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.
Could the governmental owner use tax-exempt direct purchases when its proposed public-works contract omitted direct vendor invoicing?
Not under the contract as drafted. The exemption became available only if the contract required suppliers to invoice the governmental owner directly and they actually did so.
Are vegetable and fruit seeds or plants exempt from South Carolina sales and use tax when used to grow food?
Yes, under either of two rules described in the ruling. Vegetable and fruit seeds or plants used to grow food for personal consumption were exempt from state sales and use tax as unprepared food. Seed…
Which activities did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 16-11 analyze as creating income tax nexus for an out-of-state corporation?
The ruling provided a fact-specific yes/no matrix for income tax nexus across registration, South Carolina property, pass-through interests, licensed intangibles, employee and contractor activity, del…
When are South Carolina vacation-home or room rentals of 15 days or more subject to sales tax on accommodations?
Short-term rentals were generally taxable once the owner rented the residence or rooms for 15 or more days during the year, but two key exemptions applied: accommodations supplied to the same person o…
Was a painter exempt as an employee when he received Forms 1099 and lacked evidence of withholding, benefits, or employer control?
No. Luis Fernandez did not prove employee status; the company issued Forms 1099, and there was no evidence of withholding, FICA, workers' compensation, unemployment coverage, or control over his paint…
Could a construction subcontractor use an NTTC obtained almost two months after the audit deadline when the buyer caused the delay?
No. Gutierrez Aggregate repeatedly asked its customer for an NTTC, but the buyer did not obtain and execute the certificate until March 15, 2016, almost two months after the January 20 deadline. The m…
Could taxpayers defeat a Virginia assessment merely by saying they had submitted documents disputing the IRS adjustment?
No. Virginia used the IRS's final adjustment after the taxpayers failed to report it on an amended state return. The Department would not reexamine the federal result, and the taxpayers did not show t…
When a Texas company sells substantially all of its business assets, how does it apportion the gross receipts among tangible personal property, contract rights, and other intangibles for Texas franchise tax purposes?
It depends on the asset type — when a company sells substantially all its business assets, Texas sources the gross receipts asset-by-asset: tangible personal property (TPP) delivered/possessed in Texa…
Could an acquired corporation stop its former Florida consolidated filing after an unrelated purchaser terminated the old group?
Yes. The unrelated purchaser's acquisition caused the taxpayer's former affiliated group to cease existing under the federal rules Florida follows, eliminating the old consolidated filing requirement.
Which combined heat-and-power plant systems qualified for Florida's energy-production machinery exemption?
Most integrated production equipment was exempt through the first step-up transformer, including turbines, generators, foundations, cooling, control, and internal power systems. The steam distribution…
Should Illinois sales tax be calculated before or after applying a store reward certificate?
It depended on reimbursement. If the retailer received full or partial reimbursement for the reward coupon, taxable gross receipts included both the customer's payment and the reimbursement. If the re…
Were two Albuquerque homes rented for three-to-seven-day VRBO stays exempt as leases of three or fewer real-property units?
No. Tiller Design regularly advertised two homes for short stays with check-in and checkout dates, guest limits, amenities, maintenance help, and no transfer of exclusive property rights. The AHO trea…
Was an annual software service plan taxable in Illinois, and how were maintenance, bug fixes, and software updates treated?
IDOR could not determine the invoice's product or service and said the questioned $107.99 did not appear to be the tax charge. A maintenance agreement included in software's selling price was taxable;…
Could Virginia residents claim a credit based on all Arkansas tax paid instead of the Arkansas income actually subject to tax?
No. Virginia applied Arkansas's nonresident allocation percentage to determine the income actually taxed there, then limited the credit to the Virginia tax on that income. The assessment was upheld.
How does a Kansas taxpayer living abroad report foreign income and get credit for foreign tax?
It depends on domicile — but Kansas does credit foreign income tax. A person domiciled in Kansas first computes the tax 'as if' all income were from Kansas sources, then claims a credit for income tax…
Does a Texas cotton gin need its own individual utility (predominant-use) study to claim the sales tax exemption on the electricity it uses to run the gin?
