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.
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Is a financial newsletter publisher's on-line news service subject to New York sales tax, and does its separately billed telephone consulting service escape tax as personal information?
Yes for the on-line news service -- it's a taxable information service because its content isn't personal or individual to any one subscriber, though it escapes the additional 5% telephone/telegraph s…
Is a real-time financial-data terminal service (stock tickers, quotes, market news) delivered over leased telephone lines to desk-top display units subject to the additional 5% telephone/telegraph tax on top of the regular information-service tax?
No -- the service is a taxable information service under Tax Law Section 1105(c)(1) because it isn't personal or individual to any one subscriber, but it escapes the additional 5% tax under Section 11…
Is an airline's purchase of on-line computer systems -- flight control, crew management, reservations, baggage tracing, and similar tools -- exempt from sales tax as personal or individual information when each system is built around the airline's own confidential operating data?
Mostly yes -- the Flight Control, Crew Management, AFTN, Flight Plan, ACTS, Baggage Claims Central File, and Sub-Host Reservations systems are all exempt, because each is based only on the airline's o…
Is a subscription regulatory-update newsletter an exempt periodical, or a taxable information service?
It is a taxable information service, not an exempt periodical. The publisher's RCRA Update is a bimonthly service consisting mostly of photocopied Federal Register pages plus staff summaries of EPA ha…
Is a service that reviews a store's cash-register internal controls a taxable information or detective service?
No, as described it is not taxable. A consultant observes how a retail store's cash-register operators ring up sales and make change, then writes a report to management about the store's internal cont…
Is a company's information service — a listing of area events sent to newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations — subject to New York sales tax?
No, when sold to news media. Information services are normally taxable in New York, but the law expressly excludes information services used by newspapers, radio, and TV broadcasters in collecting and…
Which fees in a computerized securities-trading information network — directory listings, oral transmissions, delivery-instruction processing, broker referral premiums, and corporate-release fees — are subject to New York sales tax?
It splits by function. Fees to receive compiled trading information (including bundled directory listings and oral or Alert transmissions) are taxable information services; pure advertising listings a…
Are a financial data company's broker referral premiums and its charges to participate in a computerized research directory subject to New York sales tax?
Referral premiums brokers pay for customer leads are not taxable, because customer referral is not an enumerated service. Listing research for providers is exempt advertising, but the fees receivers p…
Are a company's data-processing services (statements, claims, billing reports) and its microfiche-conversion service subject to New York sales tax?
It splits. Processing that produces personalized statements, claims, and account reports is an exempt personal-or-individual information service; but merely converting data to written form or printing…
Is developing and maintaining a client's confidential membership database an exempt 'personal or individual' information service, or a taxable sale?
It depends on whether each product is data conversion or a true information service, and the Department declined to classify them without more facts. Merely reformatting a client's own data is a taxab…
Are a laboratory's materials-testing and R&D reports on unique client samples subject to New York sales tax as an information service?
Not taxable. Although the reports are an information service, each one analyzes a unique client sample and is not incorporated into reports for others, so it is personal or individual in nature and ex…
Is a singles newsletter that is mostly directory listings exempt from New York sales tax as a periodical?
No — it's taxable. 'The Matchmaker,' a newsletter for Jewish singles, is not exempt as a periodical under Tax Law § 1115(a)(5), even though it meets all five general requirements for a periodical in R…
When a bank resells repossessed cars and mobile homes and buys credit reports on borrowers, which of those are subject to New York sales tax?
It depends on the item. (1) Yes — a bank that sells repossessed automobiles is a 'vendor' of motor vehicles and must collect sales tax at the time of each sale unless it receives a proper exemption do…
Is a medical-records storage-and-retrieval subscription service a taxable information service or a taxable storage service in New York?
It's taxable — as a storage service, not an information service. Immediate Medical Records' subscription service (organizing, computer-storing, and on request transmitting a client's medical records t…
Is a telephone sales-lead generation service a taxable information service in New York, and does handing over written lead reports change that?
No. Alan/Anthony's telephone sales-solicitation service — calling potential buyers with a client-approved script to generate qualified sales leads and reporting them to the client in writing — is not …
Are individualized investment-evaluation and consulting reports a firm prepares for pension plan sponsors and money managers taxable information services?
No. SEI's investment-evaluation and consulting services for pension plan sponsors and money managers are not taxable. The reports it prepares — Investment Policy Planning, Asset Allocation, Investment…
When software is sold as one unit combining a taxable insurance-rating database and nontaxable custom software, is the whole price taxable?
The whole price is taxable when sold as one unit. Insurance Automation Systems sold a two-part insurance-quoting system (June 1988-May 1991): (1) a database of New York insurance companies' rating fac…
Is the sale of advertising space in a free discount-shopper directory subject to New York sales tax?
