New York State Tax Rulings
Free plain-English summaries of state tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued in New York, with full citations and the original source on every page.
No New York rulings match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a dentist buy a CEREC milling machine tax-free under New York's production-machinery exemption because it fabricates crowns and other dental devices?
No. The milling machine is taxable. New York's exemption for machinery used directly and predominantly to produce tangible personal property for sale does not apply, because the dentist is not in the …
Does New York sales tax apply to a teleprompter company's operated teleprompting service versus renting the equipment alone?
It depends on who controls the equipment. When the company supplies a teleprompter system plus its own technician who keeps control, it is selling a non-taxable service, so no sales tax applies. But w…
Are fees for online courses, completion certificates, specializations, and degrees subject to New York sales tax?
No. The free streaming access and downloadable software carry no charge, so there is nothing to tax there. The paid 'course certificate' videos, specializations, and university-recognized degrees are …
Must a public golf course charge sales tax on golf carts that golfers use at no extra charge?
No. Because the green fee is the same with or without a cart and no separate charge is made for the cart, there is no consideration for the cart, so its use is not a taxable sale or rental of tangible…
Can a security guard company accept Direct Payment Permits from customers when it already knows its services are taxable?
No. A Direct Payment Permit applies only when, at the time of purchase, it is impossible to determine how the property or service will be used and whether it is taxable. A security guard company knows…
Is a service that lets customers send large volumes of email, plus related consulting, subject to New York sales tax?
No. The primary function of the service is letting customers send large quantities of email over the provider's servers, which is a non-taxable email service protected by the federal Internet Tax Free…
Are fees to store dogs in climate-controlled lockers, plus the membership and unit rentals, subject to New York sales tax?
Yes, all three. Dogs are tangible personal property, so the per-minute charge to store a dog in a locker is taxable storage under Tax Law 1105(c)(4). The annual membership fee is taxable too, as a pre…
Are a firm's digital marketing services and the third-party software licenses it resells subject to New York sales tax?
It depends. Helping clients track and improve their own marketing is a non-taxable advertising service. But when the firm resells a third-party software license to the client, that is a taxable sale o…
Are monthly clothing-rental subscription fees exempt under New York's clothing exemption?
Yes. Renting clothing is a sale, but clothing sold or rented for less than $110 per item is exempt from State sales tax. Even subscription plans costing more than $110 a month qualify, because the per…
For the lower-Manhattan commercial-lease sales tax exemption, when does the tenant's one-year exemption period begin?
It begins on the first day the tenant has the right to occupy the leased premises, which in this case is the lease's Commencement Date, not the earlier date the lease was signed. Tax Law 1115(ee) give…
Are collagen wound dressings and membranes used in dental surgery exempt from New York sales tax?
Yes, but under a different exemption than the seller claimed. They are not exempt 'prosthetic aids,' because they don't replace a missing or permanently malfunctioning body part. But where they are le…
Is a hosted digital advertising campaign platform that lets customers build and manage their own ads subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. Giving customers the right to access and use the platform's prewritten software tools to create, deliver, and manage their own advertising is a taxable sale of prewritten software, taxable to the…
Are retail sales of mitten clips, used to attach gloves or clothing, exempt under New York's clothing exemption?
No. Mitten clips are taxable tangible personal property. They are not themselves clothing, and unlike zippers or snaps they do not become a physical component part of a garment; they are accessories t…
Are 'healthy' snack mixes of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit taxable as candy when they contain chocolate or honey coatings?
Mostly yes. Food is generally exempt, but candy and confectionery are taxable. When otherwise-exempt foods like nuts, seeds, or dried fruit are mixed with chocolate pieces, fudge, or honey/sugar coati…
Are sales of kombucha, a fermented tea beverage, subject to New York sales tax?
No. Although carbonated soft drinks are taxable, tea is specifically exempt from sales tax under Tax Law 1115(a)(1). Kombucha is a flavored, naturally fermented tea, so it qualifies as exempt tea and …
When does a brownfield site count as 'used primarily for manufacturing,' raising the tangible-property credit cap from $35 million to $45 million?
When manufacturing is the principal use - here, 50,000 of 80,000 square feet (more than half). The Brownfield Redevelopment Tax Credit's tangible-property credit component is capped at the lesser of $…
Are subscription fees to access an online library of instructional video courses subject to New York sales tax?
No. Subscriptions that let users stream video courses to learn new skills are not tangible personal property and are not a taxable information service, because their purpose is to impart knowledge. Do…
Are a coupon clearinghouse's products, sold to retailers and advertisers, subject to New York sales tax?