No individual study is needed. The Comptroller ruled that a cotton gin may claim the sales and use tax exemption on 100% of the electricity it purchases through a dedicated meter to power the gin, rel…
Is Nebraska Revenue Ruling 01-10-3 on the net metering of electricity still in effect?
No -- it has been withdrawn. Revenue Ruling 01-16-2 (issued July 20, 2016) rescinds Revenue Ruling 01-10-3, 'Net Metering of Electricity' (issued August 4, 2010). The Department gives a specific reaso…
Can a Kansas partner offset the guaranteed-payments add-back with SE tax, retirement, or health deductions?
No. Kansas law does not permit deducting self-employment tax, retirement-plan contributions, or self-employed health insurance to offset the guaranteed payments a partner must add back on Kansas Sched…
Is a pension distribution from the Kansas National Education Association exempt from Kansas income tax?
Taxable, absent documentation otherwise. A pension distribution from the Kansas National Education Association has no specific subtraction modification listed in K.S.A. 79-32,117, and the Department w…
Did permanently bolted steel freezer racking qualify for Illinois' enterprise-zone building-materials exemption?
Yes. Based on the taxpayer's representation that the steel cold-storage racking would be permanently bolted into a concrete curb and incorporated into real estate in an enterprise zone, IDOR treated i…
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 16-9 apply the one-percentage-point state tax reduction for purchasers age 85 or older?
The ruling allowed a one-percentage-point reduction in specified South Carolina state sales, use, and casual excise tax rates when an individual age 85 or older personally bought an item for personal …
Is a prescription oral appliance custom-fitted to correct snoring and obstructive sleep apnea exempt from Georgia sales tax?
Yes. The custom-fitted oral appliance was a prosthetic device because it was worn in the mouth to support proper jaw movement and breathing and correct a malfunction. Because it was prescription-only …
Could a building owner transfer part of a sustainable building tax credit after she had already claimed portions of the credit herself?
No. Kristin Ericksen could use the sustainable building credit or transfer the document granting it, and she could carry unused credit forward for seven years. But after she had claimed portions herse…
Is a taxable 'asset management' service that monitors oil-and-gas equipment and lets customers view collected data taxable data processing, or an exempt proprietary information or monitoring service?
Taxable, but with a 20% exemption. The Comptroller ruled the asset management service — which collects, stores, and lets a customer retrieve monitoring data from its oil-and-gas equipment — is a taxab…
Does compensation paid to an Illinois National Guard member who is also a dual-status federal military technician qualify for Illinois' military pay subtraction modification?
Yes. The Illinois Department of Revenue concluded that compensation paid to National Guard members employed as dual-status military technicians under 32 U.S.C. §709(a) qualifies for the subtraction mo…
Were a sole proprietor's reimbursed bills, surveying pay, and year-long equipment rentals excluded from New Mexico gross receipts tax?
No. Professional Services Company did not prove it received TKG funds as a disclosed agent or separately billed reimbursements. It also did not prove employee status for surveying work, and $26,567.75…
Are an MLM distributor's annual renewal fee and optional online-business-tools and personal-website fee subject to Georgia sales tax?
No. The annual renewal fee paid for the right to remain an active distributor, resell products, and receive possible discounts and support; the quarterly magazine was incidental. The optional online-s…
Can a partnership subtract, from its Illinois Replacement Tax base, the lifetime payments it makes to a retired partner for engineering services that partner performed before retiring?
Yes. The Illinois Department of Revenue ruled that a partnership's payments to a retired partner under a retirement plan qualify as personal service income under IITA Section 203(d)(2)(H), so the part…
Does a sole proprietor offering CPR and first-aid instruction need a sales-tax Certificate of Authority?
Only if he sells taxable property or services. In-person CPR and first-aid training is not a taxable service. If the training manual is included with the class for no extra charge, it is treated as an…
Did an automated pharmacy machine that counted pills and filled, labeled, and capped bottles qualify for Illinois's manufacturing machinery exemption?
Generally no. The manufacturing exemption required machinery used primarily in a process that substantially and significantly changed existing material into property with a different form, use, or nam…
How can taxpayers check whether an older South Carolina advisory opinion was modified or superseded (per SC IL #16-8)?