No. A client that publishes a discount shoppers directory and earns income only from selling advertising space in it is providing an exempt advertising service, not a taxable information service. Tax …
Are environmental testing and reporting services on a landfill's own ground taxable in New York?
It's not a taxable information service, but it can be taxable as a real-property service. A landfill hires outside vendors to analyze and report the levels of motor oil, groundwater, leachate, condens…
Is an on-line financial news service an exempt newspaper/periodical, or a taxable information service, and is the delivery equipment taxable?
Taxable information service, not an exempt newspaper or periodical. Market News Service's 24-hour on-line international financial news is delivered as an electronic readout/display on a screen, not in…
Are on-line financial news services delivered to subscribers on computer screens exempt newspapers or periodicals, or a taxable information service?
Taxable information service, not an exempt newspaper or periodical. The petitioner's client published four on-line financial newsletters delivered to subscribers as text on computer screens (via Teler…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much of the charge is subject to New York sales tax?
Only the reports delivered in New York are taxed, and the taxable share is allocated by where delivery happens. Clairol buys professional research/marketing reports that are assumed to be taxable info…
Is a toll-free 800 'call before you dig' message-relay answering service subject to New York sales tax?
Not taxable, on these facts. One Call Systems runs a toll-free 800 line that lets contractors, utilities, and the public report their intent to disturb the earth; the message is relayed to member util…
Are membership fees for a dating referral service, where members browse a library of other members' profiles, taxable as an information service?
Yes. People Resources runs a singles service where each member writes a biography and provides photos and a video, and all of that is placed in a library — separated by men, women and sexual preferenc…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Revlon, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (research and marketing) delivered to its offices across the U.S…
Which of a printer-mailer's services — personalized mailings, label printing, electronic data processing, and packaged or custom software — are subject to New York sales tax?
Mostly taxable, with specific exemptions. Computerized Transactions Inc. asked about five printing/mailing and software services. (1) Personalizing letterheads/envelopes and giving the client the data…
Is a monthly minimum charge for credit information taxable even when few or no reports are actually issued, and does it matter if the reports are oral or written?
Yes, the minimum charge is taxable. CCB Management of Texas provides credit-information services and imposes a monthly minimum: if a subscriber orders less than $30 of reports in a month, it bills the…
For gas producers, are meter-maintenance and meter-installation fees taxable, and are chart-integration services (personalized well analyses) taxable?
The meters qualify for the production exemption, and the well reports are a nontaxable personal information service. The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York asked about three charges its mem…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Pfizer, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) delivered to its of…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) del…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Kraft General Foods, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) delive…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. American Home Products Corporation buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advic…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. American Home Food Products, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Colgate-Palmolive Company buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) delive…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Sterling Drug, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) delivered to…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Conopco, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) delivered to its o…
When a company buys taxable information reports delivered to offices both inside and outside New York, how much sales tax applies?
Only the New York-delivered portion is taxed, allocated by where delivery occurs. Carter-Wallace, Inc. buys taxable information-service reports (professional research and marketing advice) delivered t…
When a taxable information report is delivered to a client's offices both inside and outside New York, how much of the charge is subject to New York sales tax?
Only the part delivered in New York is taxable. Paul R. Comeau asked how much sales tax an information-service company must collect when it sends taxable research and marketing reports to a client tha…
When a business bills a customer for many small taxable sales in one period, does it compute sales tax on each sale or on the billing total?
Compute the tax once on the total for the billing period, not on each individual sale. Rochester Credit Center, Inc. sells many credit reports to each client during a monthly billing cycle and had bee…
Are a consultant's personal reports taxable, and is consulting that is bundled into the price of taxable training tapes taxable too?
The personal reports and scripts are not taxable, but consulting folded into the price of taxable training tapes is taxed unless billed under a separate contract. A behavioral scientist (client of Mor…
Is a charge for monitoring air for asbestos content during removal, and issuing reports, a taxable information service?
It is not taxable — the charge falls within the personal/individual exclusion for information services. George Industries, Inc. hired a consultant (A & A) to take air samples monitoring asbestos conte…
Is a home-inspection report bought by a prospective buyer a taxable information service, or a service to real property?
It is not taxable. Joseph A. Matocha asked whether charges for 'home inspection services' are subject to sales and use tax. In the transaction, a prospective buyer hires an inspector to examine a resi…
Are advertising market-research services — focus groups, tracking, attitude, copy, and concept studies — a taxable information service?