No. The primary function of the clearinghouse's products is processing redeemed coupons and handling payments between retailers and advertisers, which is not a taxable service. The prewritten software…
My New York City brewery sells most of its beer to wholesalers but also sells beer by the glass and growler in our public tasting room. Do we owe the state Alcoholic Beverage Tax on both the wholesale sales and the tasting-room sales?
It depends on the sale. As a beer manufacturer, the brewery is a "distributor" and owes the state Alcoholic Beverage Tax (ABT) and NYC excise tax on its sales and uses of beer -- except that sales to …
Can a contractor buy glue tax-free when it is used to bond ceramic tile to the floor of a building owned by the Port Authority?
Yes. When a contractor improves real property owned by a tax-exempt governmental entity, materials that become an integral component part of that property are exempt from sales and use tax. The glue i…
Are private cooking, baking, and cake-decorating lessons taught in a customer's home subject to New York sales tax?
No. Teaching cooking and baking is not one of the services New York taxes under Tax Law 1105(c). Even when the instructor supplies some ingredients or hands over recipes on paper, those items are inci…
Is orgeat almond syrup, a sweet mixer used in soft and alcoholic drinks, subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. Although most food and beverages are exempt, the exemption does not cover soft drinks and beverages ordinarily dispensed at soda fountains, or fruit drinks with less than 70% natural fruit juice.…
Are the site safety manager, fire safety manager, and emergency watchman services a company provides on construction sites subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. These site safety officials regularly patrol and inspect construction sites to protect against fire, property damage, and injury to persons, so New York treats their services as taxable protectiv…
Is the service fee a federally licensed firearms dealer charges to transfer a firearm to a New York resident subject to sales tax?
No. The FFL's transfer services, receiving the firearm, recording it, running the NICS background check, and completing the required forms, are not among the services New York taxes under Tax Law § 11…
Are charges for the annual government-mandated inspection of backflow prevention devices subject to New York sales tax?
Not by themselves. A government-mandated inspection performed solely for code compliance, and not in conjunction with installing or repairing the device, is not taxable. But an inspection done at the …
When a cigarette manufacturer funds a 'buy-down' price reduction, does the retailer calculate sales tax on the reduced price or the full price?
On the full price. A manufacturer-funded buy-down is a reimbursement the retailer receives after the sale, so the taxable receipt includes both the reduced price the customer pays and the buy-down amo…
When does a bridal shop owe sales tax on a wedding dress, at the deposit or when the dress is finished?
When title to the dress transfers, which is when the customer has fully paid. If a customer pays a 50% deposit and the balance later, the sale occurs (and tax is collected) at full payment. If a custo…
Is the ticket price for a pedal-bus sightseeing tour subject to New York sales tax?
No. A sightseeing tour is not one of the services New York taxes under Tax Law § 1105(c). As long as the ticket is solely for the sightseeing tour and not for food or drink (none is sold or served on …
Are a graphic designer's charges for packaging designs, comps, and prototypes subject to New York sales tax?
It depends on how they're delivered. Comps or prototypes delivered in tangible form to a customer in New York are taxable on the entire charge (including design costs), whether or not separately state…
Do large operable wall partitions installed in hotels and convention centers qualify as a capital improvement, so the installation is exempt from sales tax?
Yes. The partitions are big, heavy, track-mounted structures that effectively replace walls and can't be removed without material damage (becoming inoperable demolition debris), so they meet the three…
Is installing cellulose and spray-foam insulation in homes and commercial buildings subject to New York sales tax?
The installer's charge is not. Installing insulation is a capital improvement (it adds value, is meant to be permanent, and isn't intended to be removed), so the installer's receipts are exempt under …
Does a tax-exempt youth softball league have to charge sales tax on food and drinks sold at its concession stand?
Yes. A 501(c)(3) organization's sales-tax exemption does not extend to prepared food and drink sold at a concession stand. Under Tax Law § 1105(d) and § 1116(b), food and beverages sold by a restauran…
Does a member-owned club owe sales tax on dues from a new class of 'limited members' who have no ownership stake or voting rights?
Yes. The limited members' payments are 'dues' paid to a social or athletic club, taxable under Tax Law § 1105(f)(2)(i). Lacking an ownership or voting interest does not stop someone from being a 'memb…
Is a service that automatically pulls, compiles, and reports a client's own internet-advertising performance data subject to New York sales tax?
No. The service is an information service, but it falls within the 'personal or individual' exclusion: each client receives reports built only from its own advertising data, not shared with or compile…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-20(3)C: Does New York follow the federal IRC section 338(h)(10) treatment of a stock sale and a pre-sale asset distribution when computing Article 9-A entire net income?
Yes. If a stock sale and a pre-sale distribution of assets conform to IRC section 338(h)(10), New York follows the federal tax treatment for Article 9-A entire net income, because entire net income st…
Is a nonresident limited partner's loss on liquidating a partnership New York source income when the partnership sold its New York building the day before?
