New Section 1 of Senate Bill 30 (2017) created a Kansas credit for child and dependent care expenses for resident individuals, starting with tax year 2018. The credit…
How did Senate Bill 30 expand Kansas itemized deductions and add a medical expense deduction?
Kansas Notice 17-06 explains that Section 6 of Senate Bill 30 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-32,120 to phase in an expansion of Kansas itemized deductions and to add a new medical expense deduction, startin…
Can individuals use a federal net operating loss deduction on their Kansas return after Senate Bill 30?
Kansas Notice 17-05 explains that Section 5 of Senate Bill 30 (2017) amended K.S.A. 79-32,117(b)(iii) so that, for tax years beginning after December 31, 2016, an individual is no longer required to a…
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.