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 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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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 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…
Are admission tickets to an exempt organizations charity softball game subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. Admission charges to places of amusement, including sporting events, are taxable. Although a registered exempt organization generally need not collect tax on admissions, that exemption does not a…
Must a school student club that collects donations to buy childrens books for a charity report the money on sales tax returns?
No. The student club is not buying or selling books; it only solicits monetary donations and forwards them to a 501(c)(3) charity, which then buys and distributes the books. Because no sale of tangibl…
Is sales tax on a ferry boat purchase limited to the first $230,000 of the price in New York?
Yes. Tax Law section 1115(jj) exempts the receipts over $230,000 from the sale of a vessel (including an outboard motor or trailer sold with it) for sales on or after June 1, 2015. So a ferry operator…
Are a social clubs fees charged to non-members for lessons, camps, sing-alongs, and facility rentals taxable?
Mostly no. A clubs member dues are taxable, but fees charged to non-members are not taxable just because of the clubs status — each activity is judged on its own nature. Tennis lessons are non-taxable…
Is an online service that turns users photos and clips into videos taxable as prewritten software in New York?
Yes. The company sells online access to a web interface that lets customers turn their photos and clips into videos: customers choose content, order, music, logos, text, and style, and proprietary vid…
Does New York sales tax apply to a free app that lets users pay to use restrooms at participating venues?
No, on both counts. The app is prewritten software, which is taxable tangible personal property when sold — but a sale requires a transfer for consideration, and here the app is given to users free of…
Is subscription access to an online secure board-document file-sharing portal taxable as software in New York?
Yes. The petitioner sells subscription access to online applications that let corporate boards store, annotate, approve, collaborate on, and share secure documents. Giving customers access to this pre…
Is the sale of a fractional share in an aircraft taxable, and is a later sale of the retired plane exempt?
No to the share, and the retired plane is exempt. Selling a fractional share is not a sale of tangible personal property because the share owner never gets dominion and control of the aircraft: the op…
Are materials an IDA agent buys for off-site utility improvements exempt from New York sales tax?
No. An Industrial Development Agency (IDA) is exempt from tax on its own property and activities, and a private developer acting as the IDAs agent can share that exemption — but only for property the …
Is a report analyzing a clients customers that benchmarks against industry data a taxable information service?
Yes. Collecting, compiling, and analyzing information and furnishing reports is an information service taxable under Tax Law section 1105(c)(1). There is an exclusion for information that is personal …
Is a cable companys charge to extend its broadband network to a rural property a taxable capital improvement?
No, and not for the reason asked. The customer paid a $15,000 contribution in aid of construction so the cable company would build 6/10 mile of coaxial cable (owned by the cable company) to bring broa…
Are a medical-records companys retrieval, coding, abstraction, training, and storage services taxable?
Mostly not. Retrieving and furnishing a patients specific confidential medical records to an authorized requester is not taxable, no matter how delivered, and neither are the related delivery charges.…
Are hosted email, fax, online meeting, and file-management services taxable in New York?
It splits four ways. Email service is not taxable: although email is telephony/telegraphy, the Internet Tax Freedom Act bars taxing Internet access, which includes email and instant messaging. Fax ser…
Is a sewing (quilting) service performed on a customers quilt subject to New York sales tax?
Yes. The petitioner sews the layers of customers quilts together with a stitching design. That is taxable under Tax Law section 1105(c)(2) as producing, fabricating, or processing tangible personal pr…
Can a vendor bundle sales tax into its hourly rate, and must it investigate a customers exemption certificate?
No to absorbing tax, and no duty to investigate. A person required to collect tax may not absorb the sales tax into its hourly rate; the Tax Law requires it to collect the tax from the customer and to…
Are a hotel-industry providers online reputation and survey products taxable information services?
It splits. All four products are information services because the company collects, compiles, and analyzes data and gives hotels access to it. The online reputation product (Product A) is taxable: its…
Is natural gas converted by a supermarkets fuel cell to electricity exempt from sales tax?
Partly. The supermarket does production activities (baking, cutting/packaging meat, slicing deli items) and sells those goods, so it produces tangible personal property for sale. Gas, electricity, and…
Is raising chickens for research/vaccine eggs (not food) a farming activity eligible for the sales tax exemption?
Yes. The petitioner raises chickens to produce fertilized, specific-pathogen-free eggs sold to vaccine manufacturers and research and educational institutions; the eggs are never sold for human consum…
Are wood shavings a commercial dog breeder buys to bed breeding dogs and their puppies exempt from sales tax?
No. The wood shavings are taxable. Even though the breeder sells the puppies, neither sales-tax exemption applies. The Tax Law section 1105-B exemption for production supplies covers only listed activ…
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…
Are a real-estate listing website's paid agent-promotion products subject to New York sales tax?
No. The three paid products (ad-free featured listings, and buying a share of agent-list/banner views by zip code or city, on web and mobile) all enhance an agent's advertising position on the site, s…
Which of a restaurant franchisor's charges to its New York franchisees are subject to sales tax?
It splits by item. Taxable: charges for hardware (including the internet-connection device), the combined hardware-and-software installation charge (not separately stated), and ongoing IT support that…
Are web-based identity/access-control and data-messaging services subject to New York sales tax?
It depends on the service. The two 'Communicate' products - a hosted Portal and a Trusted Identity Framework - act as electronic gatekeepers that verify users and keep unauthorized people out of a cus…
Is a cloud data-storage, backup, file-sharing and sync subscription subject to New York sales tax?
No. The service is not taxable. It is not a sale of prewritten software, because the optional app is free, is not required, and the service is fully usable through any web browser - so customers are n…
Is a service that collects and segments internet-user data for ad targeting a taxable information service?
Yes. The company collects and analyzes data on roughly 700 million internet users (via HTML tags and cookies), groups them into targeting 'segments' and makes those segments available to advertisers. …
Does New York sales or use tax apply to a sculpture bought from a NY dealer but delivered abroad and later displayed in New York?
No. New York sales tax is a destination tax: it turns on where the buyer takes possession. Here the Florida buyer authorized a museum to retrieve the sculpture, and the museum's contract carrier (the …
Are auto repairs done out of state taxable in New York if the repaired car is delivered to the customer in New York?
Yes. Repair and maintenance of tangible personal property is a destination tax: what controls is where the repaired property is delivered to the customer. Here the dealer's body shop is in New Jersey,…
Are sales of warm, freshly baked cookies subject to New York sales tax even for take-out or delivery?
Yes. New York taxes food and drink sold by restaurants and similar establishments. Food sold for off-premises consumption can escape the tax only if it is sold in an unheated state (and is of a type c…
Are a New York City fitness studio's class entry fees and weight-loss-challenge fees subject to sales tax?
Only to New York City local tax, not State tax. The studio's class entry fees and weight-loss-challenge fees are not subject to New York State sales tax: they are not admission charges to a place of a…
New York Advisory Opinion TSB-A-16(2)C / (15)S: Must a kiosk operator that lets customers buy prepaid airtime, texts and data collect sales tax, and does it owe the section 186-e telecommunication excise tax?
The kiosk operator must collect sales tax on prepaid mobile calling-service top-ups sold on or after April 13, 2015, but not before, and owes no section 186-e excise tax because it merely facilitates …
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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.