It is not taxable — the research is a personal, individual information service. Paul R. Comeau, of Hodgson Russ, asked about market-research services performed by or for advertising agencies — focus g…
Are non-destructive testing services and reports a taxable information service?
They are not taxable. PCA Engineering, Inc. tests and evaluates the physical characteristics of materials (mostly metal) in structures, machines, and equipment using non-destructive methods — magnetic…
Are a private investigator's guard, security-consulting, litigation-support, due-diligence, and corporate-investigation services subject to New York City's protective/detective-services tax and the statewide information-services tax, and how are they sourced?
It depends on the service, and two different taxes are in play. Peat, Marwick, Main & Co. asked about services of its client RST, a licensed private investigator based in New York City. New York City …
Is encoding a TV commercial a taxable service the monitoring company must pay, and are the broadcast-monitoring reports it sells taxable?
The two charges are treated differently. VidCode Inc. verifies for advertisers whether their TV commercials actually aired as contracted, by first encoding a unique signature onto the master copy of e…
Are consumer-marketing analysis reports built from a large shared database a taxable information service, or an exempt personal/individual service?
They are taxable. National Demographics and Lifestyles, Inc. sold manufacturers marketing reports — a Consumer Analysis Report, an NDL F/O/C/U/S report, and a Market Development Index — plus annual su…
Are a securities-quotation network's charges a taxable telephone service, a taxable information service, or an untaxed trade-execution service?
The three activities are taxed differently. NASDAQ, Inc. asked whether charges for using private telecommunication lines to provide stock quotations and execute securities trades are subject to the te…
Are the fees and dues a real-estate multiple listing service charges its member brokers subject to sales tax?
Yes. All of the listing service's charges — including the one-time initiation fee and the annual dues — are receipts from a taxable information service. Mohawk Valley Listing Service, Inc. is a New Yo…
Are the charges for confidential product-testing reports about a company's own products a taxable information service?
No — confidential reports about only the customer's own products are an exempt personal and individual information service. Garden Way Incorporated, a maker of lawn and garden equipment, hired a Flori…
Is a telecommunications management company's bundle of services — including its management and membership fees and its usage reports — taxable as telephone service?
It is all taxable telephone service under § 1105(b), except interstate and international charges. Peat, Marwick Main & Co. asked about a client, a telecommunications management company that selects an…
Are reports from searching computerized databases — like trademark or legal research — taxable as an information service, or exempt like a professional service?
They are taxable. Reports produced by searching computerized databases are a taxable information service under Tax Law § 1105(c)(1), because the information is drawn from common databases available to…
Is a monthly financial newsletter of stock recommendations a tax-exempt periodical, or a taxable information service?
It is a taxable information service, not an exempt periodical. Generic Stock Investment Service, Inc. publishes a monthly newsletter of financial investment information — mostly analysis and buy/sell …
Is aerial photogrammetry performed by licensed surveyors and engineers a taxable sale, an exempt professional service, or an exempt information service?
It depends on what is sold. This Modified Advisory Opinion reconsiders TSB-A-87(26)S after Lockwood Support Services supplied fuller facts showing it performs aerial photogrammetry using licensed land…
Are an investment adviser's phone consultations, hotline, and newsletter subject to New York sales tax?
Mostly no — none of the three services is taxable here. Harmonic Research, Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser, offers (1) consultations, (2) a telephone hotline, and (3) newsletter subscriptio…
Which of a bank data processor's computer services are taxable, and which are exempt information or bookkeeping services?
It splits by the type of work. Northeastern Computer Services, Inc. provides on-line computer processing for banks, savings-and-loans, and credit unions (maintaining depositor/loan/checking/IRA accoun…
Are annual fees for a computer service that matches investors with businesses seeking capital a taxable information service, or exempt personal information?
Yes — the annual fees are a taxable information service, because the matching reports aren't the personal, confidential information the exclusion protects. Venture Capital Network (VCN) of New York, I…
Does someone selling a mail-order 'kit' that helps property owners challenge their tax assessments have to collect New York sales tax on it?
Yes. Linda and Ralph Spaulding sell a mail-order 'Taxbuster kit' to help property owners in the City of Troy challenge their tax-assessment increases; it contains an article and charts they wrote, a g…
Are aerial maps, surveys, and charts a tax-exempt information service, or are they taxable tangible personal property?
They are taxable tangible personal property. Lockwood Support Services makes aerial maps, surveys, and charts and argued they are an exempt information service under Tax Law § 1105(c)(1). The Departme…
Is a market-research firm's sale of customized retail sales and inventory reports a taxable information service?
Yes. Putnam Associates sells reports charting inventory levels and sales of retail products (cosmetics, fragrances, dinnerware) in nationwide stores, and argued it provides a consulting service furnis…
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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.