Use the citator attached to SC Information Letter #16-8. It helps you determine what effect newer South Carolina advisory opinions have on previously published ones — whether an opinion was modified, …
How did South Carolina Revenue Ruling 16-7 limit corporate net operating losses after an ownership change?
The ruling applied IRC Section 382 to South Carolina pre-change net operating losses. A corporation operating partly outside South Carolina generally apportioned the federal annual Section 382 limit u…
What historical South Carolina use-tax rules did Revenue Ruling 16-6 give individuals, businesses, and nonprofits?
The ruling said South Carolina use tax generally applied when taxable property was bought at retail for use, storage, or consumption in the state and the full South Carolina sales tax was not collecte…
Are customer charges for streaming television, movies, music, and similar content taxable in South Carolina?
Yes. The ruling treated charges for streaming television programs, movies, music, and similar content as taxable South Carolina communication services. The result was the same whether the customer pai…
Was an annual online shopping membership taxable in South Carolina, and was its free one-month trial taxable?
The annual membership fee was taxable because members received taxable streaming audio and video plus member-only discounts and delivery benefits on taxable merchandise, making the fee part of the con…
Did Virginia accept a research-and-development credit application received after April 1 when the envelope had no postmark?
No. An application without a postmark was treated as filed when Virginia received it. Because the Department received the application on April 6, after the April 1 deadline, the denial was upheld.
Does a multi-level marketing company owe sales tax on the annual renewal fee its distributors pay to stay active, and on the fee for its online Dashboard and personal-website tools?
On these facts, neither fee is taxable. The annual renewal fee distributors pay to stay 'active' isn't taxable: the magazine they receive is incidental promotional material (it's also given to custome…
Are advance payments and reservation fees for a short-term car rental subject to Colorado sales tax — including when the customer never shows up — and does it matter whether the payment is refundable?
It depends on whether the payment is refundable and how big it is, by analogy to hotel deposits. Any advance payment that's actually applied to the rental charge is taxable. A NONREFUNDABLE advance pa…
Was an oil-and-gas tax payment timely when the company sent it to the New Mexico Land Office by mistake on the due date?
No. Yates Petroleum electronically sent its $944,935.20 payment to the New Mexico Land Office on the due date, but payment was legally required to reach the Taxation and Revenue Department. The Land O…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-16(6)C: Is an out-of-state real-estate brokerage with no New York office, whose employee worked 26 days in New York on two 2014 sales, doing business and subject to Article 9-A franchise tax?
Yes. A Washington real-estate brokerage with no New York office, whose Connecticut-based employee spent 26 days in New York visiting properties and meeting sellers on two 2014 sales for which it earne…
Is electricity to a detached residential garage taxed as residential or commercial in Kansas?
It is residential usage. The Department agreed that electricity to a separately metered detached garage next to a home — used only to store the owner's personal vehicles, with no business or commercia…
How do Kansas e-cigarette consumable material distributors register, report, and pay the tax?
Kansas Notice 16-06 sets out the registration and reporting requirements for the consumable material tax on electronic cigarettes, which House Bill 2109 (2015) imposed under K.S.A. 79-3399 at $0.20 pe…
When did Kansas start taxing e-cigarette consumable material, and at what rate?
Kansas Notice 16-05 explains that House Bill 2109 (2015) amended K.S.A. 79-3399 to impose a tax on the privilege of selling or dealing in electronic cigarettes by a distributor, at the rate of $0.20 p…
Are fencing materials and services to repair 2016 fire-damaged agricultural fences exempt from Kansas sales tax?
Kansas Notice 16-04 explains that House Substitute for Senate Bill 149 (2016) amended K.S.A. 79-3606d to exempt from Kansas retailers' sales tax the purchase of fencing materials and services during c…
Is a restaurant's tabletop tablet ordering/payment system taxable when the restaurant buys or rents it from a vendor, and are the fees the restaurant charges diners for games, news, and song requests on the tablet taxable?