No. The loss is not derived from or connected with New York sources. New York source treatment for a partnership-interest loss depends on the partnership owning New York real property worth at least 5…
Can an irrevocable resident trust with an out-of-state trustee avoid New York fiduciary income tax if a small share of its income is New York source income?
No. The trust is taxed by New York on all its income. A resident trust escapes tax only if it meets all three conditions of Tax Law § 605(b)(3)(D): no New York trustee, no New York corpus, and no New …
Are a member-owned golf club's membership dues subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. The club is a 'social or athletic club' (its material purpose is golf, and it is member-owned and member-managed), so under Tax Law § 1105(f)(2) its dues are taxable because an active annual memb…
Who decides whether a building is in a qualifying census tract for New York's historic rehabilitation tax credit, and is that decision binding on the Tax Department?
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) decides, and its determination is controlling. Where OPRHP has determined and certified that a building is in a qualify…
Which New York taxes apply when a licensed tobacco distributor and retailer sells chewing tobacco to customers inside and outside New York?
In-state retail sales of chewing tobacco are subject to New York State and local sales tax, and all tobacco products the distributor holds in New York for sale are subject to the tobacco products exci…
Are a couple Yonkers residents or New York City residents when their house sits entirely in Yonkers but the front yard, and the mailing address, are in the Bronx?
They are Yonkers residents, subject to the Yonkers resident income tax surcharge. Residency follows the location of the dwelling and the couple's domicile, not the Bronx mailing address; the residenti…
Can an online software marketplace that facilitates downloads by independent vendors be treated as a vendor required to collect New York sales tax?
Yes, at the Commissioner's discretion. The operator runs app/software marketplaces where independent software vendors (ISVs) sell downloadable prewritten software; the operator hosts the products, col…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-20(1)C: Does being 'formed for' a telephone business decide Article 9 vs Article 9-A status, and does deriving more than 50% of receipts from non-Article-9 activities make a corporation an Article 9-A filer?
What a corporation was 'formed for' is not dispositive; Article 9 vs Article 9-A status turns on what it is principally engaged in, and a corporation deriving more than 50% of its aggregate gross rece…
For a combined-group member in START-UP NY, must income from a previously conducted line of business be disregarded for the tax elimination credit even if earned out of state, and do employees lose their wage exemption if the business faces proportional recovery?
Yes to both protections. The subsidiary must disregard income from a line of business it previously conducted when computing its tax factor for the Tax-free NY area tax elimination credit, even if tha…
Is a nonresident executive's office, where he sleeps on work nights, a 'permanent place of abode' that could make him a New York statutory resident?
No. The office is not a permanent place of abode under Tax Law § 605(b)(1)(B). The taxpayer lacked unfettered access (he could stay only on work nights), the space had no cooking or bathing facilities…
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…
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…
Is the requirement that a taxpayer forfeit current capital loss and net operating loss carryforwards a valid condition for accepting an offer in compromise, and which losses does it cover?
Yes. Condition 5G of Form DTF-4.1, requiring forfeiture of current capital loss and net operating loss carryforwards, is a valid exercise of the Commissioner's discretion under Tax Law § 171(15). It c…
Is a truck rental to a contractor exempt if the contractor gives a Contractor Exempt Purchase Certificate (ST-120.1) with box A checked?
No — the rental is taxable. Renting a truck is a taxable sale of tangible personal property. The contractor used the truck to haul dirt on and off site, so the truck is equipment the contractor used t…
Is a club's credit-card 'convenience fee' subject to New York sales tax?
Yes, to the extent the underlying charge is taxable. A social or athletic club adds a convenience fee — a percentage of the credit-card purchase — to offset its card-processing costs. 'Receipt' is the…
When is brownfield tangible property 'placed in service,' and which redevelopment costs qualify as site preparation costs versus the tangible property component of the brownfield credit?
Tangible property is 'placed in service' when a separately occupied portion of the site is ready for its assigned function; if placed in service before the Certificate of Completion, it stays eligible…
Is providing non-transplantable human tissue to medical facilities and labs for research and training subject to New York sales tax?
No. The petitioner runs a non-transplantable human tissue bank: it receives donated bodies, processes, preserves, prepares, and ships tissue specimens to hospitals, universities, and device makers for…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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, …
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…
Browse New York rulings by topic
These are official tax letter rulings and advisory opinions issued by New York's revenue authority in response to questions from specific taxpayers about how the tax law applies to their facts. A ruling is binding on the department only for the taxpayer who requested it and cannot be relied on by anyone else, but it is strong evidence of how the state reads the law. Every ruling above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original source.