Two separate answers, and they cut opposite ways. What the restaurant pays its VENDOR for the tabletop POS tablet system (monthly service fees and revenue-share commissions alike) IS subject to Utah s…
Did a Chapter 7 discharge eliminate a sole proprietor's New Mexico gross receipts tax debt when he did not prove timely returns or the federal timing requirements?
No. General Design and Construct abandoned its NTTC arguments at the hearing and relied only on a Chapter 7 discharge. It supplied no evidence addressing the federal timing exceptions and did not prov…
Did Type 5 and Type 6 NTTCs protect retail-store installation receipts when one certificate omitted the seller name and the service provider lacked a contractor license?
Yes, for three customers. Capacity Builders' complete Type 5 certificate supported service-for-resale receipts; an incomplete Type 5 certificate was accepted in good faith after timely submission; and…
Were charges for transporting railroad crews between trains, depots, and hotels within Florida subject to sales tax?
No. Transporting railroad engineers and conductors by motor vehicle between trains, depots, and hotels was a nontaxable transportation service, with no tangible personal property sold.
Could Virginia residents claim a Virginia credit for Maryland tax on commuting wages and have assessment interest waived?
No. Virginia-Maryland reciprocity meant the Virginia residents were not liable for Maryland tax on their commuting wages, so no Virginia credit was allowed. They had to seek any Maryland refund from M…
Could a taxpayer overturn a Virginia residency assessment without providing the domicile records the Department requested?
Not on the existing record. The assessment was presumed correct, and the taxpayer had not supplied the requested domicile evidence. Virginia allowed one final 45-day opportunity to provide documentati…
Could corporate partners apportion Virginia income when their partnership had Ohio nexus, using destination-based sales factors?
Yes. The partnership's Ohio activities exceeded protected solicitation and passed nexus through to its corporate partners. They could amend their returns to apportion income using destination-based sa…
Could a holding company join a Virginia combined return based on commercial domicile or a positive Virginia apportionment factor?
No. The group did not prove that the holding company's affairs were directed from Virginia or that it had a positive Virginia apportionment factor. Its losses could not be attributed entirely to Virgi…
Are prepaid grocery-delivery memberships and separately stated delivery charges taxable in Virginia?
No, under the stated facts. A prepaid delivery service bought separately from groceries was an exempt transportation charge and provided no tangible property. Delivery fees on mixed food and non-food …
Could a Virginia sign seller avoid sales tax on manufactured signs because a Department employee allegedly gave contrary oral advice?
No. Manufactured signs were taxable retail sales, and Virginia could not abate the assessment based on alleged oral advice. The statutory relief required erroneous written Department guidance, which t…
Was a 2016 assessment of 2011-2012 construction receipts timely when the contractor underreported gross receipts tax by more than 25%?
Yes. Kinsey Construction reported far less on its New Mexico CRS returns than on federal Schedule C, with discrepancies exceeding 25% in both 2011 and 2012. That triggered the six-year assessment peri…
Were a hospital lessee's additional tax-equivalent payments part of taxable Florida real-property rent?
Yes. Payments approximating property taxes, fire-district taxes, and special assessments were additional consideration for the right to occupy the leased hospital premises and were taxable as rent.
When did a couple become Virginia residents for taxing a 2012 IRA distribution?
They became Virginia domiciliaries when they closed on their Virginia home in September 2012. Because the IRA distribution came in November, it was attributable to their Virginia-resident period and h…
Did taking a visiting-professor job in another state end a taxpayer's Virginia domicile?
No. The taxpayer showed employment in another state but did not prove a permanent home or other domicile ties there, while retaining a Virginia license, vehicle registrations, and mailing address. Vir…
Did the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act exempt a military spouse's income when the couple did not prove a shared out-of-state domicile?
Not on the record provided. The couple did not prove that both spouses shared the claimed out-of-state domicile or avoided Virginia domicile. Virginia gave them 30 days to provide complete records or …
Did electronically delivered software and cloud subscriptions create Virginia sales tax or corporate income-tax nexus?
The all-electronic software and cloud subscriptions were not subject to Virginia sales tax. Corporate income-tax nexus was conditional: an independent developer merely providing services would not cre…
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.